A Fountain Filled With Blood, Julia Spencer-Fleming, Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's Minotaur, $6.99.
Spencer-Fleming opens her book with one of the more horribly moving scenes I've read in a mystery this year - a series of gay bashing incidents culminates when the medical examiner is put into intensive care. Clare, an acquaintance of his partner's, is naturally drawn into the mystery and her involvement seems appropriate since she's a priest - she's supposed to comfort grieving families and parishioners. The emotions in this book are clear as a bell - honest, straightforward, understandable - and heart wrenching. Spencer-Fleming is no cozy writer when it comes to action scenes (there's a helicopter crash that has to be read to be believed), nor does she look away from gruesome violence (the title comes true). The exploration of Clare and Russ' feelings for one another could come straight from a "literary" novel, but since this is a mystery, we're lucky enough as readers to get a good plot and a memorable setting thrown in. In fact, as I write this, the writer I'm most reminded of is Nevada Barr as her vivid settings and gutsy main character are as well etched as Spencer-Fleming's, but in my opinion, Barr can't plot a mystery to save her life. I prefer the whole package that's offered here, and it should appeal to readers across the spectrum as it has something for everyone. I am already looking forward to the third installment in this wonderful series, and if you pick up and inhale the first two as I did, I think you'll feel the same. Don't miss the chance to make the acquaintance of the Reverend Clare Fergusson of Miller's Kill, New York. For more on Julia Spencer-Fleming, check out the IMBA site, where there's an interview posted conducted by yours truly last summer.
To browse more reviews, use the navigation links at the top of the page.