Out of the Deep I Cry: A Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery
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About this ebook
Award winning author Julia Spencer-Fleming does it again in this third mystery featuring Rev. Clare Fergusson and Sheriff Russ Van Alstyne in the small town of Millers Kill, N.Y. As the small town's gossip increasingly speculates about the Rev.'s ambigous relationship with the married Sheriff, a more urgent problem is the disappearance of the doctor of Millers Kill's free clinic, a town institution with roots in events from the 20s and 30s. Digging into the roots of these disturbing happenings, Russ and Clare find that painful events from the town's past can still roil the peace of Millers Kill.
Out of the Deep I Cry is a 2005 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel.
Julia Spencer-Fleming
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING is the New York Times bestselling author of One Was a Soldier, and an Agatha, Anthony, Dilys, Barry, Macavity, and Gumshoe Award winner. She studied acting and history at Ithaca College and received her J.D. at the University of Maine School of Law. Her books have been shortlisted for the Edgar, Nero Wolfe, and Romantic Times RC awards. Julia lives in a 190-year-old farmhouse in southern Maine.
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Titles in the series (10)
In the Bleak Midwinter: A Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Out of the Deep I Cry: A Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To Darkness and to Death: A Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Fountain Filled With Blood: A Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Shall Not Want: A Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Mortal Flesh: A Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One Was a Soldier: A Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Through the Evil Days: A Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hid from Our Eyes: A Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Julia Spencer-Fleming's Letters to a Soldier: With a special note from Julia Spencer-Fleming Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Out of the Deep I Cry
24 ratings22 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I think this was the best one so far. I liked the flashback parts (which usually I can't stand that sort of thing) and oh my gosh, we finally get a little Russ/Clare action. I almost died.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5While I really enjoyed this book, I am enormously frustrated with the characters and the decisions they made, but I think the fact that Clare and Russ are seriously flawed (and man, are they flawed) is part of what makes the series work. The format in this third entry in the series is different with chapters shifting through several time periods. The Ketchem family's story is heartbreaking, but hard to turn away from. It was nice to get to see Russ' wife Linda a little more - that really brings home the dilemma that he's facing with being in love with two women.
Listened to the BBC AudioBooks America CD edition narrated by Suzanne Toren. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Spencer-Fleming is an amazing author. In this installment of the Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mysteries she moves their relationship forward while doing flashback scenes to other years like 1924 and 1930. The flashbacks concern the case of a missing doctor, the importance of childhood vaccinations and the misguided beliefs, by some, that vaccines are tied to autism. It is a complicated story in some ways, yet very easy to follow and with simple strings weaving everything together. I'm in a hurry to get the next book in this series, I can't wait.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5First Line: Russ Van Alstyne had just gotten a tug on his line when he saw the old lady get up from between the headstones she had been trimming, lay down her gardening tools, and walk into the reservoir. A section of the St. Alban's Episcopal Church roof is ready to collapse, and the chances of getting it repaired look bleak until Mrs. Marshall decides to break the trust created by her mother. Instead of helping to fund the free clinic, the money from the trust will allow St. Alban's costly repairs to be done.Losing a bit of its funding turns out to be the least of the troubles facing the Millers Kill Free Clinic because its doctor goes missing and a local woman seems to be the best suspect in town. Reverend Clare Fergusson finds herself investigating Dr. Rouse's disappearance alongside Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne. What Clare and Russ don't realize is just how helpful Clare's volunteer work at the historical society is going to be. This case has long roots that go all the way back to the Prohibition era, and it's going to take everything Clare and Russ have got to untangle them to get at the truth.I do love books that combine a current mystery with one that occurred in the past, and Julia Spencer-Fleming has created a marvelous one here. Chapters take the reader back to the 1930s when Mrs. Marshall's father disappeared without a trace, to the 1950s when her mother created the trust for the clinic, and even to 1970 when the young Russ Van Alstyne has his very first brush with the mystery. Once again the author leads us through life in a small town. To those of us who have lived in one, it will seem as though we've gone home for a visit. To those who haven't, they can see it through the eyes of the Reverend Clare Fergusson, who, as a newcomer, is a rank amateur when it comes to dealing with a village gossip mill. The importance of a small town clinic is also outlined by showing us what happens when its doctor goes missing, and by how and why a local woman can campaign against having children receive immunizations to prevent disease.When all was revealed at the end, I had to shake my head. All the clues were there, but I was so engrossed with the story and its characters that I didn't even think to tease out those threads of clues so that I could ponder them. If you like your books to be character rich, then you have to read these books by Julia Spencer-Fleming. Clare (a priest) and Russ (a married man) are two of the best characters in crime fiction, and the fact that they are two honorable people falling deeply in love with each other adds an extraordinary poignancy to each book.Yes, these books can be read as standalones, but I would strongly advise against reading them as such. Yes, the stories are exceptional, but characters like Clare and Russ are like the rarest of pearls. You're going to want to collect them all.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two mysteries intertwine in this visit to Millers Kill. In the present day, Clare is battling with a leaking church roof, the charity of a kind lady and a small town bent on making something of a weekly lunch with the chief of police. Turns out that nice lady is the only surviving daughter of the Ketchams, and Jonathon's disappearance in 1930 remains Millers Kill oldest cold case. The disappearance of a local doctor twists these two stories together and shows how life in a small town is not immune to evil.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Out of the Deep I CryTwo men disappeared - one in the present day, and one in 1930. As the Rev. Clare Fergusson and Chief of Police Russ Alstyne search for the man who disappeared after meeting a young woman in a cemetery, they unearth connections to the disappearance that occurred eighty years ago. The Ketchem Free Clinic, named after the man who disappeared in 1930, is about to lose some of its funding, and Clare feels responsible. The man's daughter, Lacey Marshall, has decided to break the trust that provided funding for the clinic, and Clare's church, which is desperately in need of repairs, will benefit from the money. The Ketchem farm was flooded in 1930 to allow for the creation of a reservoir, and every line of investigation, both past and present, seems to lead to this body of water, or the river that runs through the town of Millers Kill, New York. Clare's suspicions of the fate of Jonathan Ketchem, who disappeared so many years ago, connect to a diphtheria outbreak, and the reason for the visit to the cemetery the night Dr. Rouse disappeared.This is one of Julia Spencer-Fleming's earlier books in this series, when Russ is still married. Their friendship is growing into an undeniable attraction which is difficult to keep secret in a small town like Millers Kill, New York. The two have very different goals and methods of finding the truth, but their paths cross constantly, as Clare cannot resist becoming involved in the investigation. Their ill-fated romance is as intriguing as the murder mystery, which alternates between past and present before we learn the truth. (As published in Suspense Magazine)
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reverend Clare Ferguson has a problem at St Albans - the roof is leaking. Presenting her need for funding to repair the roof, the vestry members are stunned when Lacey Marshall offers to end her mother's trust which supports the local free clinic and give the funds to the church for the repairs.Feeling that she needed to be present when the Doctor at the clinic is told that his funding is being withdrawn, Clare goes to the clinic with Lacey where they are confronted by protesters. After matters settle, Dr. Rouse from the clinic disappears. His disappearance even seems to resemble the disappearance of Lacey's father in 1930.The mystery frequently flashes back to the time when Lacey's parents were dealing with the death of 4 of their children from diphtheria which was the driving force for the endowment to the clinic.As Clare and Russ delve into the connections between the two disappearances, we learn more about the past of Millers Kill during Prohibition and the Depression.A great installment to the series, looking forward to the next.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I am very much enjoying Clare and Russ. There are three things that make just love this, the third, book in the series. First, I coincidentally read it during Lent, and the story takes place during Lent. The flow of the season that shows in the work of Reverend Clare Fergusson is subtly reflected in the progress of the mystery during the weeks before Easter. Second, the story moved back and forth between "now" and "then" (1920s-30s) so we get two mysteries for the price of one, so to speak. Both end surprisingly, and, unsurprisingly, are related. Third, when in just about every book. movie and TV show, two people who are attracted to each other are immediately in bed, the relationship between Clare and Russ takes a more mature course. We see two people who have respect for each other and for each others' vows and commitments, and can develop an intimate friendship without sex. While I've enjoyed the previous two books in the series, this is the best so far. I highly recommend this series!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Julia Spencer-Fleming has dished up a double mystery, decades apart, in this the third book in the Clare Fergusson/Russ Alstyne mystery series. And by the end, I was looking for extra helpings. This series is getting better and better.In 1930, Jonathan Ketcham’s wife, Jane, went to the police to report her husband missing. Search as they may, he was never found and Jane went on to raise her only child, Solace, by herself.Fast forward to the present and the good Reverend Clare is dealing with a large and unsightly leaking roof in the church. The question is do we do an inexpensive temporary repair or the much more expensive, historically accurate restoration? And if we opt for the expensive overhaul, where would the money come from? In steps Trustee Lacey Marshall, whose mother, Jane Ketcham, left an endowment for the operation of a local free clinic for those w/o health insurance. She can use her judgment as to whether or not to continue the clinic or transfer the funds to another charitable clause and she would like to fix the leaky roof. Upon notification of the impending loss of funding, the clinic’s head, Dr. Rouse, suddenly disappears.There you have it: two missing persons, over eighty years apart, yet connected. It’s up to Police Chief Russ Alstyne (and of course Clare because, well, that’s what she does) to solve the present day crime while at the same time, uncovering the mystery behind the disappearance of Jonathan Ketcham.I am really enjoying this series and have to say that the author’s excellent narrative style, character development, and deftly construed, multi-layered plot, weaving past and present, kept me furiously turning pages. Highlighted by a confrontation with a gun-wielding distraught wife and a dicey escape from drowning, we are, of course, left high and dry as to the romance that continues to kindle, whetting my appetite for the next installment. Highly recommended.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Not the usual sort of mystery I tend to pick up. I had a hard time getting into this book but about a third of the way in in picked up pace. Good characters.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Very sad, and, for me, depressing story.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a series that really should be read in order, which I have not. But because of that, I know some of the developments in the whole Clare/Russ saga that take place in future books in the series, but worry not, I will spill no beans!Still, what do they say...the course of true love is never smooth, and I must say that I find their relationship just a little annoying. They are always walking a fine line, with occasional trips over that line. Maybe Clare, the Good Reverend, needs to reread that part in the New Testament about how he..or she...who lusts in the heart commits adultery. I guess I should be happy in a book these days that the issue of being faithful to one's vows is considered important at all but still...It also drives me nuts that Clare is still driving that totally impractical car in the snowy mountains in this installment. If she has to call AAA or get someone to tow her out of the snow one more time, I am going to scream.But these small annoyances are far outweighed by a very well written and very engaging story, with a couple of good mysteries for the reader to figure out. The book takes us back and forth in time, from Jane Ketchem's story in the 1920's to the 1950's, to the present day, and back again, revealing the information we need bit by bit.There are a number of interconnected plot lines, from the past and the present. This could have been confusing, but I think the author pulls it off very well. As in all the books in this series the author also weaves in a few timely issues, in this one foremost is the question of the safety of vaccinations and the storyline presents a conclusion that you may or may not agree with, but which is always interesting. And finally, as always in Fleming-Spenser books, at the heart of the mysteries are the stories of some great characters, well told, stories laced with guilt and heart breaking decisions and very real human emotions.A very good series...and yes, one best read in order.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Book three of Millers Kill series. When the church roof springs a leak, Rev Clare has to find the money quick. One of her older vestry members offers the money, but in order to do so the money has to be taken away from the town free clinic. Suddenly the doctor responsible for the clinic goes missing and a young woman campaigner against child vaccinations gets the blame. So far so good.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When the local doctor disappears from the small town of Millers Kill, NY. It doesn't take long for the gossipmongers to start insinuating foul play. Amidst escalating suspicions that he was "disposed of" due to his ongoing fight against authorities to cut his clinic's funding. Episcopal priest Clare Fergusson and Police Chief Russ van Alstyne are enlisted to investigate. Neither could have bargained for what they discover, however, as they pursue an investigation that takes them deep into the past - to the Jazz Age, Prohibition, and the Great Depression - and to a series of sordid and horrifying secrets one family will risk everything to keep hidden.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This story spans a few generations, what happened in the past is coming to roost in the present and there's a bit of a message here about vaccination. In 1930 Jonathan Ketchem's wife Jane declared that her husband had left, leaving her with their only remaining child. Decades later her legacy of a clinic is under threat and it's doctor disappears.Clare Fergusson and Russ Alstyne both try to stay apart but their relationship is fraught and they both are trying to do the right thing. I did see some of the story coming but it was still entertaining. Also the message about vaccination was a little heavy-handed
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The mystery plot is very engaging and definitely keeps me guessing. But, I am reading this series because of the relationship between Clare and Russ. Wow. Theirs is such a complicated relationship -- unlike any I have read before. Clare is a priest and Russ a married police chief. They are such good people -- always considerate and driven by doing the right thing to help others. And yet, they are soulmates. I am amazed at how Julia Spencer-Fleming can write interactions and conversations between them that makes believe in them. And of course, there is heartache because there is no way for them to be together without pain and guilt. I can't wait to move on to the next one in the series.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two stories, a "Then" and a "Now" are intertwined as the reader listens to first one and then the other throughout the book. At first, the reader wonders what one has to do with the other, but the back-fill quickly becomes apparent, and also becomes a mystery all its own. This is #3 in the continuing saga of Clare Ferguson Episcopal priest and Russ Van Alstyn the married (not to her) chief of Police, and the romance is heating up. Clare and Russ now have gotten a tad bit physical, but also a bit more pragmatic about the hopelessness of their relationship. In this episode, Clare is trying to trace the provenance of a huge chunk of money being donated to fix the church's roof, while she helps look for the local clinic doctor who has disappeared. The plot twists in this one are serpentine, but delightful. Without doing spoilers, I will warn that if, like me you are claustrophobic, you might want to read (or listen) to this one in the day time in a big airy well-lit room. The climas is a scary stunner. Regular readers will delight in the ongoing adventures, while newcomers will have no trouble picking right up.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This series continues to be enjoyable if not exactly compelling. The characters are likable; the relationship between Clare and Russ adds tension but is handled well. Much of the suspense in the series is how this will be resolved in a satisfactory way without compromising the core values of either character—or will these values be overthrown. In this third novel there are two somewhat parallel mysteries that relate to each other. The mystery in the present concerns the disappearance of the doctor who heads up a clinic for the poor that is funded partly by the town and partly by a trust fund set up by the widow of the man for whom the clinic is named. The parallel mystery is told in flash backs and concerns the mysterious disappearance in 1930 of the man for whom the clinic is named, and for whose memorial the clinic was established. The story is told by alternating sections entitled “Now” and “Then”. It is intriguing the way the story is told, especially as the “Then” sections are not told in chronological order as more and more relevant information is revealed. It was the flash back part of the story I found most intriguing and also that held the most surprises for me. The modern story I had pretty well figured out by half way into the book. I use this series as light and relaxing entertainment and this novel provided me a very enjoyable morning “vacation.”
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Someone I know was flipping out about this book, saying it is the best in the series. And it is! Which is what I think about every book in this series right after I'm done with it! I love Clare and Russ, I love how they work together and I love all of the characters in Millers Kill. This one is a little different from the first two in that it starts off facing a social issue (immunizations and autism), but branches off into a mystery from the 1920s and 30s - which, oh man, blew my mind.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/53rd in the Reverend Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series.A beautifully constructed book. The story starts off with a flashback to 1970, when a young Russ Van Alstyne, about to enter the Army to go to Vietnam, rescues an old woman, Jane Ketchem, from attempted suicide by drowning. Fast forward to the “Now”, where Clare is faced with an extremely serious, expensive roof repair on the church and no apparent way to raise money before the roof literally falls in.The story alternates between flashbacks involving Jane Ketchem that occur in the ever more distant past and the present, with Ketchem, although long dead, still affecting events through her daughter, Lacey Marshall, a member of the vestry of St. Albans, and Dr. Rouse, who for 30 years has headed the free clinic founded by Ketchem. The latter disappears, the only real “mystery” in the plot, and in the search for him, Ketchem’s past comes to light by bits and pieces. Clare, of course, not your typical Episcopalian (or any other) priest, indulges her adrenaline junkie side and becomes far more involved in the affair than she should be. All this leads to a very exciting denouement, and a final, tragic revelation.The writing has picked up—still that same indefinable but distinct Spencer-Fleming style that suits her character and setting so well, but more creative, more imaginative, and some of the minor characters are less stereotypical. The romantic tension between Clare and Russ is well done and moves that aspect of the series forward. The plot is unusual, and is handled in a truly superior fashion, with the flashbacks adding appropriate information at crucial points. The same wry, self-deprecating humor is there, although not quite so present as in the first two books. Russ and Clare continue to develop as characters, whose lives are interesting to the reader. Another thing that Spencer-Fleming does well is to integrate the religious aspect very well into the story. Having been involved in a minor way with church affairs, the personalities of the vestry and the way they approach decisions is absolutely dead on. Clare’s beliefs are in perfect alignment with her very human character.This is a superb installment in the series, the best so far. Highly recommended.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In 1924, Jane and Jonathan Ketchem's four children died of diptheria. In 1930 Jonathan disappeared. Jane donated property to the town of Miller's Kill to fund a medical clinic in his memory. In the present time, the doctor running the clinic also disappears. Chief Russ van Alstyne is investigating, and Rev. Clare Fergusson is intruding. The first half of the book is a little slow as the stories develop. The stories are linked when elderly Mrs. Marshall, the fifth child of Jane and Jonathan Ketchem and a member of Clare's church, decides to withdraw the support of her mother's trust from the clinic in order to meet the church's urgent need for roof repairs. Clare learns more about Mrs. Marshall's family history, including Jonathan's disappearance, while investigating aspects of the current case. She wonders why the four children had to die, and where Jane Ketchem got the money to fund the clininc, send her surviving daughter to college, and establish the trust. The heartbreaking links between these questions, and the connections between the old and new cases, come together as the pace picks up in the latter part of the book.The author does a nice job of connecting story elements but not beating the reader over the head with the connections. The two voices Clare hears at times, those of her grandmother and her Army drill instructor, help to illuminate how she makes decisions. The relationship between Clare and Russ develops nicely and remains credibly tense. A very good read once you get past the somewhat slow beginning.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Book starts out with money being donated to the church has a mysterious background then goes into fraud and embezzled money from medical clinics and bootleggers and land fraud. I found switching back and forth to the cold case murder very confusing and at times lost interest. Did like reading the developing relationship between Claire and Russ.