I Shall Not Want

In tiny Millers Kill, New York, the murdered bodies of Mexican men have begun turning up at an alarming rate. Is there a serial killer on the loose? Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne and his ladylove, Episcopal minister Clare Fergusson, search for clues to the killer while sorting through their feelings for each other. In Julia Spencer-Fleming's sixth novel featuring the passionate policeman and the mercurial minister, Suzanne Toren uses her beautiful voice to build suspense, drama, and romance. While Toren's Upstate New York twang could be stronger, her Spanish accents work well, and her characterizations are always honest. I SHALL NOT WANT offers romance and murder tied up in a neat, well-written package delivered by a masterful narrator. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

March 24, 2008
At the start of Anthony-winner Spencer-Fleming’s solid sixth mystery to feature Clare Fergusson, an Episcopal priest, and Russ Van Alstyne, her police chief admirer, Clare and Russ are still trying to recover from the death of Russ’s wife, Linda, in All Mortal Flesh
(2006). Clare and Russ do their best to steer clear of each other in the small town of Millers Kill, N.Y., but when a van carrying Mexican migrant workers en route to jobs at local farms is ambushed, the pair find themselves caught up in an investigation of drug smuggling and gang turf wars. After a number of Latino corpses turn up, Clare and Russ begin to question whether trouble followed the migrant workers or if it’s the work of someone closer to home. While the plot takes some implausible turns, Clare and Russ’s complex romantic dance is as compelling as ever. The cliffhanger ending will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next installment in this notable regional series.