In the Bleak Midwinter (Clare Fergusson Series #1) » (Reprint)

Julia Spencer-Fleming was born in Plattsburgh Air Force Base and spent most of her childhood on the move as an Army brat. She studied acting and history at Ithaca College, and received her J.D. at the University of Maine School of Law. She lives in a 180-year-old farmhouse outside of Portland, Maine, with her husband, three children, and beloved big dog.

Heavy Snow...Icy Desires...Cold-Blooded Murder

Clare Fergusson, St. Alban's new priest, fits like a square peg in the conservative Episcopal parish at Miller's Kill, New York. She is not just a "lady," she's a tough ex Army chopper pilot, and nobody's fool. Then a newborn infant left at the church door brings her together with the town's police chief, Russ Van Alstyne, who's also ex-Army and a cynical good shepherd for the stray sheep of his hometown. Their search for the baby's mother quickly leads them into the secrets that shadow Miller's Kill like the ever-present Adirondacks. What they discover is a world of trouble, an attraction to each other-and murder...

"Superb!"

-Library Journal

"Terrific action scenes...what really distinguishes In the Bleak Midwinter, however, is the author's skillful portrayal of her protagonist's inner conflict."

-Washington Post Book World

"A riveting page-turner from start to finish."

-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Library Journal

This is the first of three engaging mysteries featuring Episcopal priest Clare Ferguson, newly appointed rector of St. Alban's Church in the upstate New York village of Millers Kill. Shortly before Christmas, an infant is left on the steps of St. Alban's with a note indicating that the baby should be given to a specific couple in the congregation. Clare sees the abandonment as a way to begin a mission project to help unwed mothers, but her enthusiasm is rebuffed by the senior warden of the socially conservative church vestry, a retired army colonel. Suspicion mounts when the child's mother, an 18-year-old college student from the wrong side of the tracks, is found dead. Clare joins Millers Kill police chief Russ Van Alstyne in the search for the murderer. There are as many slippery twists and turns as there are on the snowy Adirondack mountain roads that Clare must negotiate. Narrator Suzanne Toren handles all the voices deftly, giving just a touch of Southern accent to the Virginia-born Clare; her pacing captures the mounting tension perfectly. An excellent selection. Nann Blaine Hilyard, Zion-Benton P.L., IL nonfiction Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.