This is Book 2 in the Rev Clare Fergusson mystery series that I discovered this past winter.
STORY SUMMARY
Clare, the new Episcopal priest at St Albans Church in Millers Kill in eastern New York State, is shocked when she hears of the horrible beating a gay young man in town was subjected to. Who would do such a horrible thing? Clare is a former Army Air Force chopper pilot and thought she had heard and seen it all between her job as a priest and the former duties of a helicopter pilot but she is shocked that homophobia seems to have struck this little town when another gay man is found murdered due to a savage beating. What is going on in Millers Kill? Then another man is found dead!
Are these murders just random acts of violence or do they have something to do with the proposed spa that is set for construction on the very wealthy Landry family land? And how do the PCBs found in the water relate to the construction project?
It seems as though this small town is as wicked as New York City.
Clare gets involved with helping Russ Van Alstyne, chief of police, solve the murders and figure out why the head of the project has turned up dead in the local park? Is his death related to the other men?
MY THOUGHTS
This is a light mystery and very fast-paced. I love the character development between Clare and her friend Russ. Russ is married to Linda who doesn't always seem interested in Russ's work. Clare is interested and Russ is beginning to have feelings for the priest that extend beyond their new found friendship, but Clare begins to date a gentleman begins she also senses an attraction to Russ and knows that he is married and as a priest, she wants to be proper. The verbal exchanges between these two characters and their mutual attraction really make the book move forward.
In book one and now book two, the ending is a bit predictable and also a bit farfetched with what Clare does to help Russ solve the mysteries, but it's not super sappy and the overlying feeling of this book is just a light, easy mystery. I appreciate that there are no major swear words and that it's all around a good clean read.
The themes tend to be mature. This book deals with homophobia, bullying, threatening behavior, environmental issues, murder, and drug possession with intent to sell. It all ties in nicely and the ending of the book leaves you wondering what Clare and Russ will be up to in Book 3.
I love that the author wrote out the entire hymn. The reason for the title I believe is because when Clare comes upon a certain murder scene, she thinks of the setting as a "fountain filled with blood" and prays over the man.
I love that the author includes prayers and specific spiritual disciplines and although i am not Episcopalian, I appreciate the beauty of it.
And as in book one, I appreciated and enjoyed the mention of many familiar and close to me landmarks in the Adirondacks: Lake George, Saratoga, "Story Land" aka in real life it was Story Town and now the Great Escape/Six Flags, Albany Medical Center (where my daughters were born), Glens Falls where my sister and her son work among other well known places in eastern NY.
I found only a few editing errors in this book.
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (due to some mature content).
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this an 8.
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