All mortal flesh. The Rev. Clare Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries (5)

One horrible murder. Two people destined for love or tragedy. Emotions explode in the novel Julia Spencer-Fleming's readers have been clamoring for.Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne's first encounter with Clare Fergusson was in the hospital emergency room on a freezing December night. A newborn infant had been abandoned on the town's Episcopal church steps. If Russ had known that the church had a new priest, he certainly would never have guessed that it would be a woman. Not a woman like Clare. That night in the hospital was the beginning of an attraction so fierce, so forbidden, that the only thing that could keep them safe from compromising their every belief was distance---but in a small town like Millers Kill, distance is hard to find.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 first his wife, then 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.Obsession. Lies. Nothing is as it seems in Millers Kill, where betrayal twists old friendships and evil waits inside quaint white clapboard farmhouses.

Obsession. Lies. Two souls destined for love—or death. Emotions explode in the latest novel from multiple award-winning author Julia Spencer-Fleming.

“Intricately plotted…packs plenty of surprises.”—Boston Globe

Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne’s first encounter with Clare Fergusson was in an emergency room on a freezing December night. A newborn had been left on the steps of the town’s Episcopal church, where Clare just happened to be its new priest. That night in the hospital was the beginning of an attraction so fierce, so forbidden, that both Russ and Clare risked compromising all of their ethics and beliefs…

“Captivating.”—Publishers Weekly

In the small community of Millers Kill, gossip spreads like wildfire. So when Russ’s wife kicks him out of the house, he figures it’s nobody’s business but his own—until a neighbor stops by and finds Mrs. Van Alstyne’s butchered corpse on the kitchen floor. To the townspeople and church folk, the murder is proof that the whispered rumors about the police chief and the priest were true. But nothing is as it seems in Millers Kill, where betrayal twists old friendships—and evil waits inside quaint white clapboard farmhouses…

“A dizzying roller coaster of a ride.”—Denver Post

The New York Times - Marilyn Stasio

While this setup might sound conventional, Spencer-Fleming s handling of it is far from mechanical. Her unusual heroine has brains and wit and the fearless spirit of an ex-Army chaplain and helicopter pilot who saw action in Kuwait. If anyone can clear Russ and find the real murderer, Clare can do it — if she can only escape from Elizabeth de Groot, the 'frighteningly competent deacon' who has been sent by the bishop to monitor her unorthodox behavior. In a story as unpredictable as its characters, the resolution takes this series in a direction that should give the good bishop heart palpitations.

When Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne's estranged wife is found brutally murdered, the townspeople are convinced Russ killed her and turn their hatred on Russ and Clare Fergusson, the local minister who has been rumored to be having an affair with Russ