Clare Fergusson, an Episcopal priest in her mid-30s, has recently arrived in Millers Kill, NY to serve the congregation at St. Alban's. When a newborn baby is left on the church doorstep, she meets police chief Russ Van Alstyne, and thus begins their crime-solving partnership. In trying to find the baby's parents, they uncover a murder, which naturally leads to further investigation There are many potential suspects, and plenty of interesting developments that keep the story moving.

Clare and Russ, on the surface, appear to be an improbable partnership. However, prior to joining the clergy Clare served in the Army, and was trained in survival skills. Russ is a Vietnam veteran and has lived in Millers Kill for years. He feels a strong sense of ownership over the town and its inhabitants. As a minister, Clare has unique access to members of her congregation, which is both a blessing and a curse. Oh, and there's a little frisson of attraction between Clare and Russ, which adds an element of "will they or won't they" to the novel. They make a good pair.

And Spencer-Fleming kept me guessing all the way to the end. The last 100 pages or so were filled with suspense, as all the pieces began to fall into place. This was a very well-written, character-driven mystery and I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series. ( )

I really enjoyed this first book in the series and plan to read the others. The two main characters, a new female Episcopalian Priest and an agnostic Chief of Police meet over a case of an abandoned baby and find they have a lot in common including both serving in the military under war conditions, the Chief, Russ Alstyne, in Viet Nam and the priest, Clare Ferguson, in Desert Storm. The development of the characters and the progression of their friendship are as important as the mystery plot in this novel. I will be interested to see how this plays out in the next novels, because Russ is married and Clare is a priest. I hope the author handles this potential time bomb well. ( )

While I greatly enjoyed this mystery, I could not help thinking, "How can you possibly be so stupid?" as the heroine fell for the lure that took her out into a storm of near-blizzard proportions in her sports car, without proper winter boots or coat. Granted, this scene allowed her to utilize the survival skills she learned in boot camp, but I still thought it was a weak point. I still enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more books in the series, but I hope she won't be as naive in the future.

I particularly like that the titles of these works come from hymns; this is what drew me to the series in the first place. ( )

I am amazed that this was Julia's first book - I am on the edge of my seat right now, as Rev. Clare is eluding her attacker in the snowy forest...and I'm not a mystery reader who's usually easily impressed. Although I usually narrowed it down well in Christie's novels, I really am stumped as to who the perp is. Great job! ( )

The Rev. Fergusson is a great, spunky character. The dismal upstate New York winter made an evocative setting and we loved the subtle stirrings of romance betwen Rev. Clare and the married police chief.