When I saw in the plot summary that this story took place around the Fourth of July, I decided the weekend of the Fourth would be the perfect time to read it. I had enjoyed the previous book by Julia
Spencer-Fleming,and was interested in reading more about Reverend Clare Fergusson and the goings-on in her congregation and in her town of Millers Kill, New York.

The book begins with the brutal attack on a gay man, the town's medical examiner, on his way home from a dinner party with friends. At the town Independence Day celebrations, everyone is talking not just about that, but about a new development being built that will be a luxury spa. However, the groundwater has been tested and shows high levels of PCBs. That is a problem or not, depending who you are in the community. Even the town's police chief, and Clare's friend Russ Van Alstyne, has to arrest his mother for rallying without a permit!

In the meantime, another gay man is attacked, and like the previous incident, it appears to be a hate crime. Whether or not to call it that becomes a bone of contention between Clare and the police chief. Then on an evening when Clare is walking friends' dogs, they come across the body of one of the people involved in the spa deal, with his throat cut. He was also gay, so at first it seems like part of a pattern.

As the story progresses, it becomes less and less clear whether it was a hate crime, or if the murder was committed by someone wanting to halt the development. Clare finds herself chasing clues and developing theories, none of which Russ really wants to hear.

I don't want to say much else, because I do think the book is worth reading to fill in the details and let you see what happens. The only thing I didn't like about the book is that after you read it, you realize that only one part of one of the crimes has been solved, and are left wondering about the others.

A good read, and I definitely want to keep going in this series.