On This Page
Description
In the searing conclusion to All Mortal Flesh, Russ's balance between duty and desire was broken by his wife's tragic death. Now, Russ and Episcopal priest Clare Fergusson are separated by a wall of guilt and grief. When a Mexican farmhand stumbles over a Latino man killed with a single shot to the back of his head, Clare is drawn into the investigation. The discovery of two more bodies ignites fears that a serial killer is loose in the rural town and Russ is plagued by the media hysteria, show more conflict within the police department, and a series of baffling assaults. Throughout the escalating tensions, he and Clare find themselves seeking each other out even as they intend to keep distant.. show less
Tags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
After having avoided this series for so long due to the massive hype the very first book received, I now have the extremely pleasant task of playing catch-up. After so much avoidance, Julia Spencer-Fleming's series is now one of my favorites, and it has everything to do with the main characters, Russ Van Alstyne and Clare Fergusson. In showing how two very moral people try so hard always to do the right thing yet find themselves sliding down the slippery slope, the author shows readers that no one is exempt from temptation, and that-- even though it's not easy-- people still need to do what's right.
One of the ways she shows that doing what's right is sometimes not easy at all is the predicament in which Van Alstyne's sister finds show more herself embroiled. She and her husband are dairy farmers and have increased both the size of their land and the size of their herds. The only help they can afford are migrant workers, and they want legal workers with all their paperwork in order. Spencer-Fleming's handling of this entire subplot is sensitively done and well told.
As a matter of fact, quite a bit of the action in I Shall Not Want involves people who are trying their utmost to better themselves and their families-- and not finding it at all easy. Hadley Knox is a prime example of this. She's had a hard life dealing with a succession of low-paying jobs and an abusive husband. Now she and her children are back in Millers Kill, and she's the rookie cop. Hadley took the job not so much because she thought she would make a good police officer but because she desperately needs the money for her children.
Spencer-Fleming knows how to stretch readers' nerves to the breaking point with tense situations; she knows how to make readers' eyes well up with tears; and she also knows how to defuse tension with well-placed (and laugh-out-loud funny) bits of humor. All this is evident in I Shall Not Want. She also did something else that I felt was brilliant. The book begins with Hadley Knox, the rookie, involved in a shoot-out. We see the entire scene through her inexperienced and terrified eyes. At the end of the book, we're taken back to this very same scene, this time from the point of view of the veteran cop, Russ Van Alstyne. It's an amazing piece of writing that I will remember for a long time.
I have two more to go before I'm caught up with this series. After closing the book on this one, I immediately wanted to pick up the next, but I will restrain myself. Better to pace these gems out at intervals rather than gulp them all down at once. show less
One of the ways she shows that doing what's right is sometimes not easy at all is the predicament in which Van Alstyne's sister finds show more herself embroiled. She and her husband are dairy farmers and have increased both the size of their land and the size of their herds. The only help they can afford are migrant workers, and they want legal workers with all their paperwork in order. Spencer-Fleming's handling of this entire subplot is sensitively done and well told.
As a matter of fact, quite a bit of the action in I Shall Not Want involves people who are trying their utmost to better themselves and their families-- and not finding it at all easy. Hadley Knox is a prime example of this. She's had a hard life dealing with a succession of low-paying jobs and an abusive husband. Now she and her children are back in Millers Kill, and she's the rookie cop. Hadley took the job not so much because she thought she would make a good police officer but because she desperately needs the money for her children.
Spencer-Fleming knows how to stretch readers' nerves to the breaking point with tense situations; she knows how to make readers' eyes well up with tears; and she also knows how to defuse tension with well-placed (and laugh-out-loud funny) bits of humor. All this is evident in I Shall Not Want. She also did something else that I felt was brilliant. The book begins with Hadley Knox, the rookie, involved in a shoot-out. We see the entire scene through her inexperienced and terrified eyes. At the end of the book, we're taken back to this very same scene, this time from the point of view of the veteran cop, Russ Van Alstyne. It's an amazing piece of writing that I will remember for a long time.
I have two more to go before I'm caught up with this series. After closing the book on this one, I immediately wanted to pick up the next, but I will restrain myself. Better to pace these gems out at intervals rather than gulp them all down at once. show less
The author's web page calls this series "Novels of faith and murder for readers of literary suspense." This one is all that and more. In this the sixth one in her series, Julia Spencer-Fleming gives us more of two of my favorite characters: Clare, the episcopal priest/Army National Guard helo pilot, and Russ - the recently widowed Chief of police/retired Army MP. In this episode Clare becomes involved with Sr. Lucia, a nun who is sponsoring an outreach to migrant Mexican farm workers who have come to the area to work on the dairy farms (one of which belongs to Russ' sister Janet and her husband). When Sr. Lucia's van is shot at and crashes, several of the migrants who were passengers run into the woods, and Russ and Clare begin a search show more for them to be sure no one is hurt. When the discovery of the first body is followed by several more, the story escalates into a full-blown mystery thriller with many suspects (is there a serial killer hiding somewhere?), some of whom are really nasty characters. All the while, life goes on in Miller's Kill. Clare has to placate her vestry, her new deacon, and her bishop. The police force has to deal with auto accidents, domestic violence complaints, and fraternization. Russ has to figure out if (at 50 years old) he really wants to go on living with his mother.
Fans of the series know that is not all there is. Clare and Russ have been romantically attracted to each other all along, but until the death of his wife in the previous book, they've managed not to act on the attraction. Now as they are try to recover from the events of the previous winter and their individual feelings of guilt, they still are uncertain whether they can or should trust themselves and their feelings as they go forward. I think it is almost impossible to understand this one unless you read at least #5, All Mortal Flesh, first. The series is truly best when read in order, something I've just completed since this spring.
The romance is strong, convincing, funny and but respectful. In addition to Clare and Russ, Spencer-Fleming introduces a new romantic couple - Hadley Knox, a 32 year old divorcee with 2 kids, and Kevin Flynn, a 24 year old innocent - the two youngest police officers on the force. Their relationship is touching, funny, and leaves us hopeful that they will be able to work out their differences, and that Hadley will decide to stay with the police force.
SLIGHT SPOILER ahead: In the end of this one, after the crimes are solved, Clare's National Guard Unit is called up (she receives the call on Christmas night) to go to Iraq for a year. She has only two weeks to get ready to leave.
The Christmas night love scene in the rectory is positively one of the most erotic I have ever read.
There is not a single word which doesn't fit. JSF sets a tone of reverence, love, longing, hope, forgiveness and pure joy that leaves the reader panting for more as Clare and Russ finally come together only to face being apart for a year. It is not sultry or salacious, but beautifully portrayed, with just a touch of self- deprecating humor sneaking in.
The next book (#7: One was a Soldier) has had publication delayed until April 2011. It will be my Lenten penance to have to wait that long. But if you haven't read the series, then you have time to get them, read them in order, and luxuriate in a great series of mysteries, make friends with the inhabitants of Millers Kill, and get reading for the adventure of spring 2011. show less
Fans of the series know that is not all there is. Clare and Russ have been romantically attracted to each other all along, but until the death of his wife in the previous book, they've managed not to act on the attraction. Now as they are try to recover from the events of the previous winter and their individual feelings of guilt, they still are uncertain whether they can or should trust themselves and their feelings as they go forward. I think it is almost impossible to understand this one unless you read at least #5, All Mortal Flesh, first. The series is truly best when read in order, something I've just completed since this spring.
The romance is strong, convincing, funny and but respectful. In addition to Clare and Russ, Spencer-Fleming introduces a new romantic couple - Hadley Knox, a 32 year old divorcee with 2 kids, and Kevin Flynn, a 24 year old innocent - the two youngest police officers on the force. Their relationship is touching, funny, and leaves us hopeful that they will be able to work out their differences, and that Hadley will decide to stay with the police force.
SLIGHT SPOILER ahead: In the end of this one, after the crimes are solved, Clare's National Guard Unit is called up (she receives the call on Christmas night) to go to Iraq for a year. She has only two weeks to get ready to leave.
The Christmas night love scene in the rectory is positively one of the most erotic I have ever read.
There is not a single word which doesn't fit. JSF sets a tone of reverence, love, longing, hope, forgiveness and pure joy that leaves the reader panting for more as Clare and Russ finally come together only to face being apart for a year. It is not sultry or salacious, but beautifully portrayed, with just a touch of self- deprecating humor sneaking in.
The next book (#7: One was a Soldier) has had publication delayed until April 2011. It will be my Lenten penance to have to wait that long. But if you haven't read the series, then you have time to get them, read them in order, and luxuriate in a great series of mysteries, make friends with the inhabitants of Millers Kill, and get reading for the adventure of spring 2011. show less
For me, this series has become the place that I go when I need something to read that I know I will enjoy from the first page.
I think Julia Spencer-Fleming has achieved something remarkable with these books. It's rare to find a writer who can produce strong characters AND a strong sense of place AND a good plot AND make each book in the series better than the last.
There are books that I enjoy because they're clever or well-written or innovative or they make me think.
Then there are books like this one, that I breathe in like mountain air in the morning. That I lose myself in completely. Where the people matter to me and the story holds me. Where my wife will ask why I'm smiling as I read and where I try not to cry in public. These are show more the books that sing the song of my heart.
'I Shall Not Want' starts with an action scene. Not the kind where a kickass hero struts his stuff but the kind where the good guy is filled with fear and asking whether $12 hour plus benefits is a good enough reason to get shot at when she has kids at home who depend on her. The action is intense. The outcome is potentially tragic.
And that's just the prologue.
Going from a standing start to complete absorption in a few pages is one of the things that Julia Spencer-Fleming is good at. She also knows how to keep the series fresh. The character under fire in the opening scene is a woman police officer I don't know yet I'm immediately in her head and at the same time wondering what her back story is. The officer's story showed me how the characters I've grown to know over the previous five books would look to an outsider. Linking the officer both to the Police Chief who hires her and to the Priest whose church employs the officer's grandfather as a sextant, provides a link between the worlds of the two main characters even when, for much of the book, they're not willing to talk to one another.
Another way that Julia Spencer-Fleming keeps the series fresh is by pulling in contemporary topics that affect life in rural New York. This time the story pivots around the use of foreign, sometimes undocumented migrant labour on the farms, the relationship between a wealthy-three-generations-ago-but-now-bordering-on-white-trash family and the drugs trade and a tragedy that starts with a well-intentioned lie about identity.
Yet the main pull of the series remains the relationship between Claire, the Episcopalian priest who has now also re-upped into the National Guard as the helicopter pilot she was before her vocation called her and Russ, the recently violently-widowed, deeply guilt-ridden Chief of Police. This could so easily be one of those cosy-but-clichéd relationships that some romance series are built on, but it isn't. Julia Spencer-Fleming has built two very strong-willed characters, tightly bound by their personal ethical codes, granted them a sometimes overwhelming level of mutual attraction and respect and then has done terrible things to them and the people around them that make it impossible for them simply to be together. And she's done it in a way that doesn't feel forced or TV-Soap-contrived but which is a product of who these two people are and the environment that they're living in.
I like that Claire and Russ aren't the only strong characters in this book. The people around them feel real and large parts of the book are spent on their challenges and hopes.
So, six books in and this series continues to delight and even manages to surprise me. What more could I ask?
Well… book seven of course. show less
This is the sixth book in the Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series of mysteries. I have been reading them back-to-back and can't imagine how it would be to have to wait a year or five or eight for the next book to come out. They are extremely compelling stories both as mysteries and as an exploration of mature love.
Russ and Clare haven't spoken for a while. After his wife's death in a car accident, Russ is feeling too guilty that he chose to help Clare rather than go with his wife during the snowstorm. Clare is feeling both hurt and abandoned and is throwing herself into her church work. She has also, with the advice of her bishop, reupped in the military by joining the National Guard as a helicopter pilot.
When Clare attends an show more ecumenical gathering, she meets Sister Lucia who is very involved with the Hispanic workers who are filling jobs on many of the farms in the area. Clare didn't even know there were Hispanic workers around. She offers to help. Then she gets a phone call from Sister Lucia telling her she was in a car accident while transporting workers and goes to see how she can help. The accident also brings Russ to the scene. The workers have scattered leading him to believe that they were undocumented. He also learns that his sister and brother-in-law have hired the workers to help with their newly expanded dairy operation.
Then a body is found near the farm and it looks like he was killed execution-style. Two more bodies are found at the scene of a big church picnic and they were also murdered. A murder investigation isn't what new officer Hadley Knox was expecting. She came home with her kids to stay with her grandfather who is the sexton of Clare's church. She came home broke and needs the job but she isn't sure police work is really her calling.
This story includes undocumented workers and drug running from the nearby larger cities. It is a fast-paced, tension filled story. The tension between Russ and Clare is nonstop as they are both dealing with grief and guilt but also with love for each other. I couldn't put it down. show less
Russ and Clare haven't spoken for a while. After his wife's death in a car accident, Russ is feeling too guilty that he chose to help Clare rather than go with his wife during the snowstorm. Clare is feeling both hurt and abandoned and is throwing herself into her church work. She has also, with the advice of her bishop, reupped in the military by joining the National Guard as a helicopter pilot.
When Clare attends an show more ecumenical gathering, she meets Sister Lucia who is very involved with the Hispanic workers who are filling jobs on many of the farms in the area. Clare didn't even know there were Hispanic workers around. She offers to help. Then she gets a phone call from Sister Lucia telling her she was in a car accident while transporting workers and goes to see how she can help. The accident also brings Russ to the scene. The workers have scattered leading him to believe that they were undocumented. He also learns that his sister and brother-in-law have hired the workers to help with their newly expanded dairy operation.
Then a body is found near the farm and it looks like he was killed execution-style. Two more bodies are found at the scene of a big church picnic and they were also murdered. A murder investigation isn't what new officer Hadley Knox was expecting. She came home with her kids to stay with her grandfather who is the sexton of Clare's church. She came home broke and needs the job but she isn't sure police work is really her calling.
This story includes undocumented workers and drug running from the nearby larger cities. It is a fast-paced, tension filled story. The tension between Russ and Clare is nonstop as they are both dealing with grief and guilt but also with love for each other. I couldn't put it down. show less
Like each book that preceded it, the sixth book in the Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series deals with a social issue. In I Shall Not Want, the mystery revolves around undocumented immigrants who work almost unobserved on farms near Millers Kill, NY. When three men are found dead just a few weeks apart, the police begin to suspect a serial killer. Their prime suspects are members of the Christie family, prosperous farmers who also happen to be semi-literate thugs. This book also introduces Hadley Knox, a single mother who returns to Millers Kill after a long absence, and uses her experience working in Corrections to land a job with the police.
At first Clare, an Episcopal priest, works hard to keep a healthy distance between show more herself and Russ, the police chief. Their growing feelings for one another have caused a lot of problems in the past, both in Russ' marriage and Clare's standing with her bishop. But you know where this is going, right? Clare's pastoral duties compel her to get involved in social concerns, and there are various community issues on the fringes that cause her to be on the scene at key moments. So before you know it she's up to her ears in the case, and running into Russ at every turn.
This time, the characters and their relationships actually upstage the mystery. But that was just fine with me. I was cheering for Hadley as she struggled to show credibility as a police officer, and create a stable home environment for herself and her children. I had tremendous sympathy for Russ, who was coping with a tragedy. And despite it being wrong on so many levels, I really wanted Clare and Russ to bridge the distance between them.
Julia Spencer-Fleming is superb at character development. After six books, I feel like I know these people. My emotions were genuine, even though I knew none of the people were real. And although this particular mystery wasn't as complex as those in earlier books, it was realistic, and had just enough twists to keep me guessing.
Of course I'm not going to tell you how it all works out. But I'll say this: the ending was so satisfying for the characters that I'm tempted not to read the next book, just so I can leave them all right there. show less
At first Clare, an Episcopal priest, works hard to keep a healthy distance between show more herself and Russ, the police chief. Their growing feelings for one another have caused a lot of problems in the past, both in Russ' marriage and Clare's standing with her bishop. But you know where this is going, right? Clare's pastoral duties compel her to get involved in social concerns, and there are various community issues on the fringes that cause her to be on the scene at key moments. So before you know it she's up to her ears in the case, and running into Russ at every turn.
This time, the characters and their relationships actually upstage the mystery. But that was just fine with me. I was cheering for Hadley as she struggled to show credibility as a police officer, and create a stable home environment for herself and her children. I had tremendous sympathy for Russ, who was coping with a tragedy. And despite it being wrong on so many levels, I really wanted Clare and Russ to bridge the distance between them.
Julia Spencer-Fleming is superb at character development. After six books, I feel like I know these people. My emotions were genuine, even though I knew none of the people were real. And although this particular mystery wasn't as complex as those in earlier books, it was realistic, and had just enough twists to keep me guessing.
Of course I'm not going to tell you how it all works out. But I'll say this: the ending was so satisfying for the characters that I'm tempted not to read the next book, just so I can leave them all right there. show less
My collection of this very enjoyable and unusual series ends here for the time being. I read "One was a Soldier" some time ago, but was left with uncomfortable feelings. I felt as though Clare had betrayed her priestly calling by joining up again. Yes, I know she has killed a youth with a cattle stunner and beaten someone over the head with a cross in self-defence....! and I know she was a crack helicopter pilot and misses that, and the author has an army background herself. Though the opposite view is very clearly and sympathetically put forward in the person of Russ's mother, who knows very well it is all about "guns for oil" and passionately opposed her son's tour in Vietnam.
Somehow I can't reconcile Clare's very real moments of show more prayer and true priesthood with her legalised violence as a soldier, and her apparent character change or regression on coming home. What would Jesus do? Eh?
I detest British imperialism and jingoism as much as American. I wept when the Twin Towers were destroyed (and attended a memorial service in my local cathedral where a Muslim academic read from the Koran, and we sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic). But it is really about oil; no one would bother otherwise. And it fuels Islamophobia.
William Blake put it best: "Naught can deform the human race/Like to the armour's iron brace". show less
Somehow I can't reconcile Clare's very real moments of show more prayer and true priesthood with her legalised violence as a soldier, and her apparent character change or regression on coming home. What would Jesus do? Eh?
I detest British imperialism and jingoism as much as American. I wept when the Twin Towers were destroyed (and attended a memorial service in my local cathedral where a Muslim academic read from the Koran, and we sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic). But it is really about oil; no one would bother otherwise. And it fuels Islamophobia.
William Blake put it best: "Naught can deform the human race/Like to the armour's iron brace". show less
I Shall Not Want, the sixth book in Julia Spencer-Fleming’s Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series, will be published on June 10, 2008. This is an advance review. It is difficult to write this with no spoilers, especially since fans of the series are eager to know what becomes of the two main characters. I think I can safely say, though, that there are no revealing spoilers in this review.
When the advance reader’s copy of I Shall Not Want arrived in my mailbox, I literally dropped everything and started reading. I had read-- and loved--the previous five books in Julia Spencer-Fleming’s Rev. Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mystery series, and for many months I had been waiting eagerly for the next installment.
The series is show more set in the small Adirondack town of Millers Kill, New York, which is located north of Albany, and near the city of Glens Falls. Clare Fergusson, an Episcopal priest, former Army helicopter pilot, and recently-joined member of the Army National Guard, is the first woman rector of St. Alban’s Church. Clare is wonderful. Though she often has doubts about her ability to be a good priest, she is adamant in her defense of those who need help and protection, and works hard to persuade her conservative church vestry (like a board of directors) to approve her progressive outreach ideas. She also has a tendency to get involved with solving local crimes through her advocacy for the families affected, and as the series develops she has come to be close friends with the town’s police chief, Russ Van Alstyne. As a result of her often newsworthy activities, as well as her open friendship with a married man, Rev. Clare’s bishop has assigned a deacon to St. Alban’s to keep an eye on her, and regularly sends his “hatchet man”, Father Aberforth, to counsel and rein in the liberal and outspoken Clare.
The author’s vivid characterizations make the citizens of Millers Kill seem like living, breathing people, and this is especially true of Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne. Both are in a position to see life at its most difficult and tragic, and both have a deep commitment to serve and protect people. While Clare and Russ are undoubtedly persons of authority, their understanding, acceptance, and respect of others, their sense of humor, and their kindness and generosity, make them popular in Millers Kill. These traits also draw them together.
The traumatic events of the fifth book in the series, All Mortal Flesh, have caused a rift between Clare and Russ. In I Shall Not Want, their undeniable attraction and need for each other, as well as their anguish following the events of the previous year, are carefully and poignantly explored.
Early in the book, Clare meets Sister Lucia, who is trying to enlist ecumenical support for migrant Latino workers employed as laborers on local farms--some illegally. The elderly nun’s mission is to provide the migrant workers with support services. When Sister Lucia and one of the Latino men she is trying to help are injured in an accident, Clare steps in to arrange a job and housing for the young man to protect his immigration status until his injuries heal and he can undertake farm work. But when a Latino man is found murdered, and then two others, the situation quickly becomes a nightmare for Clare, the Latino workers and their employers, and the Millers Kill police department.
The opening chapter presents the climactic event of the book, an armed hostage situation involving women, children, and Millers Kill’s brand new police officer, a young woman who has not yet completed her basic police training. The author then steps back 6 months to trace the developments that lead to this event, and later returns to it and its aftermath at the end. This is an interesting narrative structure; it gives the reader the bare-bones facts of what is going to happen through the eyes of the series’ newest character, and then gradually fills in the background and how the unfolding events affect those involved. All the while, the reader knows that something terrible will happen, and the tension of waiting to find out how the story ends gives added suspense to the narrative.
As she has done in previous books, the author skillfully draws the reader into the point of view of several different characters. This technique offers the reader an intimate understanding of the characters’ thoughts and actions. By providing the reader the benefit of several points of view, the author also presents a more realistic, three-dimensional view of the events that shape the story. The reader sees the action through the eyes of rookie officer Hadley Knox; the shy young officer Kevin Flynn who is determined to impress Chief Van Alstyne and to follow in his footsteps; a young Latino worker who has endangered his own safety by giving his immigration papers to his younger brother; and, of course, Clare and Russ. As events spin out of control, the relationships between Clare and Russ, Kevin Flynn and the attractive new officer, and the young migrant worker and a helpless young woman at the mercy of her threatening and abusive brothers, are explored.
In all of the books in the series, Clare works to unite people for the benefit of the community, just as Russ’s leadership of the police department focuses on teamwork and looking after each other and the residents of their small town. In the same spirit, Julia Spencer-Fleming examines the dynamics of interpersonal relationships with an understanding of every person’s unique value and contribution to the lives of their families and their community, but also with the recognition that each has vulnerabilities and often needs to trust others to support them through difficult times. While Clare’s religious faith lends moral authority, and Russ’s faith in the possibility of justice and decency shape these novels, they are not about religion and law and order so much as they are about faith in the fundamental goodness and interdependence of people, and the redeeming power of love.
I recommend I Shall Not Want very highly. Anyone who has not read the previous books in the series, though, would do well to begin with the first book, In the Bleak Midwinter, in order to appreciate the full impact of the events of this most recent book. Julia Spencer-Fleming deserves high praise for this well-plotted, suspenseful mystery, but--perhaps even more--for her penetrating and humanistic examination of the public and private lives of the citizens of Millers Kill. show less
When the advance reader’s copy of I Shall Not Want arrived in my mailbox, I literally dropped everything and started reading. I had read-- and loved--the previous five books in Julia Spencer-Fleming’s Rev. Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mystery series, and for many months I had been waiting eagerly for the next installment.
The series is show more set in the small Adirondack town of Millers Kill, New York, which is located north of Albany, and near the city of Glens Falls. Clare Fergusson, an Episcopal priest, former Army helicopter pilot, and recently-joined member of the Army National Guard, is the first woman rector of St. Alban’s Church. Clare is wonderful. Though she often has doubts about her ability to be a good priest, she is adamant in her defense of those who need help and protection, and works hard to persuade her conservative church vestry (like a board of directors) to approve her progressive outreach ideas. She also has a tendency to get involved with solving local crimes through her advocacy for the families affected, and as the series develops she has come to be close friends with the town’s police chief, Russ Van Alstyne. As a result of her often newsworthy activities, as well as her open friendship with a married man, Rev. Clare’s bishop has assigned a deacon to St. Alban’s to keep an eye on her, and regularly sends his “hatchet man”, Father Aberforth, to counsel and rein in the liberal and outspoken Clare.
The author’s vivid characterizations make the citizens of Millers Kill seem like living, breathing people, and this is especially true of Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne. Both are in a position to see life at its most difficult and tragic, and both have a deep commitment to serve and protect people. While Clare and Russ are undoubtedly persons of authority, their understanding, acceptance, and respect of others, their sense of humor, and their kindness and generosity, make them popular in Millers Kill. These traits also draw them together.
The traumatic events of the fifth book in the series, All Mortal Flesh, have caused a rift between Clare and Russ. In I Shall Not Want, their undeniable attraction and need for each other, as well as their anguish following the events of the previous year, are carefully and poignantly explored.
Early in the book, Clare meets Sister Lucia, who is trying to enlist ecumenical support for migrant Latino workers employed as laborers on local farms--some illegally. The elderly nun’s mission is to provide the migrant workers with support services. When Sister Lucia and one of the Latino men she is trying to help are injured in an accident, Clare steps in to arrange a job and housing for the young man to protect his immigration status until his injuries heal and he can undertake farm work. But when a Latino man is found murdered, and then two others, the situation quickly becomes a nightmare for Clare, the Latino workers and their employers, and the Millers Kill police department.
The opening chapter presents the climactic event of the book, an armed hostage situation involving women, children, and Millers Kill’s brand new police officer, a young woman who has not yet completed her basic police training. The author then steps back 6 months to trace the developments that lead to this event, and later returns to it and its aftermath at the end. This is an interesting narrative structure; it gives the reader the bare-bones facts of what is going to happen through the eyes of the series’ newest character, and then gradually fills in the background and how the unfolding events affect those involved. All the while, the reader knows that something terrible will happen, and the tension of waiting to find out how the story ends gives added suspense to the narrative.
As she has done in previous books, the author skillfully draws the reader into the point of view of several different characters. This technique offers the reader an intimate understanding of the characters’ thoughts and actions. By providing the reader the benefit of several points of view, the author also presents a more realistic, three-dimensional view of the events that shape the story. The reader sees the action through the eyes of rookie officer Hadley Knox; the shy young officer Kevin Flynn who is determined to impress Chief Van Alstyne and to follow in his footsteps; a young Latino worker who has endangered his own safety by giving his immigration papers to his younger brother; and, of course, Clare and Russ. As events spin out of control, the relationships between Clare and Russ, Kevin Flynn and the attractive new officer, and the young migrant worker and a helpless young woman at the mercy of her threatening and abusive brothers, are explored.
In all of the books in the series, Clare works to unite people for the benefit of the community, just as Russ’s leadership of the police department focuses on teamwork and looking after each other and the residents of their small town. In the same spirit, Julia Spencer-Fleming examines the dynamics of interpersonal relationships with an understanding of every person’s unique value and contribution to the lives of their families and their community, but also with the recognition that each has vulnerabilities and often needs to trust others to support them through difficult times. While Clare’s religious faith lends moral authority, and Russ’s faith in the possibility of justice and decency shape these novels, they are not about religion and law and order so much as they are about faith in the fundamental goodness and interdependence of people, and the redeeming power of love.
I recommend I Shall Not Want very highly. Anyone who has not read the previous books in the series, though, would do well to begin with the first book, In the Bleak Midwinter, in order to appreciate the full impact of the events of this most recent book. Julia Spencer-Fleming deserves high praise for this well-plotted, suspenseful mystery, but--perhaps even more--for her penetrating and humanistic examination of the public and private lives of the citizens of Millers Kill. show less
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Books Read in 2015
3,299 works; 127 members
Crime-Solving Clerics
57 works; 3 members
Books Read in 2018
4,360 works; 110 members
Author Information
17+ Works 7,451 Members
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Awards
Series
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- I Shall Not Want
- Original title
- I Shall Not Want
- Original publication date
- 2008
- People/Characters
- Clare Fergusson (Reverend); Russ Van Alstyne; Margy Van Alstyne; Janet McGeoch; Mike McGeoch; Hadley Knox (show all 13); Lyle MacAuley; Kevin Flynn; Harlene Lendrum; Eric McCrea; Isobel Christie; Amado Esfuentes; Elizabeth de Groot (Reverend)
- Important places
- Adirondack Mountains, New York, USA; Miller's Kill, New York, USA; New York, USA; USA
- Epigraph
- My Shepherd will supply my need,
Jehovah is his Name;
In pastures fresh he makes me feed
Beside the living stream.
He brings my wandering spirit back
When I forsake his ways,
And leads me, for his mercy's sa... (show all)ke,
In paths of truth and grace.
When I walk through the shades of death,
Thy presence is my stay;
One word of thy supporting breath
Drives all my fears away.
Thy hand, in sight of all my foes,
Doth still my table spread;
My cup with blessings overflows,
Thy oil anoints my head.
The sure provision of my God
Attend me all my days;
Oh, may thy house be mine abode
And all my work be praise.
There would I find a settled rest,
While others go and come;
No more a stranger or a guest,
But like a child at home.
--Isaac Watts (1674-1748) paraphrase of Psalm 23,
The Hymnal, 1982, The Church Pension Fund - Dedication
- To the librarians and libraries who have taught me, shaped me, befriended me, and recommended me, including: (there follows a long list of libraries)
- First words
- When she saw the glint of the revolver barrel through the broken glass in the window, Hadley Knox thought, I'm going to die for sixteen bucks an hour.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)A long, long year to go.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 731
- Popularity
- 38,564
- Reviews
- 35
- Rating
- (4.20)
- Languages
- English, German
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 12
- ASINs
- 8
