Last week, as I hurriedly left the library to attend the Nebraska Library Association Conference in Lincoln, I was running behind. Perhaps, I should actually pack the night before I leave, but what would be the fun in that? A last minute dental appointment didn’t help either. Anyway, my staff was so anxious (or relieved) to get me out of the building that they cleared my MP3 player of previous books and downloaded two new ones while I was racing around having my teeth checked and packing. (Question: How many librarians does it take to get Bev to a conference? Answer: A whole library full)

I was in such a rush that my instructions on which books to download were as follows: "I don’t care. Just some mysteries or thrillers that will keep my attention and keep me awake." They selected two mysteries by Julia Spencer-Fleming. What great choices! I found a new author I love.

Spencer-Fleming writes mysteries set in the fictional village of Millers Kill, New York. The protagonists are Clare Fergusson, a helicopter pilot turned Episcopal priest, and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne. The intense relationship between the two is one of the continuing subplots of the five Rev. Fergusson novels. Although the two seem obviously meant for one another, Russ is married. Their sense of honor and duty force them apart. The book oozes with the sexual tension between the two. Readers of the Rev. Fergusson novels get a trifecta. They can enjoy a good mystery with more than a touch of romance as well as outstanding characterization.

I listened to "All Mortal Flesh", but in a previous novel, "To Darkness and to Death", Russ confessed his love for Clare to his wife, separated from her and moved out of his house. Furthermore, Clare’s superiors chastised her for their unconsummated relationship. As the book opens, Clare returns from a retreat with a decision about her future. She vows never to see Russ again; however, Millers Kill is a small town, and we know this promise cannot be kept. When Linda Van Alstyne’s dead, mutilated body is discovered in her kitchen, suspicion naturally falls on Russ and Clare. In order to clear their names and find the murder, they are thrown together. Toss in a deacon whose job is to keep an eye on Clare and an overly eager State Police investigator who hopes to further her career by nailing a corrupt cop, and this is a book you can not put down.

To get the most enjoyment out of these mysteries, I recommend that readers start at the beginning with "In the Bleak Midwinter" and follow the development of the simmering relationship between Russ and Rev. Clare from its onset. This is the first book in the series and has a great opening line, "It was one hell of a night to throw away a baby." Incidentally, all the titles of the Rev. Fergusson series come from Episcopal hymns. I highly recommend the novels of Julia Spencer-Fleming.

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