This fourth entry is my least favorite of the series. In fact at one point I seriously considered chucking it but I was afraid I might miss something that I would need to know in the next book. I think this might be the one that Melinda, the friend who introduced me to the series, said she didn’t finish.

The story has to do with a large piece of woodland property that will be bought by an environmentalist group in order to return it to its original “pristine” condition. Many jobs will be lost because there will be no more lumbering there and a family business in its third generation of ownership will be wiped out because there will be no pulp to make the paper that this business produces.

There was a mystery involving a missing girl at the very beginning of the story but I figured out the answer to that one very quickly and the author let every in on the answer before the middle of the book. After that it was more like a crime novel--except that it wasn't criminals who were committing the crimes—it was regular people who unintentionally cause the crime and then commit criminal acts to cover up. Notice--it's more than one! How many stupid people do we have to deal with in one story? The first one made sense--you knew he was stupid to begin with. The second one--too much already! The main story line wasn't that interesting and most of the characters (except for the continuing ones in the series) either weren’t interesting or they weren’t likable. However, I’m glad I finished it because I was right about needing to know some things for the next book and there were some moments in the denouement that were worth the schlog. My favorite part of this book was the poem she used that provided the title: “The Day Is Gently Sinking to a Close” by Christopher Wordsworth (1863). I will be looking for more of his poetry! ( )

n the predawn cold of a November morning, the Reverend Clare Fergusson is woken up by the Millers Kill, New York, search and rescue team, which is looking for a young woman presumed lost in the woods near her home. Little did Clare know that by the end of the day she and police chief Russ Van Alstyne would have dealt with deceit, death, desperation, and destruction.

To Darkness and to Death is the fourth in the Clare Fergusson–Russ Van Alstyne mystery series by Julia Spencer-Fleming. Like the previous novels, this one revolves around a greater social issue—here, it is the intersection among environmentalists, local businesses, and large industry. What's different in Darkness is that the entire book takes place in less than 24 hours.

Throughout the multilayered plot, we follow the men and women who are directly or peripherally affected by the changing economic situation in the small Adirondacks town. Emotions and money are the driving forces behind a variety of crimes from blackmail to murder. Can Clare and Russ discover what is accident and what is crime and if and how a group of seemingly unrelated events may be related?

Spencer-Fleming's series is a bit difficult to categorize. The ever-evolving relationship between Clare and Russ and each of their personal commitments to their separate lives are at the core of the books, making the novels lean toward the cozy. On the other hand the nature of the crimes and the investigations take the books away from the light and fun. The series is a good choice for readers looking for a solid mystery that's a bit on the hard side. To Darkness and to Death is not the strongest entry of the four I've read, but I can still recommend it.

I listened to the audio version read by Suzanne Toren, who does a nice job with Clare's soft southern accent and the sharper inflections of the Millers Kill natives.

Julia Spencer-Fleming has a website where you can learn more about the author and her books, including the back story of the series. ( )

Julia Spencer-Fleming’s To Darkness and to Death is the fourth novel in her top-rate mystery series featuring priest-sleuth Clare Fergusson. As with the prior three installments, Clare’s vocation as the priest at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Millers Kill, New York shapes her character but not the plot. Here, Clare gets involved in the disappearance of a young woman, not because Clare is a priest, but because she is called in as one of the volunteers on the search and rescue team.

Unlike the earlier books, Fleming experiments in this one with a 24-hour format. The action starts with a pre-dawn phone call summoning the search team to look for the missing Millie van der Hoeven, local heiress and co-owner of a 250,000 acre parcel of Adirondack forest. Things take off from there, with lots of moving pieces, including multiple kidnappings, assault, cover-ups, blackmail, shady dealings, murder and mayhem.

Throughout, the romantic current between Clare and the married Chief of Police, Russ van Alstyle, still hums. Probably because of the 24-hour format, the two do not spend a lot of time together on the pages, but they are always aware of each other and their relationship makes a significant step forward before the story wraps up.

This is more thriller than who-dun-it, with the pieces ultimately falling into place – or at least coming to rest – in a pretty exciting finale. For those who prefer analysis to action, clues to chaos, this lack of actual mystery solving will be a let down after the prior books. But it is still an engaging story and Spencer-Fleming is a gifted writer. She has a good thing going with this series, which she describes as “novels of faith and murder for readers of literary suspense.”

'Faith and murder' -- you've got to love that combination!

Also posted on Rose City Reader. ( )

I want to preface this "review" with the statement that I really like this series and I will probably continue to really enjoy this series. The "Forbidden" romance between the two protagonists grabs my interest and I can't wait to see how it plays out.

With that being said. Most of the way through this book, which is told from the view of almost all the characters present, I couldn't stop thinking this character is an idiot. There's about 4 of them that I just wanted to slap upside the head while asking them "What the $*%^ are you thinking?"

Upon typing that I guess it's not such a bad review if the characters made me feel something even if it was just feeling that an act of violence against them would be a good thing.

The basic story line is Millie van der Hoeven is reported missing on the day the she is supposed to sign the papers selling her family estate to a "nature conservancy". From there the author takes us on the individual adventures of all the characters that are affected by this land deal. The owner of a local logging business (Ed Castle) that doesn't like the fact his daughter was the one who put him out of business. The owner of the local paper mill (Shaun Reid) who goes to extreme measures to make sure that he retains ownership of his business. A local logger-loser (Randy Schoof) who just wants to make a living even if it means stealing. And all the people connected to them.

By the end of the story we have 3 kidnappings (sort-of), 2 murders, 1 killing in self-defense, and an assault. Not to shabby.

4th in the Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series.

An heiress who has decided to sell her large estate to a conservancy group suddenly goes missing on the morning of the finalization of the sale. Clare, as someone who has signed up with a search-and rescue team, is called early in the morning to assist in the search. Not a good time, since this is the day of the bishop’s annual visit, and Clare is in more than enough trouble because of some of her past actions. Also, inevitably, she will be working with Russ, adding more stress as the two continue to struggle with their attraction to one another.

This is by far the best in a really exciting series. The writing continues to intrigue me—it’s not world-beating, but it seems perfect for the characters and the locale. The plot is excellent—nice twists and a page-turning denouement. Good characterizations throughout—very believable and they act in a believable manner as well. Russ and Clare are caught, throughout the book, in their dilemma. But even that takes an unusual twist. Relationships such as theirs tend to stall in a series as many authors have a hard time figuring out what, if any, resolution to take up. But Spencer-Fleming has added an interesting development, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it all works out.

Highly recommended. ( )