The long wait for Julia Spencer-Fleming’s newest Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery was worth it! Reading “Hid From Our Eyes” was like a visit home to catch up with good friends. I love these characters who inhabit Millers Kill. They are well developed, likable and oh-so-human, even as they struggle with the mysterious death of a young woman whose body is found just off a country road. Adding to the mystery is that this case is eerily similar to two other unsolved deaths in Millers Kill over a span of the past 60-plus years. Each body is found oddly dressed, there is no discernible cause of death and no suspects.
And then there is the every day stuff. For Clare Fergusson, an Episcopal priest, juggling her congregation with the demands of a new baby (fussy, fitful infant, spit-up on her priestly garb, baby food in her hair) is much more difficult than expected. Home is stressful, too. Not only is her husband, Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne, trying to solve the young woman’s death, but he is worried about an upcoming community vote that could dissolve the Millers Kill Police Department and turn over the town’s safety and security to the State Police. We meet new characters and catch up with old. Tough Hadley Knox, the newest officer on the MKPF, is still dealing with an abusive ex-husband who is determined to demean and threaten her in any way possible. Russ’s mother, Margy, is as independent as ever, but there may be changes ahead for her. Jack Liddle, who as chief of police hired Russ onto the Millers Kill police force in the early 1970s, is a new character. He and Margy were “just friends” in high school, but it’s clear their friendship could have been more.
This highly readable book ends with a lot of loose ends that, I think, will serve as storylines in future Clare Furgusson/Russ Van Alstyne mysteries. I’m already looking forward to them!
And then there is the every day stuff. For Clare Fergusson, an Episcopal priest, juggling her congregation with the demands of a new baby (fussy, fitful infant, spit-up on her priestly garb, baby food in her hair) is much more difficult than expected. Home is stressful, too. Not only is her husband, Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne, trying to solve the young woman’s death, but he is worried about an upcoming community vote that could dissolve the Millers Kill Police Department and turn over the town’s safety and security to the State Police. We meet new characters and catch up with old. Tough Hadley Knox, the newest officer on the MKPF, is still dealing with an abusive ex-husband who is determined to demean and threaten her in any way possible. Russ’s mother, Margy, is as independent as ever, but there may be changes ahead for her. Jack Liddle, who as chief of police hired Russ onto the Millers Kill police force in the early 1970s, is a new character. He and Margy were “just friends” in high school, but it’s clear their friendship could have been more.
This highly readable book ends with a lot of loose ends that, I think, will serve as storylines in future Clare Furgusson/Russ Van Alstyne mysteries. I’m already looking forward to them!