Well worth waiting for

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Readers of the Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series will not be disappointed in this ninth installment, and new readers should be intrigued enough to seek out the first book in the series, In the Bleak Midwinter, where Russ and Clare's story began.

In Hid from Our Eyes, the discovery of a young woman's body with no obvious signs of trauma brings local police chief Russ back to 1972, when a similar crime was committed and he was the chief suspect. It also echoes the discovery of another young woman's body under similar circumstances in 1952. Russ and his small department work diligently to solve all three of the crimes, while also juggling political pressure which threatens to disband the department and place local policing under the jurisdiction of the state police.

Meanwhile, Clare is juggling new motherhood and her duties as priest at the local Episcopal church, and also working through her past struggles with alcohol. As the novel shifts from 1952 to 1972 to the present, the tension builds and the plot twists. As always, Russ and Clare are a formidable team, in the face of pressure from all sides. Several bits of foreshadowing hint that this may not be the end of Russ and Clare's story.

One of the many strengths of this series is the the realistically-flawed main characters and multi-dimensional secondary characters. For readers familiar with the series, it's like visiting old friends. Readers waited 6 years for this latest chapter in Russ and Clare's story, but it was truly worth the wait. Even after 432 pages, I wished the story would go on and on.