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Mar 07, 2009

Red rated it:

Arrrrgh. This book really frustrated me. I've been on a roll with this series this week, reading 4 of the books in the series. (Fun things to do while home, sick.) I was so angry last night when I finished reading this one, I wasn't going to read the latest book. For the first time, the entire story-line was dark. The only scene that showed Clare & Russ in their familiar relationship was told in flashback during one of the bleakest parts of the story.

I didn't like how this one ended. More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 06, 2011

willaful rated it:

4.5 stars. Spencer-Fleming is an amazingly skillful plotter; without spoilers, she had several difficult situations to create in this story about grief, betrayal and forbidden love, and she did it with tremendous cleverness. I half expected to want to throw this at the wall, but no, she got me. (Though there was one plot twist I thought a cop-out: <spoiler>Russ discovering his wife had had an affair.</spoiler> And as always, her prose is witty, evocative and emotive.

It wa More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 22, 2008

Deb rated it:

Another gripping read! And a zinger of an ending. I may have to break down and buy the hardcover of the next one because I don't think I want to wait for the paperback to be published.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 20, 2010

Joyce rated it:

5th in the Reverend Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series.[return][return]In a way, Spencer-Fleming s series is much more like an ongoing, high-class soap opera than a mystery genre series, since in the latest books, the plots depend heavily on what has happened previously. Russ has told his wife that he is in love with Clare; it s been an emotionally tough few months for both Russ and Clare, particularly as Clare has made the decision not to see Russ again voluntarily. Miller s Kill bein More...

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Sep 26, 2011

Carol rated it:

Holy Cow! I thought this was amazing, and resented every time I had to put it down. I said that Louise Penny was my favorite mystery author, but Julia Spencer-Fleming is coming close.

I couldn't tell who did this one until the end. The characters are well-written. The on-going, forbidden, but chaste love story is frustrating and believable.

The main character is an Episcopalian priest who was a helicopter pilot in the army. The second main character is a police chief who More...

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Jun 29, 2011

Steve rated it:

Police Chief Russ Val Alstyne and Episcopal Priest Clare Ferguson return. Russ, having recently been thrown out of his house by his wife because of his relationship with Clare, is residing at his mother’s house when he is called in on a report that his wife has been found murdered in their kitchen. Clare finds out when she returns from a retreat to clear her mind. She also finds her supervisors have sent her a woman to ‘help’ her even though she requested nobody. This woman’s role is unstate More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jun 09, 2010

Bob rated it:

The Rev. Fergusson is finishing up a weeks solitary retreat in a borrowed mountain cabin when the Bishop's assistant appears to inform her that she will be getting a Deacon assigned to help her out (and probably keep an eye on her). Mean while Chief Van Alstyne has been kicked out of the house after confessing about his growing relationship with Clare. He is going through a emotionally rough time and then learns that his wife has been found murdered in their house. As expected he tries to get More...

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May 08, 2010

Maddy rated it:

RATING: 1.5

All Mortal Flesh is the fifth in the series featuring Reverend Clare Fergusson and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne which is set in the small upstate town of Millers Kill, New York. The basic premise of all of these books is that the reverend and the police chief have fallen in love with one another. Although they have not consummated their relationship, they are emotionally intimate. The issue is that Russ is a married man. Over the course of these five books, Clare and Russ More...

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Nov 22, 2011

Kris rated it:

This installment of the Clare/Russ series was darker, more frustrating (for the reader and the characters) and more explosive, certainly than the others. I felt the roller-coaster of their on/off/on again, then off! relationship and it was almost too much. But the saving grace was the realism of it all. Relationships are like carnival rides, sometimes. It is Russ's character that saved it for me. His dilemma and his very masculine response to it, is written excruciatingly real. When he hears his More...

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Sep 11, 2010

Linda rated it:

The Reverend Clare Fergusson and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne have fallen in love against the better judgment and best efforts of both of them. They've vowed to do the right thing by keeping their distance from each other, but Clare's had her hand slapped by her bishop. All of her good intentions go up in smoke, however, when Russ' wife is murdered and he's the prime suspect.

This book plays out on a couple of levels. There's the murder investigation, of course, but underlying that More...

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Jul 02, 2011

Leslie rated it:

After confessing that he has fallen in love with another woman, Millers Kill police chief Russ Van Alstyne has been asked by his wife Linda to leave the marital household while they decide if their marriage can be saved. So when Linda is brutally murdered, Russ, a man with Army and police training and no alibi, is the obvious suspect. Rev. Clare Fergusson, returning from a retreat in which she has been struggling with her attraction to the chief, finds tongues wagging and fingers pointing at her More...

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Aug 31, 2009

Abby rated it:

Oh god. Train wreck has happened. Oh God. How is Spencer-Fleming going to get out of this one? Can she? Please oh please oh please it could go so wrong so many ways. Please let there be some hope for Clare and Russ.

::sob::

I read this in one day. Couldn't put it down. Again, some of the plotting stretches the imagination, but the tension between Clare and Russ, the vivid community of Millers Kill, and the excellent tension-breaking humor that JSF pens makes it all More...

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May 22, 2011

Jane rated it:

The book opens with Episcopal priest Clare Fergusson in retreat, trying to accept that her feelings for police chief Russ Van Alstyne must end. Although their realationship has never been a full-blown affair (read consumated), they both feel a great deal of guilt and vow that it must end.

Then Van Alstyne's wife is found brutally murdered. Of course Clare and Russ are both suspects. The diocese has appointed a rector to keep and eye on Clare, and the murder investigation has been h More...

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Nov 03, 2011

Kimfu rated it:

Finally, a book I truly enjoyed! Finally, a book I couldn't wait to get back to each time I had to stop listening to it! Finally, a book about which I kept thinking, "What's going to happen next?"

This book isn't great fiction. No, it's genre fiction. It's a mystery, murder novel. It's not bad, but it's not very different from many other mystery novels out there. It's just that I happen to love reading mystery, murder novels.

What can I say? I like lowbrow More...

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Aug 18, 2008

P.J. rated it:

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

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Mar 10, 2008

Karen rated it:

There are any number of flashy words I could pull from my thesaurus to describe this latest book in the Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series, and yet none are adequate. From the opening chapter, Julia Spencer-Fleming delves into the lives of her characters and takes the reader deep inside the story.

This story is by far the most personal for Clare and Russ as they struggle to overcome the everyday problems of dealing with tragedy. Caught in their own web of emotional trauma More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 06, 2011

Ruth rated it:

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

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Jun 01, 2011

Barbara rated it:

Well, I just finished the fifth in the series of eight mysteries. Wow! What a writer. The story lines just get better and better. Mystery upon mystery! I love it. I have never had time or taken the time before to really get into reading mysteries rather than heavy theological/psychology books. This is wonderful and grateful I have the time to do this sandwiched between preparing sermons, etc. I will start on the sixth after the weekend is over.

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Mar 26, 2011

Janet rated it:

Wow! I don't want to spoil this so will be cautious in what I say but wow...a nonstop ride with lots so twists and turns! I had the luxury of book form and audio. I listened while working/driving and read late into the night as I could not put this one down. Russ & Clare are definitely not boring and do not disappoint. If you think you know what will happen you're wrong. I love it! I'm so glad I'm catching up on the series as I now of the luxury of moving on to book six.

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Jun 10, 2011

Patricia rated it:

One long day in Miller's Kill which includes a missing woman, assault, blackmail, and murder. Suspenseful, fast-moving plot marred by the relationship between the police chief & the town's Episcopalian priest. He's 'happily' married, she's single, & they're 'soul-mates'. This would be a good series if I could have more sympathy for the main characters, but not sure if I'm supposed to feel sorry for them or what. When it comes a series, I would prefer the main characters to have more mature & sat More...

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Mar 15, 2011

Mary Jo rated it:

At first, I thought this book was taking a terrible shortcut through the action, but I should know better by now. JS-F is too good a writer to let that happen. I find myself more invested in Clare and in Russ with every book as people of deep integrity placed in a terrible situation. I read numbers 4,5, and 6 of this series in the space of about a week--I couldn't put them down!

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Mar 18, 2011

Ed rated it:

I got a kick out of this crime novel. Clare is an ex-helicopter military pilot now an Episcopal priest when she falls in love with Sheriff Russ. It's cold winter with lots of snow falling and on the ground. There's a murder--Russ's wife who previously booted him out of the house when she discovered his romance with Clare. Russ and Clare are likeable protagonists. I liked the pace and explosive climax.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 05, 2012

Lynda rated it:

There is very little I can say about this book without giving away all of the unexpected twists and turns in the plot. It was a gripping suspense filled episode in Russ and Clare's story as well as a perplexing mystery. I can say that as I read one particular scene, I felt it would be important and I was not wrong. Horrifying, but I could not stop till I got to the end. Bring on the next volume!

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Apr 08, 2011

Brianne rated it:

as usual, heart wrenching ups and downs, for all the characters involved. I couldnt put this book down. Some people will leave the series for good - some die others leave for other reasons. The story takes place over 4 suspense and grief filled days in January and quite possibly leaved everyone in the town changed in some way by the end of the week in time.

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Oct 25, 2010

Pyper (momof5) rated it:

I read this book because my 13yo was looking for a good mystery book & found this online. Given the title, I decided I'd better read it first!

I ended up really enjoying it! It had a major twist at the end that surprised me. The writing wasn't the best ever, but I liked the story & the characters were likable. This was the middle of a series so I think I will go back & read the rest of the books.

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Mar 25, 2009

Lisa rated it:

I am not even kidding. This is THE best mystery I've read in six months. Wow. I can't wait to get my hands on the next one in the series. I started near the end, and maybe when I'm done, I'll work BACK through all of them. There are lots of twists and turns in this along with some pretty deep stuff. Spencer-Fleming's writing is also lyrical and her plotting is tight.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 06, 2011

Aguess added it

This series is going a little off the deep end of melodrama. I liked the reflections of Claire as she considered the traditions of the church in the context of various murder investigations. Now there is more high action, high emotion than reflection for my taste. Just goes to show erotic tension between characters is best left unconsummated.

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Feb 18, 2011

Bridget rated it:

My mom also introduced me to this series. The two protagonists, a female minister and a married police chief solve mysteries while dealing with the complications of their growing feelings for one another. The stories are great and I like how open minded the female minister is about religion. I so want these two to live happily ever after while solving mysteries in their small town.

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Jul 08, 2011

Allison rated it:

For some reason I frequently forget about this author, until one of her books practically falls off a library shelf and hits me in the head. It's a great series - well-drawn characters, engaging and thoughtful issues, no easy answers. At least my literary amnesia means I don't have to wait a year for the next one now.

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Dec 31, 2011

Jacquelynn rated it:

Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne and Clare Fergusson love each other. There are several problems, he's married, she's an Esciplian priest, and they live in a small town. Linda, Russ's wife has left him and now she is dead. Russ is the prime suspect and Clare is the cause. Great mystery with fun small town nuances.

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