Friday, June 25, 2010

Review: Out of the Deep I Cry

Author: Julia Spencer-Fleming
Format: audio (15 hours), 336 pgs equivalent
Characters: Clare Fergusson, Russ Van Alstyn
Subject: murder, prohibition
Setting: upstate New York
Series:Clare Fergusson, Russ Van Alstyn mysteries
Genre: police procedural/amateur detective mystery
Source: audio book from public library
Challenge: Support Your Local Library; Audio books

Two stories, a "Then" and a "Now" are intertwined as the reader listens to first one and then the other throughout the book. At first, the reader wonders what one has to do with the other, but the back-fill quickly becomes apparent, and also becomes a mystery all its own. This is #3 in the continuing saga of Clare Ferguson, Episcopal priest and Russ Van Alstyn, the married (not to her) Chief of Police, and the romance is heating up. Clare and Russ now have gotten a tad bit physical, but also a bit more pragmatic about the hopelessness of their relationship. In this episode, Clare is trying to trace the provenance of a huge chunk of money being donated to fix the church's roof, while she helps look for the local clinic doctor who has disappeared. In the meantime, the back story is filling in and leading toward both the money and the doctor. The plot twists in this one are serpentine, but delightful. Without doing spoilers, I will warn that if like me, you are claustrophobic, you might want to read (or listen) to this one in the day time in a big airy well-lit room. The climax is a scary stunner. Regular readers will delight in the ongoing adventures, while newcomers will have no trouble picking right up.

2 comments:

  1. I read the first in this series, which I liked, with a few minor issues, but have not read any since. I think this is a series I would like to read in order, if only to follow Clare and Russ's relationship in order.
    So many books, so little time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This series of books sounds good. Meanwhile, as I try to crawl out from under my TBR mountain, I'm enjoying your Quote of the Day.

    ReplyDelete

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