Julia Spencer-Fleming’s In the Bleak Midwinter was the winner of the 2001 St. Martin's Press/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Award, given to an unpublished author, and went on to win the 2003 Agatha, Anthony, Barry, Dilys, and Macavity Awards after publication.
In a cold, snowy December in the upstate New York town of Millers Kill, newly-ordained Clare Fergusson is on thin ice as the first female priest of its Episcopal church and she must establish herself as a parish leader.
Her forthright manner is met with a chilly reception from some members of the congregation and Chief of Police Russ Van Alystyne doesn't know what to make of her – or how to address "a lady priest.”
When a newborn baby is abandoned on the church stairs and a young mother is brutally murdered, Clare must work through the secrets and silence that shadow the small town like the ever-present Adirondacks.
Publishers Weekly raved “The vivid setting descriptions will bring plenty of shivers, but the real strength of this stellar first is the focus on the mystery.”
So, grab an afghan, and join the Usual Suspects on Sunday, January 18th at 2 pm, as they discuss this first title in the Fergusson and Van Alystyne series.
The seventh entry, One Was a Soldier, is due in April, 2010.
Clare – who is also a military helicopter pilot – has returned from active duty in Iraq with a head full of bad memories, but Russ just wants Clare to let them go and marry him. But when he rules a local veteran’s death a suicide, Clare sides with the other vets against him.
Other upcoming Usual Suspects discussion titles for 2010 include the Gold Dagger Award winner Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith (1981) on February 21st – you will need the afghan again for that one – and Unnatural Causes (1967) by Diamond Dagger and Grand Master Award winner P. D. James on March 21st.
New faces are always welcome. Please join us! To reserve a copy of the book, call 291-4821.
