Customer Reviews

I Shall Not Want: A Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery (Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book has all the suspense of an excellent mystery, plus everything you expect in a novel of any genre, including enjoyable characters, romance, humor, and clever turns of phrase.

Many mystery stories I have read follow a predictable pattern. After the initial crime, justice triumphs: all the bad guys are convicted or die, and all the good guys survive unharmed. Spencer-Fleming's books are less predictable, which for me makes them more suspenseful. A criminal may get away, or an innocent person may die.

Also, each Spencer-Fleming novel is very different from the previous ones. The wonderful variety in this series prevents the boredom I sometimes experience when successive books by the same author seem too similar. "I Shall Not Want" is a multi-faceted novel that includes a suspenseful mystery, whereas "All Mortal Flesh" is a fast-paced mystery that does not pause for breath. The events of "To Darkness and To Death" take place in a single day, while "Out of the Deep I Cry" involves two mysteries, one contemporary and one 75 years old.

this series is excellent! The characters are human, flawed, and you want to know more about them. The priest is not seen as perfection, the sheriff is not a straight and narrow person. They both struggle, as humans do. What a wonderful continuation of these characters!

The characters in this series are what makes it so entertaining. The mystery is good, but it is almost secondary to the people involved. I also like the fact that you don't have to have read them all to keep up with the back story. This particular book was one of the best.

Like several other reviewers of recent Spencer-Fleming's books in this series I was really hooked after the first one or two, but lost her after she went way overboard on the shoot-em-up type of harrowing experiences in the next one so I with reluctance decided to try this most recent one after it became available in PB with good reviews. To say the least I was really pleased until the very end when right after another "harrowing close encounter" that was believable where S-F had to install a totally unbelievable "action" supposed to I guess appeal to the juvenile audience. Never-the-less up to that point the story was very good with the portrayal of the two main characters very deep and moving and as one reviewer said at times laugh out loud. The introduction of two new characters was also very well done.S-F portrayal of church life is also on the spot. I would recommend this book with the caveat that you skim the last "barn-burner" as adding nothing to the depth of the story.

I love this series and just wish Julia Spencer-Fleming could write faster!! These are among my favorite books - the relationship between Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne is perfectly written! Highly recommended!

No complaints. Good source of buying used books, especially helpful when you live in a small Maine village. DF

When I reviewed "All Mortal Flesh", I titled my review "All Moral Flesh" and complained about the series prudish lack of good (and appropriate) sex scenes. Well, Julia must have listened because she gets it right in Book #6. J S-F proves she can write as good sex scenes as she can action scenes, and her dialogue, and characters are as compelling as ever. What a fun read!

Ms. Spencer-Fleming is a very competent fiction writer who involves the reader right in the moment and sucks you in so you feel you are right there with the characters, who seem as real as your own friends and neighbors. She keeps the plot and the suspense humming along. As for credibility, I had a bit of a problem with the "composition book" as the bad guys in post 2000 would have probably actually used a PDA or a memory stick and a password -- they're not stupid and have tons of money, let's not forget. The cache of marijuana plot was a bit formulaic as well, but didn't interfere with the way the author pulled it off.

I also had a bit of a problem with Clare just having to ship off to Iraq at the end, after she and Russ had just been to the gates of hell and back. It seems she could have easily told the military, "I've changed my mind, as I have too much on my plate right here." She wasn't conscripted after all. So why not move on to a new phase where Russ and Clare face different challenges as a happily married couple? Think kidnapped offspring or something like that. I'm sure the clever Ms. Spencer-Fleming can come up with fascinating ways to keep the series alive for a few more volumes without the forced and artificial separation of her heroes.

I am new to this author and found this book as good as or better than All Mortal Flesh. The characters were so real and absorbing that I resented any time I had to put down the book. Clare and Russ are are wonderful couple and the peripheral characters are flesh and blood too. I hope there will be many more to come.

What a great read from beginning to end. Well thought out characters who aren't perfect but who you love anyway. Can't wait to read all of the books in the series!!

This book was just the middle of the road for me. It wasn't horrible, but in all honesty I couldn't wait to finish so I could move on to another book. I found this novel was written from too many points of view. When in the store, I read the first page and thought the story would be told from Hadley Knox's point of view. She actually had a small part in the story. I had to keep track of too many people. I did like the story about Clare and Russ and basically wish it had been told from the POV of the both of them. Like I said, the story was okay, but I really didn't care what happened to the Mexican people or had really any interest in the outcome other than to see what was going to happen between the Reverend and the Chief. I cannot in good conscience recommend this.