What do you think?
Rate this book
The Rev. Clare Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries #10
At Midnight Comes the Cry
New York Times bestseller Julia Spencer-Fleming returns to her beloved Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series
It’s Christmas time in Millers Kill, and Reverend Clare Fergusson and her husband Russ van Alstyne - newly resigned from his position as chief of police – plan to enjoy it with their baby boy. On their visiting Santa, decorating the tree, and attending the church Christmas pageant. But when a beloved holiday parade is crashed by white supremacists, Clare and Russ find themselves sucked into a parallel world of militias, machinations and murder.
Meanwhile, single mom and officer Hadley Knox has her hands full juggling her kids and her police work. She doesn’t want to worry about her former partner – and sometimes lover – Kevin Flynn, but when he takes leave from the Syracuse PD and disappears, she can’t help her growing panic that something has gone very wrong.
Novice lawyer Joy Zhào is keeping secrets from her superiors at the state Attorney General’s Office. She knows they wouldn’t condone her off-the-books investigation, but she’s convinced a threatening alt-right conspiracy is brewing – and catching the perpetrators could jump start her career.
NYS Forest Ranger Paul Terrance is looking for his uncle, a veteran of the park service gone inexplicably missing. He doesn’t think much of an ex-cop and out-of-town officer showing up in his patch of the woods, but he’s heard the disturbing rumors of dangerous men in the mountains.
In New York Times Julia Spencer-Fleming's latest novel, as Christmas approaches, these five people will discover their suspicions hang on a single twisting thread, leading to the forbidding High Peaks of the Adirondacks. As the
December days shorten and the nights grow long, a disparate group of would-be heroes need to unwind a murderous plot before time runs out.
It’s Christmas time in Millers Kill, and Reverend Clare Fergusson and her husband Russ van Alstyne - newly resigned from his position as chief of police – plan to enjoy it with their baby boy. On their visiting Santa, decorating the tree, and attending the church Christmas pageant. But when a beloved holiday parade is crashed by white supremacists, Clare and Russ find themselves sucked into a parallel world of militias, machinations and murder.
Meanwhile, single mom and officer Hadley Knox has her hands full juggling her kids and her police work. She doesn’t want to worry about her former partner – and sometimes lover – Kevin Flynn, but when he takes leave from the Syracuse PD and disappears, she can’t help her growing panic that something has gone very wrong.
Novice lawyer Joy Zhào is keeping secrets from her superiors at the state Attorney General’s Office. She knows they wouldn’t condone her off-the-books investigation, but she’s convinced a threatening alt-right conspiracy is brewing – and catching the perpetrators could jump start her career.
NYS Forest Ranger Paul Terrance is looking for his uncle, a veteran of the park service gone inexplicably missing. He doesn’t think much of an ex-cop and out-of-town officer showing up in his patch of the woods, but he’s heard the disturbing rumors of dangerous men in the mountains.
In New York Times Julia Spencer-Fleming's latest novel, as Christmas approaches, these five people will discover their suspicions hang on a single twisting thread, leading to the forbidding High Peaks of the Adirondacks. As the
December days shorten and the nights grow long, a disparate group of would-be heroes need to unwind a murderous plot before time runs out.
307 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 18, 2025
321 people are currently reading
12125 people want to read
About the author
Julia Spencer-Fleming
27 books1,886 followersWednesday, September 7
Work-In-Progress Wednesday at my Reader Space. We're up to the fifth part of the second chapter of my eighth book, which has some numerological meaning, I'm sure. http://bit.ly/p2QwJa
Work-In-Progress Wednesday at my Reader Space. We're up to the fifth part of the second chapter of my eighth book, which has some numerological meaning, I'm sure. http://bit.ly/p2QwJa
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 251 reviews
November 3, 2025
If you’re looking for a suspenseful crime thriller set in rural up-state New York, then
At Midnight Comes the Cry
by Julia Spencer-Fleming is a book to consider reading. It features Reverend Clare Fergusson and her husband Russ Van Alstyne. It’s Christmas time and the couple plan to enjoy their eight-month-old son Ethan’s first Christmas. However, when a holiday parade is crashed by those who are racist and believe immigrants are taking jobs from others, Clare and Russ are pulled into a world of militias, murder, and plots.
Meanwhile, single mom and police officer Hadley Knox is juggling her two children, her grandfather, and her job. She’s also worried about her former partner, who has taken a leave of absence from his Syracuse police department job and has disappeared for two months. Additionally, new lawyer Joy Zhao is keeping secrets from her superiors at the state Attorney General’s office with an off-the-books investigation and New York State Forest Ranger Terrance is looking for his uncle, a veteran of the park service, who has gone missing. How these events collide makes for a suspenseful thriller.
Clare is a former military helicopter pilot and combat medic. She is now in the National Guard and an Episcopalian priest and married to Russ, former military and recently retired police chief in their small town. While this is the first book I have read in the series, it worked for me. However, there are references to events in prior books. For the full character development and background, I believe the series is best read in order.
This well-written novel has multiple layers to it and a few twists. However, the pacing was a little slow in the middle. The characterization is good and there’s a good mix of the individuals’ personal lives and the investigations. Real-world issues were incorporated into the story that added an extra layer of apprehension. The epilogue wrapped up most threads well, but there was one lingering one that I wanted resolution on that I didn’t get. Perhaps it will be in the next book. Themes include racism, murder, domestic violence, childcare, family, and community.
Overall, this is a gripping story with strong main characters, excellent world-building, and emotional moments. I’m looking forward to reading more books in this series.
St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books and Julia Spencer-Fleming provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for November 18, 2025.
---------------------------------------
My 4.05 rounded to 4 stars review is coming soon.
Meanwhile, single mom and police officer Hadley Knox is juggling her two children, her grandfather, and her job. She’s also worried about her former partner, who has taken a leave of absence from his Syracuse police department job and has disappeared for two months. Additionally, new lawyer Joy Zhao is keeping secrets from her superiors at the state Attorney General’s office with an off-the-books investigation and New York State Forest Ranger Terrance is looking for his uncle, a veteran of the park service, who has gone missing. How these events collide makes for a suspenseful thriller.
Clare is a former military helicopter pilot and combat medic. She is now in the National Guard and an Episcopalian priest and married to Russ, former military and recently retired police chief in their small town. While this is the first book I have read in the series, it worked for me. However, there are references to events in prior books. For the full character development and background, I believe the series is best read in order.
This well-written novel has multiple layers to it and a few twists. However, the pacing was a little slow in the middle. The characterization is good and there’s a good mix of the individuals’ personal lives and the investigations. Real-world issues were incorporated into the story that added an extra layer of apprehension. The epilogue wrapped up most threads well, but there was one lingering one that I wanted resolution on that I didn’t get. Perhaps it will be in the next book. Themes include racism, murder, domestic violence, childcare, family, and community.
Overall, this is a gripping story with strong main characters, excellent world-building, and emotional moments. I’m looking forward to reading more books in this series.
St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books and Julia Spencer-Fleming provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for November 18, 2025.
---------------------------------------
My 4.05 rounded to 4 stars review is coming soon.
November 21, 2025
It’s so hard to know that this is the series finale of a book I’ve been reading for years. While Fleming has been writing it since the early 2000s, I discovered it twenty years later when the world fell apart, and I needed to escape to something far from daily life. This series and these characters that now feel like family were just what I needed, and as a result, I feel such a strong connection to Clare, Russ, Hadley, Kevin, and the rest of the gang.
Although I did not want to say goodbye, I cannot envision a better final chapter to the story, nor a better (and more timely) police case for the team to get to the bottom of. Jarring to see current headlines pop up within the story, Spencer Fleming, as she always does, tackles the hot-button issues with the nuanced delicacy required to showcase the importance and urgency of them to the fabric of our society.
And alas, without spoiling the ultimate outcomes, I think long time readers will feel satisfied with where these beloved characters are in their lives as we close the final chapter.
🎧 I chose to do an immersive read, using both audio and print. After originally reading the series with my eyes, I took an alternate route: rereading with my ears. And though both are fantastic, I prefer print/ebook over audio. Narrator Suzanne Toren is terrific, but because I had already established these characters in my mind’s eye, her voice (of Clare) wasn’t quite what I had envisioned. That said, her narration quickly grew on me, and if you have not read the series yet, I think you cannot go wrong regardless of format.
Read if you like:
▪️comfort series
▪️engaging and relatable characters
▪️cozy thrillers,
▪️social commentary
▪️romance subplot
▪️small town life
Thank you Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copies.
A huge thank you to Minotaur Books for the advanced copies of my most anticipated book of 2025.
Although I did not want to say goodbye, I cannot envision a better final chapter to the story, nor a better (and more timely) police case for the team to get to the bottom of. Jarring to see current headlines pop up within the story, Spencer Fleming, as she always does, tackles the hot-button issues with the nuanced delicacy required to showcase the importance and urgency of them to the fabric of our society.
And alas, without spoiling the ultimate outcomes, I think long time readers will feel satisfied with where these beloved characters are in their lives as we close the final chapter.
🎧 I chose to do an immersive read, using both audio and print. After originally reading the series with my eyes, I took an alternate route: rereading with my ears. And though both are fantastic, I prefer print/ebook over audio. Narrator Suzanne Toren is terrific, but because I had already established these characters in my mind’s eye, her voice (of Clare) wasn’t quite what I had envisioned. That said, her narration quickly grew on me, and if you have not read the series yet, I think you cannot go wrong regardless of format.
Read if you like:
▪️comfort series
▪️engaging and relatable characters
▪️cozy thrillers,
▪️social commentary
▪️romance subplot
▪️small town life
Thank you Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copies.
A huge thank you to Minotaur Books for the advanced copies of my most anticipated book of 2025.
December 7, 2025
I am notorious for picking up a book without reading much about it and was surprised that not only is this the 10th book in a series (that didn’t matter), but also that the author tackles some pretty “hot button” issues currently facing society, including those of political extremists and religion. Set during the Christmas season in upstate New York, this story is both thrilling and chilling, full of twists, wonderful characters, and intricate mysteries.
There are multiple characters and I did find it tricky at times to keep track of who is who, but it is a buckle-up-for-the-ride kind of story. Full of action/danger, murder, nefarious villains (fascist militia), family, romance, helping others, and more, my attention was held and I almost wanted to cover my eyes at times.
Clare, the FMC, is a reverend, so religion is mentioned frequently, and there is also some language (including strong) and some violence (not graphic).
Content: some violence; moments of danger/peril; language; romance
*I received a complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and were voluntarily given.*
There are multiple characters and I did find it tricky at times to keep track of who is who, but it is a buckle-up-for-the-ride kind of story. Full of action/danger, murder, nefarious villains (fascist militia), family, romance, helping others, and more, my attention was held and I almost wanted to cover my eyes at times.
Clare, the FMC, is a reverend, so religion is mentioned frequently, and there is also some language (including strong) and some violence (not graphic).
Content: some violence; moments of danger/peril; language; romance
*I received a complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and were voluntarily given.*
November 5, 2025
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: November 18, 2025
“At Midnight Comes the Cry” is the tenth novel in the Reverend Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mystery series of novels by Julia Spencer-Fleming. In this installment, Christmas comes to Millers Kill and Clare and her husband, former police chief Russ, look forward to the first holiday season with their infant son. When a group of white supremacists crash the Christmas parade, both Clare and Russ are drawn back into action into a world of hate, conspiracy and murder. Police officer Hadley Knox adds to the couple’s workload when she reveals that her partner, and sometimes lover, police officer Kevin Flynn, has gone missing during an undercover operation and may very well be behind enemy lines in the white supremacist camp. The three, along with young lawyer Joy Zhao and forest ranger Paul Terrance, join forces to infiltrate the camp and take them down, all while locating Kevin and keeping the community safe.
“Cry” is an intense read, especially for a storyline that takes place over the Christmas holidays. There is a lot of hate, subtle political themes, and religious undertones (which makes sense as Clare is a reverend), so, if you have a strong opinion on any of these, I recommend leaving this novel behind, as it will no doubt raise some tempers, and cause some fiery conversations. If you do jump into this novel, it won’t disappoint on the mystery front and it is most definitely full of high-octane drama and action.
There are a lot of narrators in this one, as Clare, Russ, Joy and Paul take over the plot at different points throughout the novel. There are also a lot of background characters who don’t take centre stage, but they are important enough to know, so readers should keep track of them. I found this difficult at first, especially with characters who have similar positions in the police force, but I was able to differentiate between them enough to make sense of the plot.
Spencer-Fleming is a new author for me and “Cry” was the first novel I’ve read in the Fergusson/Van Alstyne series of novels. I would’ve really liked to read the other nine novels in the series, as I definitely felt left behind and that I was missing some key character development points, which no doubt I was seeing as “Cry” is the tenth novel. There were no chapters per se, as the story had sections, but the novel was delineated by asterisks, so readers did have the oppourtunity for breaks.
“Cry” is tense, emotional, suspenseful and action-packed, but I found it challenging to tell similar characters apart. Readers of the previous novels in this series will no doubt find “Cry” far more engaging than I did.
Expected publication date: November 18, 2025
“At Midnight Comes the Cry” is the tenth novel in the Reverend Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mystery series of novels by Julia Spencer-Fleming. In this installment, Christmas comes to Millers Kill and Clare and her husband, former police chief Russ, look forward to the first holiday season with their infant son. When a group of white supremacists crash the Christmas parade, both Clare and Russ are drawn back into action into a world of hate, conspiracy and murder. Police officer Hadley Knox adds to the couple’s workload when she reveals that her partner, and sometimes lover, police officer Kevin Flynn, has gone missing during an undercover operation and may very well be behind enemy lines in the white supremacist camp. The three, along with young lawyer Joy Zhao and forest ranger Paul Terrance, join forces to infiltrate the camp and take them down, all while locating Kevin and keeping the community safe.
“Cry” is an intense read, especially for a storyline that takes place over the Christmas holidays. There is a lot of hate, subtle political themes, and religious undertones (which makes sense as Clare is a reverend), so, if you have a strong opinion on any of these, I recommend leaving this novel behind, as it will no doubt raise some tempers, and cause some fiery conversations. If you do jump into this novel, it won’t disappoint on the mystery front and it is most definitely full of high-octane drama and action.
There are a lot of narrators in this one, as Clare, Russ, Joy and Paul take over the plot at different points throughout the novel. There are also a lot of background characters who don’t take centre stage, but they are important enough to know, so readers should keep track of them. I found this difficult at first, especially with characters who have similar positions in the police force, but I was able to differentiate between them enough to make sense of the plot.
Spencer-Fleming is a new author for me and “Cry” was the first novel I’ve read in the Fergusson/Van Alstyne series of novels. I would’ve really liked to read the other nine novels in the series, as I definitely felt left behind and that I was missing some key character development points, which no doubt I was seeing as “Cry” is the tenth novel. There were no chapters per se, as the story had sections, but the novel was delineated by asterisks, so readers did have the oppourtunity for breaks.
“Cry” is tense, emotional, suspenseful and action-packed, but I found it challenging to tell similar characters apart. Readers of the previous novels in this series will no doubt find “Cry” far more engaging than I did.
December 4, 2025
This is the 10th book in Julia Spencer-Fleming's "Rev. Clare Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries" series and I have loved them all.
Set during the Christmas season mayhem begins at the Christmas Parade where there is a white supremacist float and the members are handing out leaflets among the crowd. Horrific events begin to unfold and a murderous plot needs to be unwound before time runs out.
I loved revisiting all of the characters I am familiar with as well as getting to know new ones added to the story.
Excellent writing, riveting suspense - an excellent story!
Thank you Julia Spencer-Fleming for such a wonderful series!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
Set during the Christmas season mayhem begins at the Christmas Parade where there is a white supremacist float and the members are handing out leaflets among the crowd. Horrific events begin to unfold and a murderous plot needs to be unwound before time runs out.
I loved revisiting all of the characters I am familiar with as well as getting to know new ones added to the story.
Excellent writing, riveting suspense - an excellent story!
Thank you Julia Spencer-Fleming for such a wonderful series!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
December 12, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press (Minotaur Books) for this much appreciated ARC. The cover is beautiful and eye-catching., and implies the story will be a cosy, Christmas-time mystery. It addresses current issues of political extremists, with added problems of hate, conspiracy, immigration, missing people,domestic violence, religion, and murder. This is book number 10 in the series, and the first I have read. I felt I missed important character development and background, which would have been more engaging if I had read the previous books.
Clare Fergusson had a diverse character arc. She is presently an Episcopalian priest and member of the National Guard. She had been a helicopter pilot in a combat zone. I found her to be more credible as a daring pilot, and had to keep reminding myself that she was now a religious minister. I wanted to know more about her personal development and her relationship with retired police chief, Russ Van Alstyne who is now her husband. I would have felt more connected with the characters if I had read earlier books in the series.The storyline has plenty of drama, action, and suspense, and multiple characters whom the reader must attend closely to the complex plot. The story felt overlong but compelling, well-written, emotional, and with tension throughout.
Clare and Russ have a small son, Ethan, and are looking forward to the various activities in their small town of Millers Kill in upstate NY. The annual Christmas parade was spoiled by a float conaining racists attempting to distribute their messages of hate to the crowds.
There is fear that these white supremicists are engaged in an extreme right wing conspiracy against minorities and immigrants. Adding to the threat, police officer Hadley Knox, is worried about her former partner, Kevin Flynn. He has vanished after two months with the Syracuse police department. Has he been working undercover among the racist group?
Forrerst Ranger, Paul, reports that a veteran of the park service is missing.
Joy Zhao is assigned to the state attorney office. She involves herself with the possible extreme right-wing fascist threat, which is against her duties.
This was a satisfying thriller that would be more engaging for those who read some previous books in the series.
Clare Fergusson had a diverse character arc. She is presently an Episcopalian priest and member of the National Guard. She had been a helicopter pilot in a combat zone. I found her to be more credible as a daring pilot, and had to keep reminding myself that she was now a religious minister. I wanted to know more about her personal development and her relationship with retired police chief, Russ Van Alstyne who is now her husband. I would have felt more connected with the characters if I had read earlier books in the series.The storyline has plenty of drama, action, and suspense, and multiple characters whom the reader must attend closely to the complex plot. The story felt overlong but compelling, well-written, emotional, and with tension throughout.
Clare and Russ have a small son, Ethan, and are looking forward to the various activities in their small town of Millers Kill in upstate NY. The annual Christmas parade was spoiled by a float conaining racists attempting to distribute their messages of hate to the crowds.
There is fear that these white supremicists are engaged in an extreme right wing conspiracy against minorities and immigrants. Adding to the threat, police officer Hadley Knox, is worried about her former partner, Kevin Flynn. He has vanished after two months with the Syracuse police department. Has he been working undercover among the racist group?
Forrerst Ranger, Paul, reports that a veteran of the park service is missing.
Joy Zhao is assigned to the state attorney office. She involves herself with the possible extreme right-wing fascist threat, which is against her duties.
This was a satisfying thriller that would be more engaging for those who read some previous books in the series.
November 11, 2025
4.5
thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy!
WOW this was such a perfect cozy, small town mystery/thriller. when I requested this book, it was purely off the vibes and the storyline. I was worried when I looked it up on GR and saw that it was the tenth book in a series. let me tell you: you do NOT have to read the rest of the series to understand this one. Julia does a fabulous job of explaining who people are/the setting in a way that I don't think would at all annoy readers who have read the whole series (which makes sense since the last book came out five years ago!!).
I was hooked literally 10% in and fell in love with Millers Kill. despite being fine reading this book without the rest of the series, I will be reading the rest of the books this next year because it truly was that good
thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy!
WOW this was such a perfect cozy, small town mystery/thriller. when I requested this book, it was purely off the vibes and the storyline. I was worried when I looked it up on GR and saw that it was the tenth book in a series. let me tell you: you do NOT have to read the rest of the series to understand this one. Julia does a fabulous job of explaining who people are/the setting in a way that I don't think would at all annoy readers who have read the whole series (which makes sense since the last book came out five years ago!!).
I was hooked literally 10% in and fell in love with Millers Kill. despite being fine reading this book without the rest of the series, I will be reading the rest of the books this next year because it truly was that good
September 6, 2025
I didn't think we would get any more books in this series about Fergusson and Van Alstyne by Julia Spencer-Fleming. I was so glad to see that there is a new book about this unconventional duo. It is another small town setting but with some really big issues and it is wonderfully written as always. I can always tell when it's a good author because of the speed I go through the book. If the language is not very good it takes me longer to read and I take more pauses. If it wasn't for need of food and sleep I would have read this one in one sitting. I love the characters and setting. I must thank Minotaur Books and Edelweiss for giving me an advance copy. The rest of you will have to wait until November 18th.
November 20, 2025
*4.5 stars rounded up. This mystery-suspense thriller has everything: murder, action, mayhem, evil bad guys (fascist militia men), love, romance, family, religion, all set in the joyful holiday season. I've always enjoyed this series and these remarkable characters and now this latest one ranks as my favorite.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new novel via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new novel via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
December 18, 2025
It's more a 3,5 stars because the last part was tiring. While I recognize that the author was meticulous in details and admire her work, it was tiring.
I adore Clare, how she's such a good person, determined to help whatever the circumstances are. She's determined, resourceful, not easily scared and so much funny. It was a pleasure to see her again, and Russ, in this new book.
Unfortunately, the theme of this book is very real and present in our days: white supremacists groups, racism, prejudice, hate...
The last chapter was such a gift, I adored it.
I adore Clare, how she's such a good person, determined to help whatever the circumstances are. She's determined, resourceful, not easily scared and so much funny. It was a pleasure to see her again, and Russ, in this new book.
Unfortunately, the theme of this book is very real and present in our days: white supremacists groups, racism, prejudice, hate...
The last chapter was such a gift, I adored it.
August 21, 2025
I received a free copy of, At Midnight Comes the Cry, by Julia Spencer-Fleming, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is set in Millers Kill during the Christmas season, and a lot is going on, not all good. This is not a warm and fuzzy Christmas read at all. This was a good read.
September 24, 2025
My first experience with an exceptionally well written thriller featuring an unconventional team that evidently has been around for a while. Clare, a former police officer and helicopter pilot stationed in Iraq now an Episcopal priest and her partner Russ, retired police chief, along with their baby Ethan. Apparently they've moved to upper state New York and find themselves up against a nest of white supremacists. Very impressive descriptions of action set pieces as well as character development across the board.
November 16, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
At Midnight Comes The Cry
Author: Julia Fleming-Spencer
Source: Netgalley
Publication Date: Nov. 18, 2025
As a practicing Anglican parishioner, I enjoy following this series featuring our lead protagonist Clare, the priest, and her retired police husband Russ. This is a series of books, and they’re all good, with just the right blend of solving crimes, helping people, helping church members, and trying to bring their community together. I like that it is a more mature couple, and they have a new baby, and both have a military background, which makes for some interesting situations. This book was excellent and dealt with a malicious style group that sought to sow chaos in their community. Always enjoyable, and I love this one set during the Advent season.
#atmidnightcomesthecry #crime #crimesolving #racism #batterspouse #militia #missingpoliceofficers #life #love #community #family @netgalley @juliaflemingspencer @minotaur
I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this novel.
At Midnight Comes The Cry
Author: Julia Fleming-Spencer
Source: Netgalley
Publication Date: Nov. 18, 2025
As a practicing Anglican parishioner, I enjoy following this series featuring our lead protagonist Clare, the priest, and her retired police husband Russ. This is a series of books, and they’re all good, with just the right blend of solving crimes, helping people, helping church members, and trying to bring their community together. I like that it is a more mature couple, and they have a new baby, and both have a military background, which makes for some interesting situations. This book was excellent and dealt with a malicious style group that sought to sow chaos in their community. Always enjoyable, and I love this one set during the Advent season.
#atmidnightcomesthecry #crime #crimesolving #racism #batterspouse #militia #missingpoliceofficers #life #love #community #family @netgalley @juliaflemingspencer @minotaur
I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this novel.
October 19, 2025
Millers Kill Reverend Clare Ferguson and husband Russ Van Alstyne, recently retired as police chief, and both military veterans, attend a Christmas parade when a white supremacist participant and others’ response to him escalates into a fight that Russ breaks up. Clare reaches out to the man’s wife, and the couple soon find themselves in danger as they investigate a local militia.
This is the tenth in a series; I have read only one prior installment. This would work as a stand alone.
The writing is well-crafted, and the story engaging. Spencer-Fleming effectively captures the essence of small-town upstate New York. In referring to the supporting characters, the author frequently alternates between using their first and last names; initially, I had to pay close attention to distinguish who was who. When the manhunt moves outdoors and the militia is being tracked, there is a lot of run on detail and I found myself skimming a bit.
Despite these minor issues, the topic of the story is important and timely. It’s also a bit frightening because it reflects reality.
Thanks to @NetGalley and @StMartinsPress @Minotaur_Books for the DRC.
This is the tenth in a series; I have read only one prior installment. This would work as a stand alone.
The writing is well-crafted, and the story engaging. Spencer-Fleming effectively captures the essence of small-town upstate New York. In referring to the supporting characters, the author frequently alternates between using their first and last names; initially, I had to pay close attention to distinguish who was who. When the manhunt moves outdoors and the militia is being tracked, there is a lot of run on detail and I found myself skimming a bit.
Despite these minor issues, the topic of the story is important and timely. It’s also a bit frightening because it reflects reality.
Thanks to @NetGalley and @StMartinsPress @Minotaur_Books for the DRC.
November 13, 2025
I believe this is the first I’ve read by this author, and wow, it was intense!!
There are multiple MAIN characters, and they each have their own flaws as well as wonderful attributes… but, it seems like they should NOT be working together on this particular project. And yet, here they are, and it seems like the entire world is IN THEIR HANDS!!
We have a very recently retired Chief Of Police, as well as his wife, a Priest, and their baby boy.
Then we have a young female police officer who is in search of her old partner who seems to have gone off the grid.. and no one, not even his parents, have heard from him for months!
Then we have an Indian Park Ranger who is in search of his missing Uncle. He’s also a Park Ranger with many years on the job… and when he’s been missing for about a day, the nephew starts to worry…
Add to this that there seems to be a huge uprising of White Supremacists in this small, really upstate NY town that’s out in the boondocks… and, well, we seem to have a recipe for disaster…
There’s also a young, female, Asian Lawyer in the mix, who’s friends with the Priest…
This is a fast-paced, nail-biting story that will keep you glued your seat, and the pages!!
4 1/2 stars for me, happily rounded up to 5!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
#AtMidnightComesTheCry by @JuliaSpencerFleming and narrated beautifully by (an Angela Lansbury double, imo….) @SuzanneToren.
*** This one has NOT BEEN RELEASED YET, please look 👀 for it in a few days on 11/18/25!! ***
Thanks so much to @NetGalley and @MacmillanAudio for an ALC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
You can find my reviews on: Goodreads,
Instagram: @BookReviews_with_emsr and/or
My Facebook Book Club: Book Reviews With Elaine
Thanks so much for reading! And if you ‘liked’ my review, please share with your friends, & click ‘LIKE’ below… And, let me know YOUR thoughts if you read it!! 📚⭐️
There are multiple MAIN characters, and they each have their own flaws as well as wonderful attributes… but, it seems like they should NOT be working together on this particular project. And yet, here they are, and it seems like the entire world is IN THEIR HANDS!!
We have a very recently retired Chief Of Police, as well as his wife, a Priest, and their baby boy.
Then we have a young female police officer who is in search of her old partner who seems to have gone off the grid.. and no one, not even his parents, have heard from him for months!
Then we have an Indian Park Ranger who is in search of his missing Uncle. He’s also a Park Ranger with many years on the job… and when he’s been missing for about a day, the nephew starts to worry…
Add to this that there seems to be a huge uprising of White Supremacists in this small, really upstate NY town that’s out in the boondocks… and, well, we seem to have a recipe for disaster…
There’s also a young, female, Asian Lawyer in the mix, who’s friends with the Priest…
This is a fast-paced, nail-biting story that will keep you glued your seat, and the pages!!
4 1/2 stars for me, happily rounded up to 5!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
#AtMidnightComesTheCry by @JuliaSpencerFleming and narrated beautifully by (an Angela Lansbury double, imo….) @SuzanneToren.
*** This one has NOT BEEN RELEASED YET, please look 👀 for it in a few days on 11/18/25!! ***
Thanks so much to @NetGalley and @MacmillanAudio for an ALC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
You can find my reviews on: Goodreads,
Instagram: @BookReviews_with_emsr and/or
My Facebook Book Club: Book Reviews With Elaine
Thanks so much for reading! And if you ‘liked’ my review, please share with your friends, & click ‘LIKE’ below… And, let me know YOUR thoughts if you read it!! 📚⭐️
October 9, 2025
I started this series with the tenth book. I think each one focuses on a different story, in which Reverend Clare and her husband Russ undertake a dangerous mission.
While Clare focuses on Tina, a young mother with an abusive husband, her husband, Russ, and police officer Hadley Knox investigate the disappearance of a fellow officer. Both cases point to a militia group forming in the area. This isn't how Clare and Russ planned to spend their first Christmas with their son.
I really liked Clare. I hadn't read the previous books in this series, but she surprised me at every turn. She's not only a loving mother and supportive wife, but also a caring person who did everything in her power to rescue a young mother and her daughter from an abusive relationship. She's a pastor who cares for her parishioners, a brave former pilot who served in Afghanistan, and a woman with a sense of humor.
An interesting small town mystery with a priest and a cop in the lead roles.
I recommend reading this series in order so you don't miss out on the personal lives of Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne.
While Clare focuses on Tina, a young mother with an abusive husband, her husband, Russ, and police officer Hadley Knox investigate the disappearance of a fellow officer. Both cases point to a militia group forming in the area. This isn't how Clare and Russ planned to spend their first Christmas with their son.
I really liked Clare. I hadn't read the previous books in this series, but she surprised me at every turn. She's not only a loving mother and supportive wife, but also a caring person who did everything in her power to rescue a young mother and her daughter from an abusive relationship. She's a pastor who cares for her parishioners, a brave former pilot who served in Afghanistan, and a woman with a sense of humor.
An interesting small town mystery with a priest and a cop in the lead roles.
I recommend reading this series in order so you don't miss out on the personal lives of Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne.
November 16, 2025
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this novel.
It’s hard to believe that this is already the tenth in the author’s beloved Rev. Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mystery series. I can’t say that I’ve read each installment, and, although the author does provide a bit of backstory for the leading characters and their actions in the current adventure, I would not recommend this book as a starting point. This is especially the case if you want to understand Clare, Russ, and how they got together.
The Fergusson-Van Alstynes, as book 10 begins, have just celebrated their first anniversary, and have a beautiful eight month old baby, Ethan. They live in upper New York State, in the rural town of Millers Kills. Despite the name, it is considered a snug and cozy, perfectly safe little place to settle and raise a family. Clare and Russ and baby are a snug and cozy little family. Or so most would assume, given that she’s an Episcopal priest and he’s the now-retired former Chief of Police. They share a background in the armed forces, and were both deployed to Iraq, where Clare was a helicopter pilot.
Now that they have a baby, they want nothing so much as to live a ‘normal’ quiet life. The Christmas season is about to begin, and they are looking forward to the kick-off Lighted Tractor Parade. The fun is immediately tempered by the participation of white supremacists promoting their cause with their own tractor, banners and leaflets. They are immediately drawn in to break up a fight. Clare, performing her duty as local pastor, tries to mediate. She arranges to meet socially with two of the supremacist women, figuring that, as a wife and mother, as well as a pastor, she could lead them to see their error.
While Clare is occupied ostensibly doing her job, Russ is trying to adjust to his recent, not exactly voluntary, retirement. Although he swears he’s left policing behind him, he jumps enthusiastically into a case involving two former MKPF colleagues. Hadley Knox, anxious about the seeming disappearance of Kevin Flynn, an undercover cop and sometime lover, seeks Russ’s help to find him. approaches him for help in finding their colleague and her sometimes lover, Flynn. Looking for information, they locate Flynn’s assistant, the young lawyer/federal agent Joy (Yixin) Zhao. She tells them what they were tasked to do: find the big players among the disparate groups planning to rid the US of the immigrants (especially Jews) they resent. And how, when the mission was suddenly aborted, she and Flynn continued it on their own.
Clare’s ‘work’ with the women and Hadley and Russ’s mission to find Flynn converge over the murder of an Indigenous State Park Ranger in the Adirondack Mountains. His nephew, Paul Terrance, also a ranger, joins forces with them to find him. They do, but too late. Meanwhile, they haven’t found Flynn or any militia leaders, but Clare is getting closer.
The story becomes increasingly dark and intense as the storylines converge and it becomes evident that these people are not merely making a point about their right to presumed right to power just for being white and American-born. Did Flynn meet his fate at the hands of the groups he was attempting to infiltrate? Who killed the elderly Ranger who had patrolled the Adirondacks since childhood without encountering violence? Are these social outliers disturbed enough to plan a serious terrorist attack? Is Clare’s embedding herself within the wives’ circle endangering them all?
Julia Spencer-Fleming is a skilled writer who can juggle half a dozen leading characters and a complicated plot with style. I did find myself occasionally confused when names and last names were inconsistently used, and, being Canadian, I didn’t recognize some of the agency and police acronyms. One that everyone will recognize is ICE, whose policies are increasingly terroristic themselves. That’s where this book really hits home: it’s no cozy Christmas story but a white knuckle, all too real ride.
It’s hard to believe that this is already the tenth in the author’s beloved Rev. Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mystery series. I can’t say that I’ve read each installment, and, although the author does provide a bit of backstory for the leading characters and their actions in the current adventure, I would not recommend this book as a starting point. This is especially the case if you want to understand Clare, Russ, and how they got together.
The Fergusson-Van Alstynes, as book 10 begins, have just celebrated their first anniversary, and have a beautiful eight month old baby, Ethan. They live in upper New York State, in the rural town of Millers Kills. Despite the name, it is considered a snug and cozy, perfectly safe little place to settle and raise a family. Clare and Russ and baby are a snug and cozy little family. Or so most would assume, given that she’s an Episcopal priest and he’s the now-retired former Chief of Police. They share a background in the armed forces, and were both deployed to Iraq, where Clare was a helicopter pilot.
Now that they have a baby, they want nothing so much as to live a ‘normal’ quiet life. The Christmas season is about to begin, and they are looking forward to the kick-off Lighted Tractor Parade. The fun is immediately tempered by the participation of white supremacists promoting their cause with their own tractor, banners and leaflets. They are immediately drawn in to break up a fight. Clare, performing her duty as local pastor, tries to mediate. She arranges to meet socially with two of the supremacist women, figuring that, as a wife and mother, as well as a pastor, she could lead them to see their error.
While Clare is occupied ostensibly doing her job, Russ is trying to adjust to his recent, not exactly voluntary, retirement. Although he swears he’s left policing behind him, he jumps enthusiastically into a case involving two former MKPF colleagues. Hadley Knox, anxious about the seeming disappearance of Kevin Flynn, an undercover cop and sometime lover, seeks Russ’s help to find him. approaches him for help in finding their colleague and her sometimes lover, Flynn. Looking for information, they locate Flynn’s assistant, the young lawyer/federal agent Joy (Yixin) Zhao. She tells them what they were tasked to do: find the big players among the disparate groups planning to rid the US of the immigrants (especially Jews) they resent. And how, when the mission was suddenly aborted, she and Flynn continued it on their own.
Clare’s ‘work’ with the women and Hadley and Russ’s mission to find Flynn converge over the murder of an Indigenous State Park Ranger in the Adirondack Mountains. His nephew, Paul Terrance, also a ranger, joins forces with them to find him. They do, but too late. Meanwhile, they haven’t found Flynn or any militia leaders, but Clare is getting closer.
The story becomes increasingly dark and intense as the storylines converge and it becomes evident that these people are not merely making a point about their right to presumed right to power just for being white and American-born. Did Flynn meet his fate at the hands of the groups he was attempting to infiltrate? Who killed the elderly Ranger who had patrolled the Adirondacks since childhood without encountering violence? Are these social outliers disturbed enough to plan a serious terrorist attack? Is Clare’s embedding herself within the wives’ circle endangering them all?
Julia Spencer-Fleming is a skilled writer who can juggle half a dozen leading characters and a complicated plot with style. I did find myself occasionally confused when names and last names were inconsistently used, and, being Canadian, I didn’t recognize some of the agency and police acronyms. One that everyone will recognize is ICE, whose policies are increasingly terroristic themselves. That’s where this book really hits home: it’s no cozy Christmas story but a white knuckle, all too real ride.
September 6, 2025
Not a warm and fuzzy Christmas read!
When a series features as main characters a police chief and a female Episcopal priest who has served as an Army Blackhawk pilot in a combat zone, readers know this is not going to be your typical “thriller” novel. It is better described as a mainstream series whose plots center on police situations and procedures. I have read and enjoyed a number of the books.
The setting in the small town of Millers Kill in upstate New York is nicely drawn as always.
The best part of the series, though, is the characters. Now husband and wife, Claire and Russ have interesting personal connections by virtue of the small-town atmosphere and their careers in law enforcement and clerical service. Both their personalities and those of the people around them and their relationships are nicely portrayed and make this a very credible cast. Russ and Claire’s own “cast of characters” has recently been expanded even further as a result of the arrival of their son Ethan, and the joys and frustrations of parenthood are fun to read.
It took a while for the plot to develop, and for me the story line was the weakest part of the book. The book description alerts readers that a group of right-wing white supremacists are putting a damper on the town’s upcoming Christmas holiday celebrations, so I was expecting perhaps something a little worse than a disgruntled relative knocking off Aunt Jane for the inheritance, but the violence and nastiness went beyond what I expected and included things like physical and sexual spousal abuse. It seriously affected my personal enjoyment of the book to the extent that I considered not finishing it, but readers less sensitive than I are likely to find it well done.
Since I enjoyed a number of earlier books in the series quite a bit, I will be on the lookout for future instalments, but I hope appropriate warnings will be provided for the squeamish like me.
I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley and Minotaur Books.
When a series features as main characters a police chief and a female Episcopal priest who has served as an Army Blackhawk pilot in a combat zone, readers know this is not going to be your typical “thriller” novel. It is better described as a mainstream series whose plots center on police situations and procedures. I have read and enjoyed a number of the books.
The setting in the small town of Millers Kill in upstate New York is nicely drawn as always.
The best part of the series, though, is the characters. Now husband and wife, Claire and Russ have interesting personal connections by virtue of the small-town atmosphere and their careers in law enforcement and clerical service. Both their personalities and those of the people around them and their relationships are nicely portrayed and make this a very credible cast. Russ and Claire’s own “cast of characters” has recently been expanded even further as a result of the arrival of their son Ethan, and the joys and frustrations of parenthood are fun to read.
It took a while for the plot to develop, and for me the story line was the weakest part of the book. The book description alerts readers that a group of right-wing white supremacists are putting a damper on the town’s upcoming Christmas holiday celebrations, so I was expecting perhaps something a little worse than a disgruntled relative knocking off Aunt Jane for the inheritance, but the violence and nastiness went beyond what I expected and included things like physical and sexual spousal abuse. It seriously affected my personal enjoyment of the book to the extent that I considered not finishing it, but readers less sensitive than I are likely to find it well done.
Since I enjoyed a number of earlier books in the series quite a bit, I will be on the lookout for future instalments, but I hope appropriate warnings will be provided for the squeamish like me.
I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley and Minotaur Books.
December 28, 2025
DNF: too political even for me as a progressive liberal. Very much in your face and I’m trying to avoid that in my fiction.
January 3, 2026
Searching for white supremacist terrorists in the Adirondacks.
June 17, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review the new book in Julia Spencer-Fleming's great Rev. Clare Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries series. This is number 10 in the series, and comes five years after "Hid From Our Eyes". But she hasn't missed a beat, as we're right back with Clare and Russ (and their son Ethan) in the town of Millers Kill.
Russ has now been (forcibly) retired, but as always itching for action, so when one of his former deputies suddenly drops from site - after having been undercover with white supremacists - he happily joins with Hadley Knox, picking up a Park Ranger along the way, and ends up himself in the world of militias and white supremacy.
Meanwhile, Clare - preparing for Christmas as it fast approaches - also becomes entangled in that world, along with an young lawyer from the Attorney General's office, who is investigating off the books.
And what they all begin to uncover could lead to an absolutely horrific terrorist attack so close to two major religious events - Hannukah and Christmas.
I have read and loved all of the previous books in this series, and liked this one just as much. Although I did spend an inordinate amount of time screaming ' don't do that'! (Much like in horror movies where the unwitting teen ends up the victim of a serial killer/vampire/zombie).
You don't have to have read all of the previous books in the series - but it wouldn't hurt. Recommended.
Russ has now been (forcibly) retired, but as always itching for action, so when one of his former deputies suddenly drops from site - after having been undercover with white supremacists - he happily joins with Hadley Knox, picking up a Park Ranger along the way, and ends up himself in the world of militias and white supremacy.
Meanwhile, Clare - preparing for Christmas as it fast approaches - also becomes entangled in that world, along with an young lawyer from the Attorney General's office, who is investigating off the books.
And what they all begin to uncover could lead to an absolutely horrific terrorist attack so close to two major religious events - Hannukah and Christmas.
I have read and loved all of the previous books in this series, and liked this one just as much. Although I did spend an inordinate amount of time screaming ' don't do that'! (Much like in horror movies where the unwitting teen ends up the victim of a serial killer/vampire/zombie).
You don't have to have read all of the previous books in the series - but it wouldn't hurt. Recommended.
July 8, 2025
I am thrilled to be reading another installment in the Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series—and set during Christmas. Russ and Clare are married with an infant, Ethan. Russ has recently retired from the Millers Kill police force. The family is at an annual holiday parade, which was hijacked by a white supremacy group spreading leaflets among the crowd.
Meanwhile Hadley Knox continues on the police force, but is worried about her former partner, Kevin Flynn, whom no one has heard from in months, including his current employer, the Syracuse PD. Hadley and Russ start making inquiries and meet Yixin Zhao, a newbie in the state Attorney General’s office. Zhao tells them that she and Flynn had been working on an anti-extremist task force which was disbanding. She believes Flynn continued his undercover role on his own.
During a search off the grid in the Adirondacks, Russ stumbles into the supremacists’ training camp. Although busy with liturgical duties during Advent, Clare manages to befriend a wife of a supremacist, bonding of course over their babies. The novel is organized by the four Sundays of Advent. As the weeks unfold, the friends realize the militia group is planning a massive terrorist attack, but where? And when?
I loved catching up with the recurring characters in the series. I hope to see more of the young attorney, Yixin Zhao, and Forest Ranger Paul Terrance in future books. I appreciate the author’s efforts to humanize a few of the supremacists and examine reasons why that path attracts some followers.
Meanwhile Hadley Knox continues on the police force, but is worried about her former partner, Kevin Flynn, whom no one has heard from in months, including his current employer, the Syracuse PD. Hadley and Russ start making inquiries and meet Yixin Zhao, a newbie in the state Attorney General’s office. Zhao tells them that she and Flynn had been working on an anti-extremist task force which was disbanding. She believes Flynn continued his undercover role on his own.
During a search off the grid in the Adirondacks, Russ stumbles into the supremacists’ training camp. Although busy with liturgical duties during Advent, Clare manages to befriend a wife of a supremacist, bonding of course over their babies. The novel is organized by the four Sundays of Advent. As the weeks unfold, the friends realize the militia group is planning a massive terrorist attack, but where? And when?
I loved catching up with the recurring characters in the series. I hope to see more of the young attorney, Yixin Zhao, and Forest Ranger Paul Terrance in future books. I appreciate the author’s efforts to humanize a few of the supremacists and examine reasons why that path attracts some followers.
June 29, 2025
My first thought upon finishing At Midnight Comes the Cry was that I wanted to go back to the first page and read it again. It has been 5 years since Julia Spencer-Fleming last published a book in her Miller's Kill series and I was wondering if this new book would retain the author's gift of dialog and sense of place that her previous 9 novels had. It did and she has. It was great to be back with Army pilot/Episcopal priest Claire, former police chief Russ, and so many other characters I have come to feel I know personally. As always there is a social issue at the core; this time the problem of the rise of a self proclaimed malitia intent on causing harm to Jews and immigrants. At times this book reads like a thriller, lots of action and a few moments of impulsive probably not the best decision making.
I can only hope this is not the end of the series but the lack of Mrs. Spencer-Flemimg's usual cliff hanger leaves me wondering. Regardless, if you have not read this series start at the beginning and read them all. They are that good!
I can only hope this is not the end of the series but the lack of Mrs. Spencer-Flemimg's usual cliff hanger leaves me wondering. Regardless, if you have not read this series start at the beginning and read them all. They are that good!
December 12, 2025
📚At Midnight Comes The Cry
✍🏻Julia Spencer-Fleming
Blurb:
New York Times bestseller Julia Spencer-Fleming returns to her beloved Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series
It’s Christmas time in Millers Kill, and Reverend Clare Fergusson and her husband Russ van Alstyne - newly resigned from his position as chief of police – plan to enjoy it with their baby boy. On their visiting Santa, decorating the tree, and attending the church Christmas pageant. But when a beloved holiday parade is crashed by white supremacists, Clare and Russ find themselves sucked into a parallel world of militias, machinations and murder.
Meanwhile, single mom and officer Hadley Knox has her hands full juggling her kids and her police work. She doesn’t want to worry about her former partner – and sometimes lover – Kevin Flynn, but when he takes leave from the Syracuse PD and disappears, she can’t help her growing panic that something has gone very wrong.
Novice lawyer Joy Zhào is keeping secrets from her superiors at the state Attorney General’s Office. She knows they wouldn’t condone her off-the-books investigation, but she’s convinced a threatening alt-right conspiracy is brewing – and catching the perpetrators could jump start her career.
NYS Forest Ranger Paul Terrance is looking for his uncle, a veteran of the park service gone inexplicably missing. He doesn’t think much of an ex-cop and out-of-town officer showing up in his patch of the woods, but he’s heard the disturbing rumors of dangerous men in the mountains.
In New York Times Julia Spencer-Fleming's latest novel, as Christmas approaches, these five people will discover their suspicions hang on a single twisting thread, leading to the forbidding High Peaks of the Adirondacks. As the December days shorten and the nights grow long, a disparate group of would-be heroes need to unwind a murderous plot before time runs out.
My Thoughts:
Russ should be easing into retirement. Clare just wants to help a young mother. Instead, husband and wife find themselves tangled with the same violent, racist militia for two very different reasons. When their paths collide, they’re suddenly racing to stop a deadly plot before it explodes.Claire and Russ are at a holiday parade where one of the floats is put on by white supremacists. Claire actually reaches out to one of the couples. Meanwhile, Kevin Flynn has gone MIA after his undercover job was axed and Russ uses his time now that he’s retired to try and track him down. Hadley Knox helps Russ with the search.. Clare took the high road and befriended the woman from the float. She made a lunch date at their home and convinced Russ to be pleasant. He discovered, much to his surprise, that he enjoyed himself and liked these people very much. While there they met a man who would feature prominently in his future as he and Clare both got involved, albeit in different ways, with these people.
A frightening book, in that people like these exist and are determined to win, at any cost. Danger loomed. Clare’s involvement was with an abused woman and her child while, Russ’s was more in the nitty gritty of violence. It took some investigating and some quick thinking, but this odd couple, who very much fit together, managed to infiltrate and work on solving problems. At Midnight Comes the Cry was such a satisfying read, start to finish
Thanks NetGalley, Minotaur Books and Author Julia Spencer-Fleming for the advanced copy of "At Midnight Comes the Cry" I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#MinotaurBooks
#JuliaSpencer-Fleming
#AtMidnightComestheCry
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⚠️Trigger Warnings: Racism, Religion, Terrorism, and Domestic violence
✍🏻Julia Spencer-Fleming
Blurb:
New York Times bestseller Julia Spencer-Fleming returns to her beloved Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series
It’s Christmas time in Millers Kill, and Reverend Clare Fergusson and her husband Russ van Alstyne - newly resigned from his position as chief of police – plan to enjoy it with their baby boy. On their visiting Santa, decorating the tree, and attending the church Christmas pageant. But when a beloved holiday parade is crashed by white supremacists, Clare and Russ find themselves sucked into a parallel world of militias, machinations and murder.
Meanwhile, single mom and officer Hadley Knox has her hands full juggling her kids and her police work. She doesn’t want to worry about her former partner – and sometimes lover – Kevin Flynn, but when he takes leave from the Syracuse PD and disappears, she can’t help her growing panic that something has gone very wrong.
Novice lawyer Joy Zhào is keeping secrets from her superiors at the state Attorney General’s Office. She knows they wouldn’t condone her off-the-books investigation, but she’s convinced a threatening alt-right conspiracy is brewing – and catching the perpetrators could jump start her career.
NYS Forest Ranger Paul Terrance is looking for his uncle, a veteran of the park service gone inexplicably missing. He doesn’t think much of an ex-cop and out-of-town officer showing up in his patch of the woods, but he’s heard the disturbing rumors of dangerous men in the mountains.
In New York Times Julia Spencer-Fleming's latest novel, as Christmas approaches, these five people will discover their suspicions hang on a single twisting thread, leading to the forbidding High Peaks of the Adirondacks. As the December days shorten and the nights grow long, a disparate group of would-be heroes need to unwind a murderous plot before time runs out.
My Thoughts:
Russ should be easing into retirement. Clare just wants to help a young mother. Instead, husband and wife find themselves tangled with the same violent, racist militia for two very different reasons. When their paths collide, they’re suddenly racing to stop a deadly plot before it explodes.Claire and Russ are at a holiday parade where one of the floats is put on by white supremacists. Claire actually reaches out to one of the couples. Meanwhile, Kevin Flynn has gone MIA after his undercover job was axed and Russ uses his time now that he’s retired to try and track him down. Hadley Knox helps Russ with the search.. Clare took the high road and befriended the woman from the float. She made a lunch date at their home and convinced Russ to be pleasant. He discovered, much to his surprise, that he enjoyed himself and liked these people very much. While there they met a man who would feature prominently in his future as he and Clare both got involved, albeit in different ways, with these people.
A frightening book, in that people like these exist and are determined to win, at any cost. Danger loomed. Clare’s involvement was with an abused woman and her child while, Russ’s was more in the nitty gritty of violence. It took some investigating and some quick thinking, but this odd couple, who very much fit together, managed to infiltrate and work on solving problems. At Midnight Comes the Cry was such a satisfying read, start to finish
Thanks NetGalley, Minotaur Books and Author Julia Spencer-Fleming for the advanced copy of "At Midnight Comes the Cry" I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#MinotaurBooks
#JuliaSpencer-Fleming
#AtMidnightComestheCry
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⚠️Trigger Warnings: Racism, Religion, Terrorism, and Domestic violence
September 24, 2025
Julia Spencer-Fleming had me with her first sentence of her first book, “It was one hell of a night to throw away a baby.” Talk about great first lines! That may be one of my favorites of all time, and the books are favorites of mine as well. Through the now ten book series, we’ve seen the main character, Rev. Clare Fergusson, arrive in tiny Millers Kill, New York, fall in love, marry, beat addiction, and have a baby. In this book the baby, Ethan, is an infant., and her now husband, Russ, who resigned as police chief in the last book (Hid From Our Eyes), at somewhat of a loose end. All is well – in the first couple paragraphs, anyway - as the little family watches the annual town Christmas parade of lit up tractors.
Ten books in as a reader of this series, I realized that Spencer-Fleming, while she writes beautifully about characters and setting, is truly an adventure/action story teller, and this book may be the purest expression so far of her adventure sensibility. She is also never afraid to take on issues, and usually forms her stories around them. In this she is very similar to her contemporary William Kent Krueger, who is also a writer of social justice stories (as well as being an action/adventure writer). They are also similar in their heartfelt and moving ways of telling stories.
The issue in this book is a big one – white supremacy. The parade is interrupted by a banner that sends everything into chaos, and the story grows from there. Like all the best storytellers, Spencer-Fleming’s stories seem to grow organically – one plot point folds naturally into another. Clare reaches out to the wife of the banner unfurler which leads to a coffee date with her family. Clare and Russ are doing a little sleuthing, and they get more than they bargained for out of the coffee.
Making the plot really grab the reader is the disappearance of Kevin Flynn, who left the Miller’s Kill police force in the last book to work under cover, infiltrating one of these groups. When Russ goes to Albany with Miller’s Kill officer Hadley Knox to inquire about him, the only person they can find willing to share any information is a young state’s attorney who seems to have been working with Kevin off the books. That’s all it takes for Russ to take this further and, accompanied by Hadley, the two set off into the wilds of the Adirondacks to search for Kevin.
Clare is not sitting idly by as Russ and Hadley head off. There were many, many parts of the book where I actually yelled, “NO Clare! Bad idea!” as I was reading. Clare is impulsive but also brave, and as she’s a trained pilot who served in the military she comes in handy many times. Through the book, Clare and Russ are working almost parallel investigations, making for a lively and absorbing narrative. While the series is issue driven, the books are also wonderfully told stories.
The characters of Clare and Russ ground everything. Both are so fully realized and human, with Clare’s spirituality and Russ’ taciturn practicality making a wonderful pairing. The wrap up to this book is action packed and emotional – a Spencer-Fleming specialty. The installments appear slowly, so I like to savor them as I read, but with writing like this, savoring goes out the window as I can’t stop turning the pages. This is a wonderful addition to a now classic series.
Ten books in as a reader of this series, I realized that Spencer-Fleming, while she writes beautifully about characters and setting, is truly an adventure/action story teller, and this book may be the purest expression so far of her adventure sensibility. She is also never afraid to take on issues, and usually forms her stories around them. In this she is very similar to her contemporary William Kent Krueger, who is also a writer of social justice stories (as well as being an action/adventure writer). They are also similar in their heartfelt and moving ways of telling stories.
The issue in this book is a big one – white supremacy. The parade is interrupted by a banner that sends everything into chaos, and the story grows from there. Like all the best storytellers, Spencer-Fleming’s stories seem to grow organically – one plot point folds naturally into another. Clare reaches out to the wife of the banner unfurler which leads to a coffee date with her family. Clare and Russ are doing a little sleuthing, and they get more than they bargained for out of the coffee.
Making the plot really grab the reader is the disappearance of Kevin Flynn, who left the Miller’s Kill police force in the last book to work under cover, infiltrating one of these groups. When Russ goes to Albany with Miller’s Kill officer Hadley Knox to inquire about him, the only person they can find willing to share any information is a young state’s attorney who seems to have been working with Kevin off the books. That’s all it takes for Russ to take this further and, accompanied by Hadley, the two set off into the wilds of the Adirondacks to search for Kevin.
Clare is not sitting idly by as Russ and Hadley head off. There were many, many parts of the book where I actually yelled, “NO Clare! Bad idea!” as I was reading. Clare is impulsive but also brave, and as she’s a trained pilot who served in the military she comes in handy many times. Through the book, Clare and Russ are working almost parallel investigations, making for a lively and absorbing narrative. While the series is issue driven, the books are also wonderfully told stories.
The characters of Clare and Russ ground everything. Both are so fully realized and human, with Clare’s spirituality and Russ’ taciturn practicality making a wonderful pairing. The wrap up to this book is action packed and emotional – a Spencer-Fleming specialty. The installments appear slowly, so I like to savor them as I read, but with writing like this, savoring goes out the window as I can’t stop turning the pages. This is a wonderful addition to a now classic series.
October 4, 2025
This was a pretty fun read, a bit rougher than my normal fare, I suppose, but entertaining never the less. I suppose what initially intrigued me was that one of the main characters was an Episcopal priest. She was formerly in the National Guard for ten years, but then found God, or something, and became a priest. Given that this is something like the 10th book in a series, I might actually know had I read the earlier volumes first. Whatever, I once dated a woman who, eventually, became an Episcopal priest. Then too, I was married in an Episcopal church. So, even though I'm a Congregationalist, I'm rather down with Episcopalians.
Well, not much of the above is relevant. We have Rev. Claire Fergusson, the priest, and her spouse, Russ Van Alstyne, who had recently resigned as chief of the Millers Kill Police Department (MKPD). Van Alstyne had also spent some time in the army, as an MP, I believe. In all he had something like 30 years of cop service. That means there is a likely age mismatch between Van Alstyne and Rev. Claire. But, the two have an 8-month old baby, Ethan. Millers Kill is in upstate New York, likely not too distant from Adirondack Park.
One of the cops at the MKPD, Kevin Flynn went off to Syracuse to join in with some undercover operations relating to a white supremacist group. But no one has heard from him in a few months and his family, and a young cop at the MKPD — Hadley Knox, who had had a budding romance with Flynn — became concerned. They decided to look into Kevin's whereabouts.
Even though Van Alstyne is allegedly retired as being chief of the MKPD, he seems to head up the search for Flynn. The first stop is Syracuse, where they run into a young lawyer, Yixin Zhao (aka Joy), who had been Flynn's point person in the undercover operation. She helps them pin point the approximate location where Flynn was last seen. As they wander around in the woods, they come upon a ranger, Paul Terrance (a Native American), who it happens just came upon the body of his murdered uncle. So, they all join forces in looking for the white supremacist group that might have Kevin Flynn in its midst.
While all this is going on, Rev. Claire makes some "friends" who seem to harbor white-supremacist delusions. One such friend is Tiny March (Christine) who also has a small baby, and who is totally under the thumb of an abusive husband, Calvin March. Mr. March is also pretty clearly aligned with the white supremacist group. Rev. Claire, of course, starts trying to think of ways to help Tiny (or Christine) escape to safety. As part of this, she joins forces, so to speak with the MKPD folks who are hunting for the location of the white supremacist group.
Well, enough of all this. Suffice to say, there is danger, planned public bombings at the site of a gathering of Jewish people, and so forth. All in all, it's a rather gripping thriller. It's not normally my cup of tea, but it was rather nice and I'm glad I was given the privilege to preview the book prior to its publication.
#NetGalley #AtMidnightComesTheCry
Well, not much of the above is relevant. We have Rev. Claire Fergusson, the priest, and her spouse, Russ Van Alstyne, who had recently resigned as chief of the Millers Kill Police Department (MKPD). Van Alstyne had also spent some time in the army, as an MP, I believe. In all he had something like 30 years of cop service. That means there is a likely age mismatch between Van Alstyne and Rev. Claire. But, the two have an 8-month old baby, Ethan. Millers Kill is in upstate New York, likely not too distant from Adirondack Park.
One of the cops at the MKPD, Kevin Flynn went off to Syracuse to join in with some undercover operations relating to a white supremacist group. But no one has heard from him in a few months and his family, and a young cop at the MKPD — Hadley Knox, who had had a budding romance with Flynn — became concerned. They decided to look into Kevin's whereabouts.
Even though Van Alstyne is allegedly retired as being chief of the MKPD, he seems to head up the search for Flynn. The first stop is Syracuse, where they run into a young lawyer, Yixin Zhao (aka Joy), who had been Flynn's point person in the undercover operation. She helps them pin point the approximate location where Flynn was last seen. As they wander around in the woods, they come upon a ranger, Paul Terrance (a Native American), who it happens just came upon the body of his murdered uncle. So, they all join forces in looking for the white supremacist group that might have Kevin Flynn in its midst.
While all this is going on, Rev. Claire makes some "friends" who seem to harbor white-supremacist delusions. One such friend is Tiny March (Christine) who also has a small baby, and who is totally under the thumb of an abusive husband, Calvin March. Mr. March is also pretty clearly aligned with the white supremacist group. Rev. Claire, of course, starts trying to think of ways to help Tiny (or Christine) escape to safety. As part of this, she joins forces, so to speak with the MKPD folks who are hunting for the location of the white supremacist group.
Well, enough of all this. Suffice to say, there is danger, planned public bombings at the site of a gathering of Jewish people, and so forth. All in all, it's a rather gripping thriller. It's not normally my cup of tea, but it was rather nice and I'm glad I was given the privilege to preview the book prior to its publication.
#NetGalley #AtMidnightComesTheCry
November 17, 2025
Extremists put an end to their peaceful Christmas hopes
Military pilot turned Episcopal minister Clare Fergusson and her husband, Russ Van Alstyne (until recently the police chief of the small Adirondack town of Millers Kill), are still adjusting to life with their 8 month old baby Ethan as well as Russ no longer working in the career he has pursued for the whole of his adult life. With Christmas only a few weeks away, their thoughts are of Thanksgiving parades, photos with Santa, and how to decorate their home for the holidays...happy thoughts and memories to be made. Instead the specter of prejudice intrudes when a group of white supremacists infiltrate the local Thanksgiving parade, decrying immigrants especially those who aren't white. At the same time one of Russ's former police officers, Kevin Flynn, appears to have gone missing from his new job in Syracuse. No one has heard from him in over a month, not his close-knit family and not his one-time girlfriend Hadley, another of Russ's officers when he was chief. Soon both Russ and Clare are poking around a local militia who may or may not be involved in gun smuggling and worse. When it turns out that Flynn was involved in an investigation that connects to members of this same militia, his disappearance becomes more troubling...and it isn't the only disappearance of a member of law enforcement in the woods and mountains near Millers Kill. Investigating and interrogating are two things Russ does very well, and even without any official standing he jumps into the case. Not everyone is thinking happy holiday thoughts, and the danger level is high as he, Clare and their compatriots search for their missing friend as well as identify just what the militia is up to.
This is the 10th outing for Clare and Russ that combines small town life (with all its inherent positives and negatives) with peoples' search for community, justice and faith. While the book can be read as a standalone mystery, having read at least some of the earlier books in the series will give the reader a much better understanding of who Clare and Russ are and how they ended up together. The two main characters are wonderfully nuanced, imperfect but believable individuals who have singly and together struggled to pull their lives together. Author Julia Spencer-Fleming has consistently maintained a strong emotional core to the stories, which in the past have dealt with numerous social issues (PTSD, addiction, the economic hardships in small town America), but in this outing there is in addition a clear political message woven in to the story regarding anti-immigrant views and right wing extremism. I must be honest that it came across at times as a preachy lecture and for me it detracted from the overall story. Fans of the series will no doubt enjoy the book overall, as did I, as will readers of Louise Penny, Liz Moore and Archer Mayor. My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for allowing me access to this latest Fergusson/Van Alstyne tale in exchange for my honest review.
Military pilot turned Episcopal minister Clare Fergusson and her husband, Russ Van Alstyne (until recently the police chief of the small Adirondack town of Millers Kill), are still adjusting to life with their 8 month old baby Ethan as well as Russ no longer working in the career he has pursued for the whole of his adult life. With Christmas only a few weeks away, their thoughts are of Thanksgiving parades, photos with Santa, and how to decorate their home for the holidays...happy thoughts and memories to be made. Instead the specter of prejudice intrudes when a group of white supremacists infiltrate the local Thanksgiving parade, decrying immigrants especially those who aren't white. At the same time one of Russ's former police officers, Kevin Flynn, appears to have gone missing from his new job in Syracuse. No one has heard from him in over a month, not his close-knit family and not his one-time girlfriend Hadley, another of Russ's officers when he was chief. Soon both Russ and Clare are poking around a local militia who may or may not be involved in gun smuggling and worse. When it turns out that Flynn was involved in an investigation that connects to members of this same militia, his disappearance becomes more troubling...and it isn't the only disappearance of a member of law enforcement in the woods and mountains near Millers Kill. Investigating and interrogating are two things Russ does very well, and even without any official standing he jumps into the case. Not everyone is thinking happy holiday thoughts, and the danger level is high as he, Clare and their compatriots search for their missing friend as well as identify just what the militia is up to.
This is the 10th outing for Clare and Russ that combines small town life (with all its inherent positives and negatives) with peoples' search for community, justice and faith. While the book can be read as a standalone mystery, having read at least some of the earlier books in the series will give the reader a much better understanding of who Clare and Russ are and how they ended up together. The two main characters are wonderfully nuanced, imperfect but believable individuals who have singly and together struggled to pull their lives together. Author Julia Spencer-Fleming has consistently maintained a strong emotional core to the stories, which in the past have dealt with numerous social issues (PTSD, addiction, the economic hardships in small town America), but in this outing there is in addition a clear political message woven in to the story regarding anti-immigrant views and right wing extremism. I must be honest that it came across at times as a preachy lecture and for me it detracted from the overall story. Fans of the series will no doubt enjoy the book overall, as did I, as will readers of Louise Penny, Liz Moore and Archer Mayor. My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for allowing me access to this latest Fergusson/Van Alstyne tale in exchange for my honest review.
December 24, 2025
I had pre-ordered this long-awaited installment in the series, and I was very curious to see what would happen to Clare and Russ as they became parents. On the one hand, I did enjoy seeing their relationship settle into something deeper and solid. I also liked seeing some progress in the Hadley-Flynn storyline that has been running through the last few books. And I loved how this book was structured, with each part corresponding with one of the weeks of Advent.
The book opens just before Advent, with Clare and family taking in baby Ethan's first Christmas parade in Millers Kill. The beauty of the small-town celebration is interrupted by a float constructed by white supremacists. From there, the story spirals out in 2 directions. On the one hand, it is obvious that there is a militia lurking it the woods of upstate New York, and as Russ and Hadley dig deeper, it sure does look like Kevin Flynn has gotten mixed up with them.
As Russ and Hadley try to find Flynn and try to figure out what plotting is afoot, Clare leans into her own vocation. She refuses to believe that the white supremacist parade crashers have completely lost all of their conscience, and she sets to work trying to reach out and find a way to get through to the women in the group at least. It's naive perhaps, but she clearly holds out hope that perhaps some in the group can be convinced of how wrong their beliefs are and change for the better. At times the overly hopeful attitude annoyed me, but I have to admit that it did fit in well with Clare's stubborn determination to fix her corner of the world.
The mystery investigation and Clare's own discoveries as she builds bridges with a couple of the women she meets start to intersect and the author does a good job of showing that the world of the militias is far from harmless. I got frustrated at some points because I felt like some of the storyline involving the white nationalist folks was overly simplified. For example, I'm not an expert on domestic terrorism, but I do know enough to be aware that not all of the women are passive victims in need of rescue.
However, while some of those oversimplifications annoyed me, I did appreciate some of the other plot points. The way in which the author showed how some of these groups find sympathizers among local law enforcement who are willing to look the other way was both frustrating and yet familiar based on nonfiction accounts I've read. I also appreciated how she showed the complexity of some of these investigations as groups cross jurisdictional lines, stay off the grid and skirt the edges of what is permissible in order to keep outsiders and authority figures in the dark.
So, while there were some plot points that got under my skin, I did overall find myself getting pulled into this book. While the epilogue did have a feeling of finality, I do hope that this isn't the last we see of Millers Kill, or of Ms. Spencer-Fleming's writing.
The book opens just before Advent, with Clare and family taking in baby Ethan's first Christmas parade in Millers Kill. The beauty of the small-town celebration is interrupted by a float constructed by white supremacists. From there, the story spirals out in 2 directions. On the one hand, it is obvious that there is a militia lurking it the woods of upstate New York, and as Russ and Hadley dig deeper, it sure does look like Kevin Flynn has gotten mixed up with them.
As Russ and Hadley try to find Flynn and try to figure out what plotting is afoot, Clare leans into her own vocation. She refuses to believe that the white supremacist parade crashers have completely lost all of their conscience, and she sets to work trying to reach out and find a way to get through to the women in the group at least. It's naive perhaps, but she clearly holds out hope that perhaps some in the group can be convinced of how wrong their beliefs are and change for the better. At times the overly hopeful attitude annoyed me, but I have to admit that it did fit in well with Clare's stubborn determination to fix her corner of the world.
The mystery investigation and Clare's own discoveries as she builds bridges with a couple of the women she meets start to intersect and the author does a good job of showing that the world of the militias is far from harmless. I got frustrated at some points because I felt like some of the storyline involving the white nationalist folks was overly simplified. For example, I'm not an expert on domestic terrorism, but I do know enough to be aware that not all of the women are passive victims in need of rescue.
However, while some of those oversimplifications annoyed me, I did appreciate some of the other plot points. The way in which the author showed how some of these groups find sympathizers among local law enforcement who are willing to look the other way was both frustrating and yet familiar based on nonfiction accounts I've read. I also appreciated how she showed the complexity of some of these investigations as groups cross jurisdictional lines, stay off the grid and skirt the edges of what is permissible in order to keep outsiders and authority figures in the dark.
So, while there were some plot points that got under my skin, I did overall find myself getting pulled into this book. While the epilogue did have a feeling of finality, I do hope that this isn't the last we see of Millers Kill, or of Ms. Spencer-Fleming's writing.
December 14, 2025
It was fun to turn to the first page of Julia Spencer-Fleming's latest novel and see that it was date-stamped with the same day I started reading it: Sunday, November 30th, which also happened to be the first Sunday of Advent this year. Why is this important? Because as longtime readers of this series know, one of its key characters, Clare Fergusson, is an Episcopal priest. She and her husband, Russ Van Alstyne, often have to investigate crimes while she prepares to write her Sunday sermons.
As someone who likes a good holiday novel, I was pleased to see that this mystery --- which takes its title (like all the books in the series) from a hymn (in this case an Advent hymn) --- would take place during the four weeks leading up to Christmas.
Although AT MIDNIGHT COMES THE CRY has its share of feel-good moments, it's hardly the literary equivalent of a cheery Advent calendar. The novel opens at an annual holiday tractor parade in upstate New York, where --- much to the dismay of Clare and Russ --- some participants unfurl a banner on their float with a racist message. This is just the latest development in a growing trend of white supremacist and militia groups setting up shop in the rural and wilderness areas nearby.
In fact, Russ, who has stepped down as police chief and is having a hard time adjusting to civilian life, has learned recently that his ex-colleague, Kevin Flynn, has been investigating such a group camping out deep in the Adirondacks --- and has fallen out of touch not only with his family but also with his professional contact. Their other former colleague (and Kevin's one-time flame), Hadley Knox, is concerned about Kevin's safety and enlists Russ to help her investigate.
Hadley, Russ and Clare (who has been using her pastoral skills to try to understand and counsel the wife of the parade disruptor) quickly realize that the web of this underground network is far more extensive then they originally suspected. Kevin and many other innocent people might be in real danger soon. The holiday countdown is underway, and time is running out for a massive plot to be stopped in time.
As usual, Spencer-Fleming does a masterful job of navigating among her various characters, plots and settings. She also continues to deepen her development of these longtime series characters, this time focusing on how Russ is struggling with redefining his identity outside the police force and within his new role as a husband and a new father. Interestingly, one major source of unresolved narrative tension is at least tentatively resolved, and a brief postscript to the narrative offers additional glimpses into the characters' futures a few years on.
Might this be the final volume in the series? Only time will tell, but either way, AT MIDNIGHT COMES THE CRY is a stellar suspenseful read for the festive season.
Reviewed by Norah Piehl
As someone who likes a good holiday novel, I was pleased to see that this mystery --- which takes its title (like all the books in the series) from a hymn (in this case an Advent hymn) --- would take place during the four weeks leading up to Christmas.
Although AT MIDNIGHT COMES THE CRY has its share of feel-good moments, it's hardly the literary equivalent of a cheery Advent calendar. The novel opens at an annual holiday tractor parade in upstate New York, where --- much to the dismay of Clare and Russ --- some participants unfurl a banner on their float with a racist message. This is just the latest development in a growing trend of white supremacist and militia groups setting up shop in the rural and wilderness areas nearby.
In fact, Russ, who has stepped down as police chief and is having a hard time adjusting to civilian life, has learned recently that his ex-colleague, Kevin Flynn, has been investigating such a group camping out deep in the Adirondacks --- and has fallen out of touch not only with his family but also with his professional contact. Their other former colleague (and Kevin's one-time flame), Hadley Knox, is concerned about Kevin's safety and enlists Russ to help her investigate.
Hadley, Russ and Clare (who has been using her pastoral skills to try to understand and counsel the wife of the parade disruptor) quickly realize that the web of this underground network is far more extensive then they originally suspected. Kevin and many other innocent people might be in real danger soon. The holiday countdown is underway, and time is running out for a massive plot to be stopped in time.
As usual, Spencer-Fleming does a masterful job of navigating among her various characters, plots and settings. She also continues to deepen her development of these longtime series characters, this time focusing on how Russ is struggling with redefining his identity outside the police force and within his new role as a husband and a new father. Interestingly, one major source of unresolved narrative tension is at least tentatively resolved, and a brief postscript to the narrative offers additional glimpses into the characters' futures a few years on.
Might this be the final volume in the series? Only time will tell, but either way, AT MIDNIGHT COMES THE CRY is a stellar suspenseful read for the festive season.
Reviewed by Norah Piehl
December 29, 2025
Russ van Alstyne ist nun tatsächlich arbeitsloser Ex Polizeichef. Er hat sich noch nicht auf Jobsuche begeben, da er sich Zeit nehmen will, für die Entscheidung, was er sein restliches Arbeitsleben machen will. Lyle MacAuley ist nun Interimschef. Eric arbeitet wieder Vollzeit, aber das Millers Kill PD hat Personal Knappheit. Die alleinerziehende Hadley Knox mit zwei Kindern ist jüngster Officer. Kevin Flynn hat vor einem Jahr nach Syracuse gewechselt. Er wird nach seinem Undercover Einsatz seit einiger Zeit vermisst. Da Hadley und seine Eltern besorgt sind, will Russ bei seinen Kontakten nachhören.
Man fühlt sich gleich wieder ganz angekommen in Millers Kill, wie bei alten Bekannten.
Dann findet die jährliche Greenwich Lichter Traktor Parade statt. Auch Claire und Russ sind anlässlich der Parade zu Gast auf der Feier von PJ Adams. Ihr acht Monate alter Sohn Ethan und Hund Oscar sind auch dabei. Es wird ihr erstes Weihnachtsfest als kleine Familie sein.
In der Parade zieht eine Gruppe vorbei, die Bonbons wirft und Handzettel verteilt. Ein Banner mit der Aufschrift „Keep America‘s Christmas white“ wird enthüllt. Es ist eine Gruppe weißer Supremacisten Familien. Sofort bricht ein Handgemenge aus, das Russ auf den Plan ruft. Claire spricht eine der Frauen an, die dabei sind. Meghan hilft ihr mit einer Ablenkung und Russ kann die Rauferei beenden. Claire gibt Meghan eine Visitenkarte. Später begegnet sie ihr wieder und wird mit ihrer Familie zu ihr nach Hause eingeladen.
Das zentrale Thema des Buches ist top aktuell, mit den Aktivitäten von ICE und dem Schicksal der Migranten.
Russ kann herausfinden, dass Kevin im Oktober eine einmonatige Auszeit genommen hat und dann nicht zurückgekehrt ist. Er hat seine Camping Ausrüstung mitgenommen. Er ist auch an Winter Ausflüge gewöhnt, aber zwei Monate in der winterlichen Wildnis sind eine lange Zeit. Es stellt sich heraus, dass er auf eigene Faust mit einer Gruppe von Militia Typen im Adirondack Park Undercover gegangen ist. Russ, Knox und Kevins Kontakt Yixin Zaoh beginnen heimlich Informationen zusammen zu tragen. Nach zwei Tagen Vorbereitung brechen sie auf. Aber Claire hat schon ihre eigenen Pläne.
Sie finden unerwartete Unterstützung. Und plötzlich wird es schon sehr gefährlich und spannend, aber sie finden den Hinweis, den sie gesucht haben. Dann machen sie sich auf den Weg in die winterliche Wildnis. Selbst zu Hause gerät Claire unfreiwillig immer tiefer in die Geschichte.
Man erfährt viel über die Rekrutierung für solche Melitia Gruppen, ihren Aufbau, ihr Gedankengut und ihre Unterstützter.
Als die große Bedrohung dann klar wird, müssen alle unter großem Zeitdruck zusammenarbeiten, um die Katastrophe abzuwenden. Mehrfach kommt es zu lebensgefährlichen Situationen, bis die Lage aufgelöst werden kann.
Fazit: Für Fans schön wieder von Claire und Russ zu lesen.
Man fühlt sich gleich wieder ganz angekommen in Millers Kill, wie bei alten Bekannten.
Dann findet die jährliche Greenwich Lichter Traktor Parade statt. Auch Claire und Russ sind anlässlich der Parade zu Gast auf der Feier von PJ Adams. Ihr acht Monate alter Sohn Ethan und Hund Oscar sind auch dabei. Es wird ihr erstes Weihnachtsfest als kleine Familie sein.
In der Parade zieht eine Gruppe vorbei, die Bonbons wirft und Handzettel verteilt. Ein Banner mit der Aufschrift „Keep America‘s Christmas white“ wird enthüllt. Es ist eine Gruppe weißer Supremacisten Familien. Sofort bricht ein Handgemenge aus, das Russ auf den Plan ruft. Claire spricht eine der Frauen an, die dabei sind. Meghan hilft ihr mit einer Ablenkung und Russ kann die Rauferei beenden. Claire gibt Meghan eine Visitenkarte. Später begegnet sie ihr wieder und wird mit ihrer Familie zu ihr nach Hause eingeladen.
Das zentrale Thema des Buches ist top aktuell, mit den Aktivitäten von ICE und dem Schicksal der Migranten.
Russ kann herausfinden, dass Kevin im Oktober eine einmonatige Auszeit genommen hat und dann nicht zurückgekehrt ist. Er hat seine Camping Ausrüstung mitgenommen. Er ist auch an Winter Ausflüge gewöhnt, aber zwei Monate in der winterlichen Wildnis sind eine lange Zeit. Es stellt sich heraus, dass er auf eigene Faust mit einer Gruppe von Militia Typen im Adirondack Park Undercover gegangen ist. Russ, Knox und Kevins Kontakt Yixin Zaoh beginnen heimlich Informationen zusammen zu tragen. Nach zwei Tagen Vorbereitung brechen sie auf. Aber Claire hat schon ihre eigenen Pläne.
Sie finden unerwartete Unterstützung. Und plötzlich wird es schon sehr gefährlich und spannend, aber sie finden den Hinweis, den sie gesucht haben. Dann machen sie sich auf den Weg in die winterliche Wildnis. Selbst zu Hause gerät Claire unfreiwillig immer tiefer in die Geschichte.
Man erfährt viel über die Rekrutierung für solche Melitia Gruppen, ihren Aufbau, ihr Gedankengut und ihre Unterstützter.
Als die große Bedrohung dann klar wird, müssen alle unter großem Zeitdruck zusammenarbeiten, um die Katastrophe abzuwenden. Mehrfach kommt es zu lebensgefährlichen Situationen, bis die Lage aufgelöst werden kann.
Fazit: Für Fans schön wieder von Claire und Russ zu lesen.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 251 reviews