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stoutfellowIn the last couple of days, I've finished In the Bleak Midwinter, Jurgen, and Brief Lives. The next fiction on the list is John Barnes' A Million Open Doors.
I am told that one of the pleasures of reading in the mystery genre is the intellectual one of picking up on the author's clues and working out what is going on before The Great Reveal. Alas, this pleasure is one I rarely achieve. There have been exactly two occasions on which I've been able to figure things out ahead of time - both, oddly, science-fictional mysteries - and in both cases my pride was rather dashed, later, by reviews which sniffed that the secret was telegraphed early on. Thus, in evaluating a mystery, I must fall back on such mundanities as plot, characterization, and dialog. I am pleased to report that Julia Spencer-Fleming's In the Bleak Midwinter scores well in these respects. (I leave to others to say whether it also succeeds as an intellectual puzzle.)
The story, set in the small upstate New York town of Miller's Kill, opens with the discovery of an abandoned newborn on the doorstep of St. Alban's Episcopal Church. It expands to involve murder, child abuse, ambushes and hostage-taking, culminating in a standoff on a bridge over a frigid river. (As a minor cavil, I point out that the entire story takes place in late fall, not midwinter. But I quibble.) Several suspects emerge early on, and as many more are added about halfway through. ("How is one to settle on a bad guy, when the author keeps throwing out decoys? ", he asks querulously.) The villain's motive, as ultimately revealed, seems to me a trifle strained, but not unbelievably so.
But what makes the story entertaining is Spencer-Fleming's handling of character. The priest, Rev. Clare Fergusson, is a newcomer from Virginia, and is a peculiar mix of capability and ignorance - she served as a helicopter pilot in the Army before entering the church, but has little sense regarding the hazards of a Northeastern winter. Indeed, her sense of self-preservation is a little weak, frequently overwhelmed by her need to help others. (The one point at which I did foresee events came when she headed off into the villain's trap - although, admittedly, I didn't predict the precise form the trap took, nor the manner in which she escaped.) Her involvement in the investigation leads her to cooperate and conflict with the police chief, Russ Van Alstyne, and the interplay of their different motives and manners is intricate and absorbing. Neither she nor Van Alstyne is perfect; each of them makes more than one blunder in the course of the novel, significantly worsening the eventual outcome. Nonetheless, things don't go as badly as they could have, or as they would have had they not acted as vigorously as they do.
Rev. Fergusson is also a newcomer to the human environment of Miller's Kill; the rather inflexible class structure of the town presents her with numerous challenges. The scene in which she entertains two members of the town's upper crust in her office is quite funny; she is so proud of the way she has redecorated... There are other moments of culture clash which enliven and enrich the story as well. The quiet moments of interaction between Rev. Fergusson and Chief Van Alstyne are also enjoyable, although I must admit to being concerned by the evident UST which has developed by the end. He is, after all, happily married, and both are honorable people.
I look forward to reading the sequel.
I am told that one of the pleasures of reading in the mystery genre is the intellectual one of picking up on the author's clues and working out what is going on before The Great Reveal. Alas, this pleasure is one I rarely achieve. There have been exactly two occasions on which I've been able to figure things out ahead of time - both, oddly, science-fictional mysteries - and in both cases my pride was rather dashed, later, by reviews which sniffed that the secret was telegraphed early on. Thus, in evaluating a mystery, I must fall back on such mundanities as plot, characterization, and dialog. I am pleased to report that Julia Spencer-Fleming's In the Bleak Midwinter scores well in these respects. (I leave to others to say whether it also succeeds as an intellectual puzzle.)
The story, set in the small upstate New York town of Miller's Kill, opens with the discovery of an abandoned newborn on the doorstep of St. Alban's Episcopal Church. It expands to involve murder, child abuse, ambushes and hostage-taking, culminating in a standoff on a bridge over a frigid river. (As a minor cavil, I point out that the entire story takes place in late fall, not midwinter. But I quibble.) Several suspects emerge early on, and as many more are added about halfway through. ("How is one to settle on a bad guy, when the author keeps throwing out decoys? ", he asks querulously.) The villain's motive, as ultimately revealed, seems to me a trifle strained, but not unbelievably so.
But what makes the story entertaining is Spencer-Fleming's handling of character. The priest, Rev. Clare Fergusson, is a newcomer from Virginia, and is a peculiar mix of capability and ignorance - she served as a helicopter pilot in the Army before entering the church, but has little sense regarding the hazards of a Northeastern winter. Indeed, her sense of self-preservation is a little weak, frequently overwhelmed by her need to help others. (The one point at which I did foresee events came when she headed off into the villain's trap - although, admittedly, I didn't predict the precise form the trap took, nor the manner in which she escaped.) Her involvement in the investigation leads her to cooperate and conflict with the police chief, Russ Van Alstyne, and the interplay of their different motives and manners is intricate and absorbing. Neither she nor Van Alstyne is perfect; each of them makes more than one blunder in the course of the novel, significantly worsening the eventual outcome. Nonetheless, things don't go as badly as they could have, or as they would have had they not acted as vigorously as they do.
Rev. Fergusson is also a newcomer to the human environment of Miller's Kill; the rather inflexible class structure of the town presents her with numerous challenges. The scene in which she entertains two members of the town's upper crust in her office is quite funny; she is so proud of the way she has redecorated... There are other moments of culture clash which enliven and enrich the story as well. The quiet moments of interaction between Rev. Fergusson and Chief Van Alstyne are also enjoyable, although I must admit to being concerned by the evident UST which has developed by the end. He is, after all, happily married, and both are honorable people.
I look forward to reading the sequel.
