🚓🚨🔬 "Hid From Our Eyes" 🔬🚨🚓 (2020) - Book Review

MY REVIEW

Series: Fergusson/Van Alstyne Mysteries (Book 9)

Hardcover: 352 pages

Publisher: Minotaur Books (April 7, 2020)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0312606850

ISBN-13: 978-0312606855

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“1952. Millers Kill Police Chief Harry McNeil is called to a crime scene where a woman in a party dress has been murdered with no obvious cause of death.

1972. Millers Kill Police Chief Jack Liddle is called to a murder scene of a woman that's very similar to one he worked as a trooper in the 50s. The only difference is this time, they have a suspect. Young Vietnam War veteran Russ van Alstyne found the body while riding his motorcycle and is quickly pegged as the prime focus of the investigation.

Present-day. Millers Kill Police Chief Russ van Alstyne gets a 911 call that a young woman has been found dead in a party dress, the same MO as the crime he was accused of in the 70s. The pressure is on for Russ to solve the murder before he's removed from the case.

Russ will enlist the help of his police squad and Reverend Clare Fergusson, who is already juggling the tasks of being a new mother to her and Russ's baby and running St. Alban's Church, to finally solve these crimes.”

Thank you in advance to the publisher, Minotaur Books, and BookishFirst for providing an advanced review copy. A positive review was not required. All words and thoughts are my own.

This is the first novel by Julia Spencer-Fleming I’ve read.

When I saw it on BookishFirst, I HAD to use my points to redeem for it. The premise grabbed me – three similar murders about 20+ years apart. As of note, the timeline in this novel has “present day” about 2006. Russ makes a comment about it being 34 years since the last one.

Content warnings will include: references to Tea Party, racism, white supremacists, drug and alcohol use, along with post-partum issues. None of this really seemed to be part of the main plot. 

The reason this novel took the author seven (7) years to write was due to personal reasons. She had decided to pause writing it due to family obligations with her son in August 2016.

About a month later, her husband was diagnosed with cancer and died in September 2017. So, readers do need to take this into consideration when trying to get into this novel after a seven (7) year hiatus.

This is #9 in the Fergusson/Van Alstyne mysteries. It works as a standalone read, though I am sure readers will get more out of it if they have read the series. I had not read any prior to this novel.

This time, Clare and Russ are married with an infant son. Russ is facing the dissolution of the police department because some feel it isn’t needed, while Clare is facing some personal demons despite being a reverend.

The cases in 1952 and 1972 could be connected as well as the 1972 and current day. But, there is no way the 1952 and the current day case can be connected given the 54 year difference.

However, Russ was a person of interest in the 1972. He was never charged, but still remained of interest.

This is told in all three times; written in quick, short chapters making this a nearly non-stop read. The ARC was 423 pages and I was able to get through it in about a day.

Despite the pacing, this was hard to get through and I did feel bogged down in parts. I felt like it was a clear struggle to read.

It seems like the police are never going to catch a break. Lead after lead seems to fizzle out – frustrating the police and the reader. As much as I can keep up with multi-part and multi-plot stories, this was a bit of a stretch for me.

Carnies, communes, and even rich people are not safe from suspicion in this multi-generational murder mystery.

In addition to the problems with the case; there is a matter of a lawsuit against the police department, a current officer, and a former officer. While this is interesting and I am sure it is setting up the events in the next novel (from the way this goes, it looks like there will be a #10) … it does cloud the current story a bit.

Clare’s situation is overwhelming – her work as a reverend, her son, and also battling addiction. She gets an interesting intern that can’t seem to find placing within the church – a transgender woman, Joni. And, Joni has a connection to the case, the current one and the 1972 one as well.

Throughout the story; things bounce back and forth between keeping the police department, the 1952 investigation, the 1972 investigation, the current day, Clare’s issues, and the lawsuit.

There is a lot to track and keep up with in this story. Some readers might get frustrated. Those who enjoy more complex and twisted plots will likely enjoy this.

The author did a great job with trying to keep it all together and work well. She did a great job in keeping the mystery until nearly the very end. The connection and “motive” was a bit weak in my opinion. The 1972 and 2006 murders were connected, and in a slight way – so was the 1952. The writer didn’t go into too many details with the cases. 

As far as Clare being the average reverend, I don’t know much about the Episcopal church to know either way so I can’t comment as to whether or not she is believable. Either way, for me, she wasn’t that compelling of a character. 

The end of this story seems to wind down too quickly to set up for the next story. And, the way this one ends, the next one might be a “have to read”. The author assures us it won’t be another seven (7) years though.

This wasn’t a great read by any means, but it wasn’t a bad read either. It did keep me interested. And, I don’t consider the time I spent reading it that much of a waste.

I would highly suggest that those who are interested in the novel to read the previous eight (8) before this to get the idea of the series.

Fans of the series and author will probably like this.

RATING:

3 ⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads

3 ⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub

3 ⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html)

Other Books In The Series: 

Series: Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries (Book 1)

Paperback: 308 pages

Publisher: Minotaur Books; First edition (January 3, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 9781250006516

ISBN-13: 978-1250006516

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“It's a cold, snowy December in the upstate New York town of Millers Kill, and newly ordained Clare Fergusson is on thin ice as the first female priest of its small Episcopal church. The ancient regime running the parish covertly demands that she prove herself as a leader. However, her blunt manner, honed by years as an army pilot, is meeting with a chilly reception from some members of her congregation and Chief of Police Russ Van Alystyne, in particular, doesn't know what to make of her, or how to address "a lady priest" for that matter.

The last thing she needs is trouble, but that is exactly what she finds. When a newborn baby is abandoned on the church stairs and a young mother is brutally murdered, Clare has to pick her way through the secrets and silence that shadow that town like the ever-present Adirondack mountains. As the days dwindle down and the attraction between the avowed priest and the married police chief grows, Clare will need all her faith, tenacity, and courage to stand fast against a killer's icy heart.

In the Bleak Midwinter is one of the most outstanding Malice Domestic winners the contest has seen. The compelling atmosphere-the kind of very cold and snowy winter that is typical of upstate New York-will make you reach for another sweater. The characters are fully and believably drawn and you will feel like they are your old friends and find yourself rooting for them every step of the way.” 

Series: Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries (Book 2)

Paperback: 334 pages

Publisher: Minotaur Books; First edition (April 1, 2003)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1250007828

ISBN-13: 978-1250007827

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“In In the Bleak Midwinter, Julia Spencer-Fleming's Malice Domestic–winning first mystery, Reverend Clare Fergusson was quickly introduced to a more eventful life than she had expected after moving to the small town of Millers Kill in upstate New York. But the Episcopal priest and former Army Air Force chopper pilot proved to her flock and to police chief Russ Van Alstyne that she could cope with the unexpected, even when it was as dire as murder. In A Fountain Filled With Blood, this new adventure for the two ill-matched friends (who are gamely resisting something beyond friendship) shows that a small town can hold just as much evil as the Wicked City.”

Series: Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries (Book 3)

Paperback: 331 pages

Publisher: Minotaur Books; First edition (April 26, 2004)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 12500016045

ISBN-13: 978-1250006041

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“A pivotal book in this award-winning series, and nominated for the prestigious Edgar Award for Best Novel―Julia Spencer-Fleming's Out of the Deep I Cry is a triumph not to be missed.

On April 1, 1930, Jonathan Ketchem's wife Jane walked from her house to the police department to ask for help in finding her husband. The men, worn out from a night of chasing bootleggers, did what they could. But no one ever saw Jonathan Ketchem again...

Now decades later, someone else is missing in Miller's Kill, NY. This time it's the physician of the clinic that bears the Ketchem name. Suspicion falls on a volatile single mother with a grudge against the doctor, but Reverend Clare Fergusson isn't convinced. As Clare and Russ investigate, they discover that the doctor's disappearance is linked to a bloody trail going all the way back to the hardscrabble Prohibition era. As they draw ever closer to the truth, their attraction for each other grows increasingly more difficult to resist. And their search threatens to uncover secrets that snake from one generation to the next-and to someone who's ready to kill.”

Series: Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries (Book 4)

Paperback: 331 pages

Publisher: Minotaur Books; First edition (May 26, 2005)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 12500016061

ISBN-13: 978-12500016065

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“Saturday, November 14, 5:00 A.M.

In the small Adirondack town of Millers Kill, an old lumberman sits in the dark with his gun across his knees. Not far away, an unemployed logger sleeps off his bender from the night before. The owner of the town's last paper mill tosses in his bed. And a young woman, one of three heirs to the 250,000-acre Great Camp, wakes alone in darkness, bound and gagged.

Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne wants nothing more than a quiet day of hunting in the mountains on his fiftieth birthday. His wife needs to have the town's new luxury resort ready for its gala opening night. The Reverend Clare Fergusson expects to spend the day getting St. Alban's Church ready for the bishop's annual visit. Her long-distance suitor from New York expects some answers about their relationship during his weekend in town.

In Millers Kill, where everyone knows everyone and all are part of an interconnected web of blood or acquaintance, one person's troubles have a way of ensnaring others. What begins as a simple case of a woman lost in the woods leads to a tangle of revenge, blackmail, assault, kidnapping, and murder. As the hours tick by, Russ and Clare struggle to make sense of their town's plunge into chaos---and their own chaotic emotions.

Something terrible waits in the ice-rimed mountains cradling Millers Kill. Something that won't be content with just one death---or two. . .

In To Darkness and To Death, Julia Spencer-Fleming continues her moving story of the way a small town, as well as a great city, can harbor evil, and the struggle of two honest people to deal with the ever-present threat of their feelings for one another.” 

Series: Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries (Book 5)

Paperback: 342 pages

Publisher: Minotaur Books; First edition (October 3, 2006)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 12500018552

ISBN-13: 978-12500018557

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“One horrible murder. Two people destined for love or tragedy. Emotions explode in Millers Kill, where nothing is as it seems . . . and betrayal twists old friendships and evil waits inside quaint farmhouses.

Russ Van Alstyne figures his wife kicking him out of their house is nobody's business but his own. Until a neighbor pays a friendly visit to Linda Van Alstyne and finds the woman's body, gruesomely butchered, on the kitchen floor. To the state police, it's an open-and-shut case of a disaffected husband silencing his wife and putting a stop to the murder investigation he controls. To the townspeople, it's proof that the whispered gossip about the police chief and the priest was true. To the powers-that-be in the church hierarchy, it's a chance to control their wayward cleric once and for all. Russ and Clare must struggle against the reach of the law, the authority of the church, and their own guilty hearts.”

Series: Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries (Book 6)

Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Minotaur Books; First edition (June 10, 2008)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0312334877

ISBN-13: 978-0312334871

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“In the searing conclusion to All Mortal Flesh, Russ's precarious 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 reluctantly drawn into the investigation through her involvement with the migrant community. The discovery of two more bodies executed in the same way ignites fears that a serial killer is loose in the rural Adirondack town of Millers Kill.

As spring turns into summer, Russ is plagued by media hysteria, conflict within the police department, and a series of baffling assaults. Throughout the escalating tensions, his and Clare's emotions toward each other are mixed. But their bodies know only one direction and they will find themselves seeking each other out even as they intend to keep distant.”

Series: Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries (Book 7)

Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Minotaur Books; First edition (April 12, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0312334893

ISBN-13: 978-0312334895

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“On a warm September evening in the Millers Kill community center, five veterans sit down in rickety chairs to try to make sense of their experiences in Iraq. What they will find is murder, conspiracy, and the unbreakable ties that bind them to one another and their small Adirondack town.

The Rev. Clare Fergusson wants to forget the things she saw as a combat helicopter pilot and concentrate on her relationship with Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne. MP Eric McCrea needs to control the explosive anger threatening his job as a police officer. Will Ellis, high school track star, faces the reality of life as a double amputee. Orthopedist Trip Stillman is denying the extent of his traumatic brain injury. And bookkeeper Tally McNabb wrestles with guilt over the in-country affair that may derail her marriage.

But coming home is harder than it looks. One vet will struggle with drugs and alcohol. One will lose his family and friends. One will die.

Since their first meeting, Russ and Clare's bond has been tried, torn, and forged by adversity. But when he rules the veteran's death a suicide, she violently rejects his verdict, drawing the surviving vets into an unorthodox investigation that threatens jobs, relationships, and her own future with Russ.

As the days cool and the nights grow longer, they will uncover a trail of deceit that runs from their tiny town to the upper ranks of the U.S. Army, and from the waters of the Millers Kill to the unforgiving streets of Baghdad.” 

Series: Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries (Book 8)

Paperback: 368 pages

Publisher: Minotaur Books; First edition (November 5, 2013)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0312606842

ISBN-13: 978-0312606848

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“In Through the Evil Days, New York Times bestselling author Julia Spencer-Fleming raises the stakes for Russ and Clare, putting their new marriage, their unborn child, a missing teen, and their very own lives on the line.

On a frigid January night, Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne and Reverend Clare Fergusson are called to the scene of a raging fire. The extent of the tragedy isn't known until the next day, when the charred remains of a man and woman are recovered―along with evidence showing they were shot execution style.

The last thing Russ needs are two potential homicides. He's struggling with the prospect of impending fatherhood, and his new wife is not at all happy with his proposal for their long-delayed honeymoon: a week ice-fishing at a remote Adirondack lake.

St. Alban's Church is still in turmoil over the Reverend Clare Fergusson's news that she's five and a half months pregnant―but only two and a half months married. Worried her post-deployment drinking and drug use may have damaged the baby, she awaits the outcome of the bishop's investigation into her "unpriestly" behavior: a scolding, censure, or permanent suspension.

Officer Hadley Knox is having a miserable January as well. Her on-again, off-again lover, Kevin Flynn, has seven days to weigh an offer from the Syracuse Police Department that might take him half a state away. And her ex-husband's in town―threatening to take custody of their kids unless Hadley pays him off with money she doesn't have.

When Hadley discovers that the dead couple fostered an eight-year-old girl who was a recent liver donee, the search for the killer takes on a new and terrible urgency. With no access to immunosuppressant drugs, transplant rejection will kill the girl in a matter of days.

As a deadly ice storm downs power lines and immobilizes roads, Russ and Clare search desperately for the truth about the missing child, but the hunters will become the hunted when they are trapped in the cabin beside the frozen lake and stalked through the snowbound woods by a killer.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING is The New York Times bestselling author of One Was A Soldier, and an Agatha, Anthony, Dilys, Barry, Macavity, and Gumshoe Award winner. She studied acting and history at Ithaca College and received her J.D. at the University of Maine School of Law. Her books have been shortlisted for the Edgar, Nero Wolfe, and Romantic Times RC awards. Julia lives in a 190-year-old farmhouse in southern Maine.

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