Welcome to Tea Time my Fellow Book Dragons! I do hope your weather was as lovely as it was here. There were a pair of Mockingbirds singing outside The Cave today. Lovely. Our Gem this evening is quite mysterious. At first glance it simply looks like a sequin from a young woman’s party dress, but hold it in your claws and close your eyes. You will see more. You see a figure coming towards you, offering you a ride in his car, you cannot see his face, for it is evening and he stays half in shadow. You have no way home and all the buses have gone. He has a nice car and you are sure you saw a friend laughing with him earlier. He does look familiar, doesn’t he? Open your eyes, your heart is beating a little faster and I see there is fear behind your eyes. It affected me the same way. This is Gem Maker Julia Spencer-Fleming’s “Hid From Our Eyes”.
What would you think if every 20 years or so, a young woman’s body was found dead on a certain road in your county. Exact same spot, exact same MO, exact same everything? And a cause of death could never be determined? And what if the second time this happened, you were the main suspect? And the third time it happened you were the County Sheriff?
This is the tale of Russ Van Alstyne and his lovely wife (and recovering addict/alcoholic) Episcopal Priest Clare Fergusson. This one is for feasting in small meals because you do not want to miss a thing. It made me pause to consider the evidence, the suspects, the people, the places. This one made my scales crawl at times. I loved it! Russ and Clare are extremely likeable, yet flawed. This is no happily ever after and all is perfect, all the time.
This couple works together as a unit, most of the time. Russ is also a man one wants to work for. He is determined to save his department from small town penny pinchers who see utilizing the State Police and doing away with the Town Police as a great alternative to save cash. And by the way, if your town is thinking of doing that, don’t. I have been there, it is never a good idea. But I digress, Russ and his deputies work hard. Are they all Sherlock Holmes or DCI Barnaby? Are they going to come in like Danny R. Smith’s Detective’s Jones and Tyler? No. But they know their jobs, their town and their people. They will get this job done.
If you love a good mystery with decent people in realistic settings, “Hid From Our Eyes” is definitely for you. Julia is a Master Storyteller and this was just released today and is everywhere in all media forms at very reasonable prices! Until tomorrow, I remain, your humble Book Dragon,
Drakon T. Longwitten
I received my copy of this book from #MinotaurBooks through a giveaway at #BookishFirst. My opinion is my own.
What would you think if every 20 years or so, a young woman’s body was found dead on a certain road in your county. Exact same spot, exact same MO, exact same everything? And a cause of death could never be determined? And what if the second time this happened, you were the main suspect? And the third time it happened you were the County Sheriff?
This is the tale of Russ Van Alstyne and his lovely wife (and recovering addict/alcoholic) Episcopal Priest Clare Fergusson. This one is for feasting in small meals because you do not want to miss a thing. It made me pause to consider the evidence, the suspects, the people, the places. This one made my scales crawl at times. I loved it! Russ and Clare are extremely likeable, yet flawed. This is no happily ever after and all is perfect, all the time.
This couple works together as a unit, most of the time. Russ is also a man one wants to work for. He is determined to save his department from small town penny pinchers who see utilizing the State Police and doing away with the Town Police as a great alternative to save cash. And by the way, if your town is thinking of doing that, don’t. I have been there, it is never a good idea. But I digress, Russ and his deputies work hard. Are they all Sherlock Holmes or DCI Barnaby? Are they going to come in like Danny R. Smith’s Detective’s Jones and Tyler? No. But they know their jobs, their town and their people. They will get this job done.
If you love a good mystery with decent people in realistic settings, “Hid From Our Eyes” is definitely for you. Julia is a Master Storyteller and this was just released today and is everywhere in all media forms at very reasonable prices! Until tomorrow, I remain, your humble Book Dragon,
Drakon T. Longwitten
I received my copy of this book from #MinotaurBooks through a giveaway at #BookishFirst. My opinion is my own.