Out of the Deep I Cry (Rev. Clare Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries, #3)

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Out of the Deep I Cry (Rev. Clare Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries #3)

by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Goodreads Author)

4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 · rating details · 1,725 ratings · 203 reviews

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 t...more

Paperback, 432 pages

Published May 3rd 2005 by St. Martin's Paperbacks (first published April 26th 2004)

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Feb 02, 2009 Sharon rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the third of Julia Spencer-Fleming's novels that I have read, and she is bidding to become a new favorite author. In this particular outing, protagonists Rev. Claire Fergusson and police chief Russ Van Alstyne become entangled in a parallel investigation -- two missing men, one who disappeared in the 1930s and one who disappears in the here-and-now. All of the action starts because the church roof is leaking, and one of the vestry members is willing to surrender her family trust to have...more

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Mar 30, 2008 Karen Syed rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: YOU!

Shelves: favorites

[Book: OUT OF THE DEEP I CRY], and cry I did. I started this book over a month ago after getting an autographed copy (and a hug) from Julia at the South Carolina Book Festival. I was ill at the time and became even more ill in the weeks that followed. I kept plugging along, wanting to read more and more, but alas, my cardiac specialist said "Into the hospital with you!" And in I went. Well, you'd think lying in a hospital bed would give me plenty of time to read. Too bad I could not stay awake....more

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Apr 20, 2010 Joyce Lagow rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

3rd in the Reverend Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series.[return][return]A beautifully constructed book. The story starts off with a flashback to 1970, when a young Russ Van Alstyne, about to enter the Army to go to Vietnam, rescues an old woman, Jane Ketchem, from attempted suicide by drowning. Fast forward to the � Now� , where Clare is faced with an extremely serious, expensive roof repair on the church and no apparent way to raise money before the roof literally falls in.[return][return]T...more 3rd in the Reverend Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series.[return][return]A beautifully constructed book. The story starts off with a flashback to 1970, when a young Russ Van Alstyne, about to enter the Army to go to Vietnam, rescues an old woman, Jane Ketchem, from attempted suicide by drowning. Fast forward to the � Now� , where Clare is faced with an extremely serious, expensive roof repair on the church and no apparent way to raise money before the roof literally falls in.[return][return]The story alternates between flashbacks involving Jane Ketchem that occur in the ever more distant past and the present, with Ketchem, although long dead, still affecting events through her daughter, Lacey Marshall, a member of the vestry of St. Albans, and Dr. Rouse, who for 30 years has headed the free clinic founded by Ketchem. The latter disappears, the only real � mystery� in the plot, and in the search for him, Ketchem� s past comes to light by bits and pieces. Clare, of course, not your typical Episcopalian (or any other) priest, indulges her adrenaline junkie side and becomes far more involved in the affair than she should be. All this leads to a very exciting denouement, and a final, tragic revelation.[return][return]The writing has picked up� still that same indefinable but distinct Spencer-Fleming style that suits her character and setting so well, but more creative, more imaginative, and some of the minor characters are less stereotypical. The romantic tension between Clare and Russ is well done and moves that aspect of the series forward. The plot is unusual, and is handled in a truly superior fashion, with the flashbacks adding appropriate information at crucial points. The same wry, self-deprecating humor is there, although not quite so present as in the first two books. [return][return]Russ and Clare continue to develop as characters, whose lives are interesting to the reader. Another thing that Spencer-Fleming does well is to integrate the religious aspect very well into the story. Having been involved in a minor way with church affairs, the personalities of the vestry and the way they approach decisions is absolutely dead on. Clare� s beliefs are in perfect alignment with her very human character.[return][return]This is a superb installment in the series, the best so far. Highly recommended.(less)

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Apr 04, 2013 Wayne Zurl rated it 3 of 5 stars

I’ve read a few other Clare Fergusson / Russ Van Alstyne mysteries and liked them more than this installment. These stories are not for the action junkie in the crowd, but that’s okay with me. I like the fictional Adirondack Mountains town of Millers Kill that lies somewhere between Glens Falls and Lake George. I’ve spent oodles of time in that area and see all the places she talks about.
Julia is an attorney with an orderly mind who pays attention to all the rules of plotting and structure, s...more

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Mar 14, 2013 Gloria Feit rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Clare Fergusson Russ Van Alstyne novels now number seven. This, the third in the series, has been issued in a trade paperback edition, among others recently published by Minotaur Books. The mystery around which the tale revolves starts in 1930, when Jane Ketchem’s husband, Jonathan, disappears without a trace. Flashbacks to the 20’s and the history of the Ketchems over past decades are present throughout the entire book, its chapters delineated “Then” and “Now.”

There is a contemporary and so...more The Clare Fergusson Russ Van Alstyne novels now number seven. This, the third in the series, has been issued in a trade paperback edition, among others recently published by Minotaur Books. The mystery around which the tale revolves starts in 1930, when Jane Ketchem’s husband, Jonathan, disappears without a trace. Flashbacks to the 20’s and the history of the Ketchems over past decades are present throughout the entire book, its chapters delineated “Then” and “Now.”

There is a contemporary and somewhat analogous mystery as well, when another man goes missing, and the police force in the Adirondack Mountain region of Miller’s Kill, New York (population 8,000), headed up by Police Chief Van Alstyne, attempts to track him, or his body, down. Russ had been a cop, military and civilian, for 25 years, but as usual, he and parish priest Fergusson end up doing dual investigations, despite his reminder “Me cop, you priest.” But that never stopped Clare before, much to the dismay of the church elders. The growing attraction between the two is, as always, a major plot point, and becoming harder for the small town gossips to ignore the weekly lunches they enjoy, mindful of the fact that Clare is thirty-five and that Russ, a recovering alcoholic, is forty-nine and, more importantly, a married man.

Let it be said that I am a huge fan of this series, but had somehow missed this and the subsequent entry, which is next up for this reader. I have to add that I felt a bit let down on reading this one, unsure of exactly why, other than that some of the flashback scenes seemed to slow down the novel, as did some of the historical aspects, which were at the same time interesting.- - contradictory, I know. There is much discussion of the effects on the town when the old mills, “ornate brick mausoleums for the town’s prosperity,” closed down, and the valley was flooded when the dam was constructed. Over all it was a good read, and one which is recommended.
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Jan 11, 2013 Suspense Magazine added it

Two men disappeared: one in the present day and one in 1930. As the Rev. Clare Fergusson and Chief of Police Russ Alstyne search for the man who disappeared after meeting a young woman in a cemetery, they unearth connections to the disappearance that occurred eighty years ago.

The Ketchem Free Clinic—named after the man who disappeared in 1930—is about to lose some of its funding, and Clare feels responsible. The man’s daughter, Lacey Marshall, has decided to break the trust that provided funding...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Rosario (http://rosario.blogspot.com/) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reverend Clare Fergusson's church is a beautiful old building, but like all such buildings, keeping on top of repairs is a never-ending job. The latest problem is the roof, and it's a bad (and expensive) one. Clare has no idea where she'll get the money from, until Mrs. Marshall, one of her parishioners, offers to foot the bill. Problem is, to do so she is proposing to liquidate a trust that was funding the town's health clinic.

As Clare debates the moral issues around this, the clinic's problems...more Reverend Clare Fergusson's church is a beautiful old building, but like all such buildings, keeping on top of repairs is a never-ending job. The latest problem is the roof, and it's a bad (and expensive) one. Clare has no idea where she'll get the money from, until Mrs. Marshall, one of her parishioners, offers to foot the bill. Problem is, to do so she is proposing to liquidate a trust that was funding the town's health clinic.

As Clare debates the moral issues around this, the clinic's problems get worse, when the clinic's director disappears in mysterious circumstances. And things become even murkier when it becomes clear that his disappearance is not unlike that of Mrs. Marshall's father, back in 1930.

This is a type of mystery I really enjoy, one where a current mystery is linked to one in the past, and to solve the former, it's crucial to find out the truth about the latter. Spencer-Fleming handles this masterfully, weaving them together an allowing them to mirror each other in interesting, illuminating ways. Both are well-constructed, and the solution was satisfying.

I was also ok with Clare's involvement in the whole mystery and investigation. That's something that can be tricky when the character is not part of the police, or a PI, or anything like that, and while in the 1st book in the series I thought Clare's involvement came across as perfectly natural, it felt a little bit more forced in the second one. Here, it was somewhere in between, and not a problem. Clare also behaves pretty sensibly here.

What I loved best about the book, though, is the progress in the relationship between Clare and Russ Van Alstyn. There has been an attraction between the two of them from the start, and more than that, a very real connection, but Russ is married, and both are decent people. So they do their best to ignore it. Well, they can't ignore it any more here, and I can't wait to see what comes next!

The only disappointment was the adrenalin-fuelled ending. It felt a bit out of place in this series, it's not really what this is about, and I found it somewhat confusing.

MY GRADE: A B.(less)

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Sep 16, 2012 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Nicely done. Interesting theme to the plot. I love reading a series from the beginning, in order, and seeing how the characters and their lives evolve. Waiting anxiously to read the next one.

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...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 17, 2010 Christine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The best of the series so far. I was really underwhelmed by the second in the series, and enjoyed this one so much more. Spencer-Fleming is a gutsy author. She's not afraid to take stands on different issues - even at the risk of alienating some in her audience - and I admire that. Many will read this book and disagree with her, and even be offended. I happen to agree with the author on the issue of vaccinating children, but it's a hot topic right now, and she may lose readers by choosing to mak...more

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Jul 16, 2010 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars

Having thoroughly enjoyed In the Bleak Midwinter, I took on Russ and Clare once again. This time, the issues are complicated. The free clinic doctor has an adversarial relationship with a woman who staunchly believes that the vaccination that the doctor gave her son caused his autism. There is also a rather unclear history of the clinic’s founder, her surviving daughter, her missing husband, and their first four children who perished from diphtheria. Russ, the chief of police, and Clare, the Epi...more

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Apr 18, 2009 Ann rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 24, 2012 Rina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Als ich dieses Buch zu lesen begann, wusste ich noch nicht, dass es der dritte Band einer Reihe ist. Das wurde mir erst nach und nach klar, als immer wieder auf vorherige Ereignisse eingegangen wurde. Daher denke ich, dass es hierbei schon sinnvoll gewesen wäre, die Bücher in der entsprechenden Reihenfolge zu lesen.

Nichtsdestotrotz hat mich dieses Buch voll und ganz überzeugt und mich in seinen Bann gezogen. Der Schreibstil und die Stimmung im Buch gefallen mir sehr gut. Auch die Aufmachung des...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Bridget rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads

This is one of my favorite mystery series, and this book did not disappoint. In this installment, Reverend Clare Fergusson is faced with expensive repairs to her church, and makes arrangements with one of the parishioners to use money usually used for a free clinic to make the repairs. The doctor at the free clinic is very upset, not just about this issue, but because he is being harrassed by a local woman who claims that the vaccination the he gave to her son led to the son's autism.

But then th...more

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Mar 06, 2013 Sheila rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: wom-500-books-challenge, owned-and-read

I thought this was the best in the series so far. I have been wondering when we would finally get to meet Linda and of course was hoping that I would instantly hate her, but I didn't. Lots of tension between Clair and Russ. They are definitely playing with fire in more than one sense.

I loved the historical aspect of this story. In todays world we take for granted our access to health care and medicines so it was really interesting to see how people had to deal with disease back in the "good old...more

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Feb 26, 2013 C rated it 3 of 5 stars

I didn't enjoy this as much as the previous two. I'm not sure if it was just the wrong time for me to read it or I didn't connect to the story, or if knowing what's coming a couple books down the road (doh, I should not have let myself read book descriptions!) has set a tone for what's in between.

Overall I don't think I was in the right place for it - the "past/present" story wasn't working for me and I just couldn't relate to it. The relationship between Clare and Russ made me on and off squea...more

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Nov 22, 2011 Kris Lynn rated it 5 of 5 stars

The third book in the Clare/Russ series - the best so far! The story, how the plot develops, the characters - all brilliant. I truly could not stop reading. Generally I don't care so much for stories in the "Now" interrupted with a story from the past, though they are related, and the "Then" story explains what is happening "Now" (see what I mean - it can be a bit irritating.) But Spencer-Fleming pulled it off! I was just as anxious to read what happened "Then" as I was enthralled with the "Now"...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Francesca rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries

I read the first book in this series, "In the Bleak Midwinter", and I was excited to have discovered a new mystery author that I like. There appear to be several in this series, which features Claire Fergusson, an Episcopalian priest, and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne in the little upstate New York town of Miller's Kill.

In this installment, Claire's church needs major roof repairs. A benefactor agrees to fund the repairs, but this involves liquidating a trust fund which had previously been supp...more

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Apr 30, 2010 Jocelyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

The third book in the series is much better than the first two. It's nicely plotted, more evenly paced, and full of better dialogue and more sympathetic characters (although the hostage scene beggars the imagination). Also I think the topic of this installment is more compelling -- mothers who refuse to have their children vaccinated, along with folks who "break the rules" in order to get what they want. The irony of this is not lost on the Rev. Clare Fergusson, who is breaking many rules in ord...more

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Apr 20, 2013 Andrea Corley rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-c2c-challenge, 2013-wom-road-to-500-books, april-2013-reads, audio-books, library-loan, wom-series-reads

I was hoping that the further I got along in the series, the more that it would grow on me, but unfortunately that was not the case. This series is not horrible, but it's not worth it to me to continue on from this point. After reading this book (the 3rd in the series), I haven't rated any of the three books higher than 3 stars, so I think that there are too many other 5 star reads out there to continue on in the series.

I did think that this was the best book of the series thus far, but as with...more

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Aug 28, 2009 Abby rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, favorites

She's done it again! Another stellar mystery from Julia Spencer-Fleming. This one I *almost* had figured out, but she got me in the end.

What I'm struggling to understand is how the relationship of the main characters in JSF's books are doing all the things that in a more "traditional" romance would be my DO NOT CROSS line and would usually lead me to the "DO NOT BUY" category. Having characters engage in an affair (of the heart or physically) which cases one or both characters to cheat on their...more

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Mar 03, 2012 Beth rated it 5 of 5 stars

The third in a series of mysteries set in a small upstate NY town featuring a police chief and a priest as the heros solving the mysteries. In this one there is no current murder but there is a current mystery that hooks into a very old mystery. The story goes back and forth between the current day and the far past. By solving the past mystery they solve the current day mystery.

As usual the romantic tension between the two heros makes for a more realistic story, as time goes on you start to wond...more

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Jun 07, 2010 Bob rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The continuing tale of Reverend Clare Fergusson and Chief Russ Van Alstyne in the small NY town of Millers Kill. Clare needs to find money to repair the roof of the church and when she is offered money from a trust that had been supporting a free clinic she accepts, but has mixed feelings about it. Dealing with that and getting involved in one woman's crusade against vaccinations for her kids because of the autism scare she begins delving into the history of the free clinic and the family that s...more

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May 19, 2012 Anne Dirty Girls' Good Books rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, same-couple-series, audio-good

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 25, 2011 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars

Good murder mysteries are page turners because you can't wait to see who did it. I realized about half way through this book that it's a page turner because I can't wait to see what's going to happen with the characters. The plot is so very secondary to me. Not a bad thing, but I think it's kind of odd in a mystery! Just an observation.

I'm glad I'm reading these in order, to fully appreciate the growth of Claire and Russ, and all the members of the congregation, the force, and the town of Mille...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Brenda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Well It's a must read and the 3rd to a great series of(Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries)it's on the edge mystery and crime and attraction.What more could you want in a book?I could not put it down :)In this book you a brought into a mystery where someone (Jonathon Ketchem's wife in 1930)went missing ages ago and never found to the present where it seems to happen again to a physician.So Clare and Russ investigate this crime.They discover a mystery trail in Miller's Kill of the olde...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Adrienne Campbell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This novel, the third in the Clare Fergusson series is another winner!

This author is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. She makes me laugh, cry, and think about issues that are controversial at best. Readers may or may not agree with her stand on the issues she but her books are thought provoking and that I believe is her intent.

This novel touches on the effects of immunizations and the onset of Autism, the battle told from both sides, and the devastating effects.

It begins during the 192...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Carol is currently reading it

I felt it was a bit too author's message throughout the book as far as the autism and vaccine issue. The autistic kid's mom is made out to be kinda strange and wacko and hippy out of it, though she clearly loves her son and daughter and such. I felt this characterization was a bit too pat for my taste. The book jumps back in time to the 1920s to present day and we see how the idea of vaccines were so new and scary to some, just as they are again today. What is great in this series is the relati...more

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Jan 26, 2011 Jonelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, murder-mystery, historical-fiction, favorites

I finished this novel over lunch today -- one of the rare times that I read a novel while eating a meal -- it was just too good to put down.

Spencer-Fleming alternated chapters between the present and a 1920-1930's setting, giving interesting historical background about the upstate New York area, and providing great context for a contemporary story about families who choose not to vaccinate their children because of the supposed'risks' of the vaccine.

The romantic tension between Chief Van Alstyne...more

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May 08, 2012 Angie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

All of Spencer-Fleming's books are excellent, but this one was especially good in developing the backstory of what happened years ago that set up the current-day plot. I REALLY felt for and with these people ( I cannot reduce them to the status of "characters".)

I read this on my kindle, and it was very interesting to see the "popular highlights". Although Claire is a priest, these are not Christian fiction, and I do not believe the author intended them to be inspirational. However, most of the h...more

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Aug 07, 2010 Ana rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult

The mystery plot is very engaging and definitely keeps me guessing. But, I am reading this series because of the relationship between Clare and Russ. Wow. Theirs is such a complicated relationship -- unlike any I have read before. Clare is a priest and Russ a married police chief. They are such good people -- always considerate and driven by doing the right thing to help others. And yet, they are soulmates. I am amazed at how Julia Spencer-Fleming can write interactions and conversations between...more

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