Thursday, May 29, 2008

I Shall Not Want-Julia Spencer-Fleming

I Shall Not Want
Julia Spencer-Fleming
St. Martin's, Jun 2008, $24.95
ISBN: 0312334877

In Miller’s Kill, New York, Episcopal priest Clare Fergusson and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne remain in shock over the death of his wife Linda (see ALL MORTAL FLESH). Out of respect for the dead and lingering guilt over their feelings for one another, though both remain strongly attracted to each other, Clare and Russ avoid one another.

Their grief and guilt are interrupted when an unknown vigilante team assaults a van loaded with Mexican migrant farm workers. Russ investigates the nasty incident with Clare assisting him as he believes her presence as a woman and a minister might enable him to get the migrant workers to open up; otherwise he faces a wall of silence as Mexican workers do not trust law enforcement in these times of harassment. Soon other Latinos are murdered; leaving the cop and the preacher to wonder if a war on foreigners has come to Upstate New York.

The latest Fergusson and Van Alstyne tale continues the complicated and convoluted relationship made exponentially even more complex by the haunting spectral memory of Linda; each feels they betrayed her by their feelings for one another. Although the plot takes improbable spins, the exciting look at foreign migrant workers is timely. Fans of the series will enjoy this character driven entry.

Harriet Klausner

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