To Darkness and to Death - (Fergusson/Van Alstyne Mysteries) by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Paperback)

About the Book

Millicent van der Hoeven has decided to sell her family's Adirondack estate to a nature conservancy. But on the day of the land transfer, Millie disappears. Reverend Clare Fergusson and police chief Russ Van Alstyne soon discover the secrets of someone who is desperate to stop the sale.

Book Synopsis

Saturday, November 14, 5:00 A.M.

In the small Adirondack town of Millers Kill, an old lumberman sits in the dark with his gun across his knees. Not far away, an unemployed logger sleeps off his bender from the night before. The owner of the town's last paper mill tosses in his bed. And a young woman, one of three heirs to the 250,000-acre Great Camp, wakes alone in darkness, bound and gagged.

Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne wants nothing more than a quiet day of hunting in the mountains on his fiftieth birthday. His wife needs to have the town's new luxury resort ready for its gala opening night. The Reverend Clare Fergusson expects to spend the day getting St. Alban's Church ready for the bishop's annual visit. Her long-distance suitor from New York expects some answers about their relationship during his weekend in town.

In Millers Kill, where everyone knows everyone and all are part of an interconnected web of blood or acquaintance, one person's troubles have a way of ensnaring others. What begins as a simple case of a woman lost in the woods leads to a tangle of revenge, blackmail, assault, kidnapping, and murder. As the hours tick by, Russ and Clare struggle to make sense of their town's plunge into chaos---and their own chaotic emotions.

Something terrible waits in the ice-rimed mountains cradling Millers Kill. Something that won't be content with just one death---or two. . .

In To Darkness and To Death, Julia Spencer-Fleming continues her moving story of the way a small town, as well as a great city, can harbor evil, and the struggle of two honest people to deal with the ever-present threat of their feelings for one another.

From the Back Cover

"Julia Spencer-Fleming's debut "In the Bleak Midwinter" reached unprecedented heights in the mystery world, receiving the Agatha for Best First Mystery as well as the Malice Domestic, the Anthony, the Dilys, the Barry and the Macavity Awards, making Spencer-Fleming the first author to win all six awards for a first novel. Now, Spencer-Fleming delivers her most chilling novel yet "
A BEAUTIFUL HEIRESS IS MISSING
Millicent van der Hoeven has decided to sell her family's Adirondack estate to a nature conservancy. But on the day of the land transfer, her brother frantically calls the police. Millie has disappeared in the cold November forest
AND THE DEEP WOODS HIDE A SECRET
Reverend Clare Fergusson gets an early morning phone call to join the Millers Kill search and rescue operation. As a former Army helicopter pilot trained in survival skills, she can't refuse the request--even though it's the day of the bishop's annual visit. Worse for Clare, the search operation will link her up with Russ Van Alstyne, the very married local police chief who is her greatest temptation. Now, as Clare and Russ race time to find Millie van der Hoeven, they soon discover the secrets of someone who is desperate to stop the sale...and a deadly madness waiting to destroy them all.
"Spencer-Fleming writes with grace and clarity about the environmental ideal of turning tracts of developed land back to their natural wilderness state. But she shows even more sensitivity in depicting the human cost."
--"The New York Times Book Review"""
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"Another riveting mystery."
--"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)

Review Quotes

"Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne make a fresh and unusual detective partnership, and I always welcome Clare's impetuous but wise take on the world around her." --Sara Paretsky, author of the V. I. Warshawski novels

"Add harrowing tension à la TV's 24 to Julia Spencer-Fleming's always lyrical prose and beautifully drawn characters, and you have one of the year's must-reads! Spencer-Fleming has topped an already shining series with this fourth outing." --Deborah Crombie, award-winning author of Dreaming of the Bones and In a Dark House

"A Rube Goldberg plot that crams all manner of secrets and crimes into the most hectic 21 hours in Millers Kill's history...the results show that God has both endless compassion for mortal screw-ups--and a terrific sense of humor." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A rich and fulfilling story...time spent with these characters is to be cherished." --Chicago Sun-Times

"Disparate elements fuse with elegant plotting...Spencer Fleming parcels out the excitement until the stunning conclusion. She also continues her sensitive handling of the tension between Clare and the very married chief of police she's fallen in love with." --Rocky Mountain News (Grade: A)

"Spencer-Fleming makes effective use of her vividly realized Adirondack setting, and she keeps the story moving at a good clip...the fourth installment in a satisfying series." --Booklist

"The friendship of these solid, down-to-earth characters moves closer to romance, and the intrigue continues to build, revealing a riveting, well-plotted criminal adventure." --Romantic Times BOOKclub Magazine (starred review)

About the Author

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING is an Agatha, Anthony, Barry, Dilys, Gumshoe and Macavity Award winner. Her books have been shortlisted for the Edgar, and Romantic Times RC awards. The Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mysteries include the multiple award-winning books In the Bleak Midwinter (first in the series) and All Mortal Flesh. Julia lives in southern Maine.