Dead girls do tell tales--eventually!

Three murders over three different periods in time, from the 1950's to 1972 and now in the present day. How could they relate, particulate given the span of years? All three were young attractive women, posed identically. There is nothing nearby to reveal who they are. All are nicely dressed, special occasion garments. Their cause of death is unknown. Nothing can be detected.
Clare Fergusson and Russ van Alstyne are an interesting couple. Van Alstyne is the Police Chief at Millers Kill, Clare his wife, is the local Episcopalian Church minister.
We have a cast of fascinating characters with interesting hints of the stories behind them. I am still intrigued by the past and present of many of them.
I love Clare's struggle s with being a Reverend and a new mother, and her deeper struggles with alcoholism. The reality of her genuineness is a gift.
I like that Clare's new intern Joni is who she is. Introduced so naturally.
Talk about peeling an onion! The way the various aspects of the story tie together was intriguing and so multilayered as to be mouth dropping. The resolution is a stroke of genius.
My only regret is that I have not read previous novels about these two. Now my TBR list has just expanded expediently and the sad news is there's a ten week wait on the ebook loans from my library.
I was trapped by this novel. I loved it and can't wait for the next!

A St. Martin's Press ARC via NetGalley

Three murders of young women, found dead in the same area, dressed in clothes they didn't have before their deaths, wearing makeup with purses and shoes missing. The one connection ..... no one can figure out how they died.

The first woman was killed in 1952. The second was 1972 and the third is present day. So far, the first woman was never identified .... all have been unsolved. And Russ, as a young man, just out of the military was a suspect in the second woman's murder.

Russ is threatened with losing his job shortly ... the powers that be want to close down the local police station, putting him and his team on the unemployment line. He would like to solve this particular case as soon as possible.

The story bounces from each crime to the present .... detailing how they tried identifying the victim and then trolling through family and friends looking for a killer.

It's been 8 years since the last book in this series. I was thrilled to see this offered up as I have followed the series since the beginning. I highly recommend to any new readers to start at the very beginning.

The characters are terrific. Reverend Clara Fergusson and Police Chief Russ van Alstyne have come a long way from the first published book. They've grown and matured, they've weathered all kinds of stormy weather, they've solved crimes together.

This is, as all the others in this series, well -written with imaginative twists and turns leading to an unexpected ending. I thought this might be the last of the series.. but there is a small cliffhanger .... evidence that another book might be forthcoming.

Many thanks to the author / St. Martin's Press - Minotaur Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I was a bit iffy reading this one without reading the first ones, but I'm glad I did. It was fantastic. Now I have to go back and read the other ones! I loved the way this intertwined so many things. I'm going to have to order the other ones immediately!

Is a serial killer at work in a poor rural town? How has he (or she) Hid from Our Eyes for so long?

Someone is killing young girls and leaving them in the middle of rural route 137 in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. The girls are dressed in fancy dresses but lack shoes, socks, purses, or ID. The first girl was found August 20, 1952. The second exactly twenty years later. The last was found this morning.

Current Chief of Police Russell is battling his town for budget as well as looking for the girls’ murderer or murderers. He has a personal stake in the game because he was the person who found the second victim. Does he stand much of a chance at solving this more than sixty year murder spree with only seven staff members?

Hid from Our Eyes is an engaging small town police procedural. Its characters feel so genuine that you will want to call and comfort them when life twists out of their control. Overall, it’s an excellent mystery that is highly recommended. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars!

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the author Julia Spencer-Fleming, the publisher Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my candid review.

This is an entertaining and readable murder mystery.

A small town police chief tries to solve 3 murders....one that took place in the 1950's, one in 1972 and one that just occurred. They all appear to be similar and related, but how could one person be responsible for 3 murders that span over 70 years?

The police chief and his wife, the pastor of the local church try to solve the murders, all while caring for their 6 month old son, a referendum that would eliminate the police force, and navigating various scandals.

It was an interesting read and certainly a worth-while one for avid murder mystery readers. I thought that it was okay and suspenseful, but it is not a very thought provoking novel..

This is my first book by this author, Julia Spencer-Fleming and won’t be my last. Although it’s a series this was very good alone. I have a couple of the others but haven’t read them as of yet. I fully intend to though.

This book was great from the very first page. It held my interest all the way but I have to say I was a tiny bit disappointed with the ending. Though now that I know it’s part of a series of books that is ok because I’m sure my question of what happened to a certain person will be answered. It’s not exactly a cliffhanger but for me was just a very important part that I want to know about. I look forward to the next book for sure now.

The characters are all likable. There is a lot of mystery in this book. It’s not so much of a thriller as a mystery. A whodunnit book. From 1952, 1972 and present, which according to my math seems to be in the early 2000s. There are three murders. One in each year stated and three investigations. The early years, 1952 and 1972 go unsolved as there was not as many ways of finding out certain things in those years. All three murders are carried out the same way so it looks like it would be the same person doing them all. Or possibly a copycat. That remains to be seen when you read this book for yourself.

This book has many twists to it. Lots of things to make you wonder who is guilty. You’ll meet family members who truly love each other so much and others briefly who are not so close. Russ Van Alstyne and Clare Fergusson are married and very much in love. They have an infant son who they love beyond anything else. Clare is a clergy and Russ the police chief. Russ is investigating the latest murder. A young woman in her early twenties. No ID, no purse, shoes. She’s left in the road just like the previous woman. These deaths are years apart but done exactly the same way. Russ will stop at nothing to find justice no only for this death/murder but for the other two also.

This book was well written. It flows between the different time frames great. You won’t get lost or be wondering what is going on. It’s done perfectly. The descriptions are great and make you feel like you are part of the story. You will feel emotions in many parts of the story and root for love in many. The thoughts of a killer on the loose will make you feel fear.

I enjoy this book very much. It held my attention all the way through and I look forward to reading more by this author. I think she is a very good author.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #Minotaur Books, #Julia Sencer-Fleming for the ARC in exchange for my complete and honest review.

I gave it 4 stars and highly recommend it to others.

I admit that I'm late to the game where this series is concerned, but I didn't feel too slighted in terms of figuring out the characters. I suppose I would've had a little more context as to why the characters acted in a certain way or did certain things, but I saw no reason that this book couldn't stand alone. So, I'm not sure if the other books in the series are the same, but this one seemed awfully busy to me. It wasn't so much the mystery - I really liked the premise of that, and the outcome was interesting. Not believable, but interesting. It was everything else that was so busy, as in the personal lives of our main characters. There was so much drama with Clare that it distracted from the mystery. In the end, the story was okay, but it wasn't enough to make me want to explore the earlier books in the series.

This story was a very slow burn mystery. It is about unresolved murders that happened in three different times (1952, 1971 and present time) I liked that it changed into the three time frames with a good final. I did find myself struggling to keep my motivation to read. I didn't feel I missed out on anything from not reading the earlier books in the series.

Would like to thank NetGalley, the Author and publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't read previous books in this series but after reading this one, I can see why the series is so popular! The characters are interesting and though the story takes place in three different time periods, the way the author has divided the chapters makes it easy for the reader to follow.

The mystery is fascinating. How could these three identical deaths have happened over such a vast amount of time?! But the mystery is only one part of this story. We also have the battle to keep the local police department, several present and past relationships between various characters, and a cliffhanger at the end that guarantees an addition to this series. The solution to the mystery comes out of nowhere - - definitely did not see that one coming!

Overall, just a good book with something for everyone!

You won't guess who did it no matter how much you think you know. Very readable and enjoyable so pick up this winner of a book. Happy reading!

Has it really been seven years since the publication of Through the Evil Days? Be assured, fans of The Reverend Clare Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries: lingering questions and cliffhangers are answered in the ninth book. The biggest change since Russ and Clare’s marriage is the arrival of baby Ethan. Clare, a juggler at the best of times, is frayed around the edges as she tries to balance a nursing newborn and her duties at St. Alban’s. Police Chief Russ contends with budget struggles: a perennial problem for him since the city council is ambivalent about whether Millers Kill needs “their own police force.” Why not get policing through the State of New York? Proving himself and his small team worthy on a regular basis is stressful for Russ: for him and the chiefs who preceded him, it gets really old. It won’t take much to cause Russ and Clare’s deck of cards to scatter erratically.

Review of Through the Evil Days by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Nineteenth-century American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne once said, “Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind.” Hid from Our Eyes is infused with unsolved deaths, some decades old, and lingering personal travails.

1953. Millers Kill Police Chief Harry McNeil is called to a crime scene where a woman in a party dress has been murdered with no obvious cause of death.



1972. Millers Kill Police Chief Jack Liddle is called to a murder scene of a woman that’s very similar to one he worked as a trooper in the 50s.

Police Chief Harry McNeil could not determine who killed the young “woman in a party dress,” or her cause of death. Police Chief Jack Liddle had a few suspects, including Vietnam War veteran and home-town boy Russ Van Alstyne. It was Russ who “found the body while riding his motorcycle,” which made him the “prime focus of the investigation.” Liddle has known Russ his whole life and doesn’t see him as a murderer (hot-tempered perhaps but nothing more). No guilt can be proved so Russ isn’t charged but neither is he exonerated.

Present-day. Millers Kill Police Chief Russ van Alstyne gets a 911 call that a young woman has been found dead in a party dress, the same MO as the crime he was accused of in the 70s.

The timing could not be worse for Russ and his squad. The survival of his department is on the ballot—how can he and his supporters launch what amounts to a political campaign to save local policing, with constant news stories about Millers Kill most infamous murders?

Julia Spencer-Fleming’s Q&A for #BookSeriesBinge
Clare is worried about Ethan: should he be in local daycare, what about his temperament? These natural concerns are exacerbated by Clare’s guilt that in her first trimester, she fought a losing battle with alcohol and drugs (even though she didn’t know she was pregnant at the time). Clare quit cold turkey when she found out, but addicts know quitting doesn’t ensure serenity nor do cravings disappear. Ethan’s pediatrician tries to reassure her that his behavior reflects his “total environment, not just you,” but Clare isn’t buying it.

“How about the pills?”



“No pills.”



“Do you ever want one? Or a drink?”



Every day. Sometimes she could feel the glass in her hand, a little condensation wetting the surface, that feeling right before she took a swallow. Or the slow pulse of warmth spreading through her veins as the Vicodin kicked in, not getting high, not feeling fuzzy, just making life a tiny bit easier.

When you consider how stretched Clare is, how many constituencies she serves, anything that makes “life a tiny bit easier,” is understandably tempting. Thankfully, the Venerable Willard Aberforth, her “spiritual adviser,” a man who wields “truth like a paint scraper,” has a solution.

“You are presently having a problem meeting all your childcare needs. I have a staffing problem. I believe we can help each other.”



“Staffing problem?”



“I am attempting to find an internship for a seminary student.”

Clare asks, “What’s the catch?” and she gets a partial answer. The young man, Mr. Langevoort, is the scion of a wealthy family that has a “camp” in the area: “Clare wasn’t fooled by the word “camp.” With an old Dutch name and a family that could escape from the city from months at a time, she’d bet good money it was a rambling compound on its own lake.” Mr. Langevoort is also “exceedingly progressive,” and he is scheduled for “extensive surgery near the end of the year.” Mr. Langevoort, Joni, is a Godsend but perhaps Willard Aberforth could have been more forthcoming. Clare picks up the phone.

“You told me Joni Langevoort was a guy,” she began.



“And hello to you too, Ms. Fergusson. Yes, I did.”



“She’s not a man. She’s a transgender woman. You could at least have given me a heads up. No wonder no one else would take her.”

Spencer-Fleming has a marvelous ability to weave disparate storylines into a cohesive whole. Joni’s wealthy, professional-volunteer mother, steps up to contribute “strategic planning, and some fundraising” for Russ’s Save Our Police campaign. Russ’s investigation of the latest murder smacks into the nexus of summer people, country fairs, and the townsfolk but to say more would reveal too much.

When readers finish Hid From Our Eyes, particularly if they haven’t read the entire series, they’ll pick up In the Bleak Midwinter (first in series excerpt) and plunge in. Julia Spencer-Fleming, in an interview at Criminal Element, summarizes the changes in Clare and Russ’s lives since first they met.

Russ trades comfort for joy, quietness for change and excitement (although he still complains he’d like things to calm down.) Clare discovers she is in the right place, doing the right thing—escaping back to her “simple life” in the army no longer holds any allure. And of course, they both have each other, partners in life, parenthood and, despite Russ’s occasional attempts to keep her out, in detecting.

We’re in excellent hands here. . . and God willing, the 10th Reverend Clare Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries will be coming along the pike in due course.

The 9th book in the series has finally arrived after 6 years! Reading this was like reconnecting with old friends that have been missing from your life for too long. I was concerned this could be the end of the series based on the events in the book but in a prologue there is a twist that has to be resolved!! I have read the entire series and highly recommend any new readers to start at the very beginning.

This book begins with Clare having given birth and Ethan is four months old. She is juggling the demands of being a new mother and her duties as Reverend of St. Albans Lutheran Church. Russ is battling to keep his job as the Police Chief because the city wants to close down the Miller's Kill police department and put the town into the state police jurisdiction to save money. There is a sense of urgency for Russ to solve this new case to help save his department,

This new case involves 3 different murders of young women that happened on the same day with the same characteristics decades apart. The first woman was killed in 1952. The second was 1972 and the third is present day. The first two cases are unsolved and Russ, as a young man just back from Vietnam was a suspect in the second woman's murder.

The story moves from the past to the present with details of the crimes. As a suspect in the second crime, we learned more about Russ' past and the difficulties he faced with PTSD and the backstory of reasons he pursued law enforcement. This included his relationship and his Mom's past relationship with the Chief of Police running the 1972 investigation.

These characters have evolved through the years, matured, gone through many tragedies, and play off each other to solve crimes. Through it all, they have come through together. This story was interesting and well written and also included interesting plot lines for the other members of the police department. Colorful members of the town also play a big part in these stories and provide good story lines. The ending was unexpected for me because I thought I had it all figured out.

These opinions are unbiased and entirely my own. I want to thank St. Martin's Press - Minotaur Books / Netgalley for an advanced copy for review.

I received a free electronic copy of this excellent novel from Netgalley, Julia Spencer-Fleming, and Monitor Books. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am happy to see this return to the story of Clare Fergusson, Episcopalian priest, and Russ Van Alstyne, Chief of Police of Millers Kill, a very small town in the scarcely populated county of Washington in New York state.

We have three distinct timelines - August 1952, August 1972, and August of the present-day. These time frames all have several things in common - the yearly circus/carnival of the county, the various generations of several prominent local families, autumn folding color over the lovely Adirondack mountains - and the deaths of lovely young women found in new party frocks laying in the middle of McEachron Hill Road without shoes, purse, stockings or obvious cause of death. The current chief of police, Russell Van Alstyne, was 20, just returning from a second tour in Vietnam and considered a potential perpetrator of the second murder in 1972. The murders are all very similar but there are 70 years between first and last so maybe copycat but probably not one single perpetrator. There are only one or two people who even remember the 1952 death, which at the time was not considered murder but rather an unexplained death.
Hid from Our Eyes is an exciting who-done-it, with interesting protagonists and a compelling pace. If you are new to this author, she has some excellent books already out there, and just as timely today as they were when newly released.

This is book number 9 in the The Rev. Clare Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries Series. It works well as a standalone. I haven't read any of the other books in this series, and I was able to follow this without feeling lost at any point.

For the most part, the characters are a interesting collection of flawed people, many of them dealing with past issues such as PTSD, trust, porn and alcoholism. The mystery is complex and deals with three murders spanning 40 plus years. The author certainly created an intriguing tale with quite a number of plot twists.

The book has numerous times where the author used swear words that used God's name is vain. I don't like any kind of swearing in the books I read, especially when you bring God into the story.

Clare and Russ are back after a long hiatus, and Spencer-Fleming in this book reminds me of why this has been one of my favorite series.

The series takes place in a small upstate New York town. Clare is a military vet (flying helicopters) who has become a rather liberal Episcopal priest in conservative Miller’s Kill. Russ, also a military vet, is the town’s chief of police. In this ninth book in the series, they are married and have a four-month-old son.

The main mystery involves a young woman left dead in a party dress on a lonely county road, a death that is almost identical to two unsolved cases from 1952 and 1972. The cause of death is not apparent, and Russ actually was considered a suspect in the 1972 case. (I tend to keep a timeline in my head while reading books, and this one makes no sense unless “present day” actually is 2006. But I love the series so much I am willing to ignore the inconsistency.) The narrative jumps between the times of the three cases, giving insight into some characters whose lives span those years. In addition to the murder cases, the town, as a budget measure, is considering dissolving the local police department in favor of the state police, and the department is facing a lawsuit from the disgruntled ex-husband of one of their officers. It’s a stressful and hectic time for everyone.

While the mystery in this case was interesting, what really makes this series stand out are the characters themselves. All are multidimensional and seem real. Clare struggles with PTSD and addiction problems as well as with the more everyday challenges of her priesthood and being a new mother. Russ also deals with issues from his past as well as the problems of both job and private life. Other likable and interesting characters like a female officer with a sordid past, a Boy Scout-like young officer who makes some surprising decisions, etc., also enrich the series. While solving the main case, the denizens of Miller’s Kill also juggle a lot of personal issues that endear them and the series to me.

The book ends with the main issues resolved but with some big changes and a smaller mystery that I hope promise an interesting new book in the future. I wish the author all the best and hope she is back on track to give us that next story soon.

I’ll start by saying I really enjoyed this book. I didn’t read the previous one about the similar murders that took place years ago in this same town. But I still understood everything going on. I will have to say the back and forth of the past case and the present at times tripped me up. I did like how it was organized into a chapter of the past and one of the present. That helped some. But it was just so many years in between that it was hard to comprehend. It would’ve made more sense to have them not as far apart. But knowing the characters involved, I can see why it was written this way.

My main complaints are that it was so slow moving. While I enjoyed Clare’s character, it was almost like we got too much of her and the baby. She got on my nerves at times. My other complaint is how there was a cliffhanger after all that slow moving of the story. This upset me. Everything could’ve been wrapped up in this one book.

It's been a long wait for Hid From Our Eyes, but it was worth it. In my opinion, Julia Spencer-Fleming's cast of characters ranks right up there with those in Elly Griffiths' Dr. Ruth Galloway series. As far as devoted readers go, Russ and Clare and Hadley and all the rest have become friends, and we have to feel a part of everything that happens to them as well as "helping" them solve a mystery. We are most definitely invested.

Russ is really under the gun here. Not only does he have this very puzzling crime to solve, but a vote is also coming up to determine whether or not the Millers Kill police force will be disbanded. He feels as though he's coming up to a crossroads in his life. Clare herself is still fighting her own demons and has given herself the added pressure of trying to be the world's best mother and cleric. The decisions these two make by the book's end may not be to everyone's liking, but they feel real.

How's the three-pronged mystery in Hid From Our Eyes? It was a real head-scratcher for me until one specific thing was described about three-quarters of the way through the story. That's when the light bulb finally went off over my head and it was just a matter of my waiting for the characters in the book to figure it out for themselves.

Readers who loathe cliffhangers in their books are going to have something to wail and gnash their teeth over in Hid From Their Eyes. I know there are many of you, so prepare yourselves. As for me, I'll just look forward to the next time I see Russ and Clare. They are two of my favorite characters in all of crime fiction. Welcome back, Julia Spencer-Fleming!

This is book 9 of a series and while I enjoyed it for its own story I did feel a little left out on past storylines. I would go back and read some of the pervious ones as I liked the Episcopalian minister wife and her chief of police husband. The setting in this story is also an important character being in the Adirondack area of New York State. The jumping back and forth between connected storylines form the fifties, seventies and present day was a bit of a stretch in the plotting and I understand how it made the telling of the connected parts easier but it did mean I had to really pay attention to the chapter headings along the way. I’m not sure if this is the only story of the series to employ this device but it did work. I wasn’t that happy with the ending but it does point to a 10th book. A thank you to #netgalley and Macmillan and Co., the publisher for this ARC e-book of #hidfromoureyes to read and review.

A potential murder victim is discovered, but the case is never solved. Twenty years later a similar death is discovered, and once again the police are baffled. The third occurs over thirty years after the second, and Russ Van Alstyne is the third police chief to try to figure out what happened and if the three deaths are linked.

Author Julia Spencer-Fleming tells all three stories at once, giving readers a birds-eye view of police efforts through the decades. Many of the main characters were alive during at least two of the deaths, and we are furnished with their different perspectives. I found it interesting that the author would employ the time difference to create tension by switching from era to era, but it worked well. One never knew if a clue would surface and be deciphered many years later.

“Hid From Our Eyes” is more of a police procedural than an action book, and leans toward being an interesting study of the characters. People naturally change over the years, and it was fun to see a person’s reactions in one era contrast with an older version. Writing a book in this manner can be tricky, and the author deftly maneuvered around the potential sticky spots. I was glad to see the years posted as part of the chapter titles (1952, 1972) and just as I was questioning the ages of some of the people, Ms. Spencer-Fleming managed to inform us that “Present Time” was 2007. Thus the story was tied neatly together. Five stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a complimentary electronic copy of this title.

A terrific complex read that ranges over three time periods and don't worry if you haven't read the previous books- this will be fine as a standalone. Three times young women have been found dressed in party clothes, barefoot, and in the middle of a road. Russ Van Alstyne, who was newly back from Vietnam, was actually a suspect in 1972 because he found the body. Now he's chief of Police in Millers Falls and there's another. Clare, his wife, is a priest and she's struggling a bit with being a new mother and with her sobriety but she's always up to help Russ. There's a second thread involving Hadly, an MFPD officer, and Kevin, who left the MFPD for Syracuse. AND there's the issue of whether the department is dissolved and policing passed over to the State. All in all, while the plot zips quickly, it's the characters who really pull you in. The tension ramps up slowly but well and you will be surprised, as I was, at the answer to the cold cases. This ends, no spoilers, with several big cliff hangers of the oh no variety and it's all the better for keeping those questions in your head. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. An excellent read for fans and new readers alike.