Both delighted and disappointed

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I was more thrilled than I can say to win an advanced reader copy of Hid From Our Eyes. I struggled a bit with the rating. The story line, book concept (moving through time) and writing was definitely five star. As someone who has read all the previous books repeatedly, there were things missing that took it to three stars. I settled in the middle with four stars.

The mystery itself was fascinating - the same unsolved crime in three different time frames. This type of formatting a story is definitely a strong suit to Julia Spencer-Fleming's writing. It's never boring. I didn't figure anything out ahead of time and it kept my attention until the end.

So - what I liked. I liked getting to know the back story on some of the characters. I particularly enjoyed the tangled relationship between Jack Liddle and Russ' mom, Margy. I'm a sucker for December romances, so the hint of a future for them made me happy. I found myself laughing at the tentative Harlene. It wasn't how I would have pictured the outspoken, bossy woman we know and love. And, as I stated earlier, I loved the actual mystery and crime solving process.

What I didn't like. Probably the biggest thing that detracted from the book for me was the lack of the relationship that made the series as popular as it is. There was none of the fire and passion that made up Russ and Clare's story from the beginning. The few interactions were more of a token scene acknowledging that they were married. I'd have even taken a huge fight rather than the bland relationship portrayed in this book. A good sex scene would have been great. It makes you feel like marriage is the end of a fiery romance. Along with that, I missed some of the characters that I enjoy immensely - particularly Lois and Dr. Anne, both who bring a great deal of humor into the stories. Although I'm a Russ/Clare devotee much more than Hadley and Kevin, I was still disappointed to see absolutely no forward movement in their relationship. Finally, like many others, I'm not a fan of cliff hangers. This one had not one, not two, but three of them, which, consequently left my teeth on edge and will result in many prayers for a speedy completion of the next book.

So four stars it is. Julia Spencer-Fleming is an amazing writer. Because of that, we have fallen in love with the characters peopling these books. Any book that doesn't give us more of them is going to fall just a bit short of the five star review.