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Loading... In the Bleak Midwinter (A Rev. Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery) (original 2002; edition 2003)by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Work InformationIn the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming (2002)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. The only mystery is how the racist religious bigots are cast as "just nice people." No wait, the only mystery is why it's acceptable for a whole community to conspire by any means necessary to take a "rare healthy white baby" and place it with a "deserving" wealthy white couple. No wait, the only mystery is how this poorly written salacious claptrap ever won any award. Hmmm -- undecided between 3.5 and 4 stars 3.5* I waffled for quite a while between 3½ and 4 stars for this audiobook. Suzanne Toran does a great narration (once I understood that Clare was from Virginia). I loved the setting (which reminded me of my grandparents' home in the Finger Lake region of upstate NY). However, I had some problems with Clare as the book progressed. She is new to winter in a northern climate but insists to herself for quite a long time that people's suggestions that, for example, her coat or her car is inappropriate for the area are about image rather than practicality so 'she'll show them'. She tells parishioners things she should be telling the police and she believes everything everyone tells her. Despite all that, I did like her and Russ's interactions and will read the next one. no reviews | add a review
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Fiction.
Mystery.
HTML: Clare Fergusson, St. Alban's new priest, fits like a square peg in the conservative Episcopal parish at Miller's Kill, New York. She is not just a ??lady?; she's a tough ex-Army chopper pilot, and nobody's fool. Then a newborn infant left at the church door brings her together with the town's police chief, Russ Van Alstyne, who's also ex-Army and a cynical good shepherd for the stray sheep of his hometown. Their search for the baby's mother quickly leads them into the secrets that shadow Miller's Kill like the ever-present Adirondacks. What they discover is a world of trouble, an attraction to each other ?? and murder No library descriptions found. |
LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumJulia Spencer-Fleming's book In the Bleak Midwinter was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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The mystery is decent, though not always good at disguising its red herrings, and the suspense scenes are top notch. The evocation of a wintry upstate New York is quite atmospheric, though not always nuanced - supporting characters are flat and dialogue is uneven (especially the teenagers', although as a contemporary of these kids, can report that she made a valiant effort).
A solid read, can definitely see myself picking up another of these novels.
P.S., I'm going to experiment with not rating books unless I really loved or really hated them. Let's see how this goes!