Breakaway Books

Authored by Julia Spencer-Fleming; Published 2002; Mystery

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️

I will bet you any amount of money that, if you’ve never read In the Bleak Midwinter before, you’ve never seen a crime-fighting duo like this one. A cop and… a priest? Okay, weird, but could be weirder. How about a female priest who used to be a combat helicopter pilot? Feels unique!

In In the Bleak Midwinter, Clare is the new Episcopalian priest assigned to a small town in upstate New York. Soon after her arrival, she discovers an abandoned baby on the doorstep of her church and unknowingly sets off a chain of events that ends with two of the townsfolk murdered. With her congregation linked to the crimes, she teams up with police chief Russ to help discover the murderers however she can. As a former army helicopter pilot, she has some surprising tricks up her sleeve. 

This novel is a masterclass in small town mysteries. Yes, of course everyone knows everyone else’s business. Yes, of course the parents will do their best to hide the indiscretions of their children. And yes, of course, the priest from the south is struggling to understand the conservative New England culture around her–and how to live through a New York winter. It seems a little less typical for the priest to get quite so involved in solving a murder, but it is fiction after all, and her perspective definitely gave the novel a particular twist. I have a hard time imagining how she gets involved with so many subsequent murder investigations considering how many books are in this series, though.

The emotional center of this novel is unquestionably the relationship between Russ and Clare. Despite the fact that Russ is married, it is impossible to deny the instant chemistry between them; they know each other for only a few weeks, and yet it becomes clear that they are extremely close confidantes. It’s a complicated relationship, with Russ’s atheism clashing with Clare’s profession, Russ’s cynicism toward the poor set against Clare’s ardent desire to help the least fortunate of society. They certainly are not without conflict, but the warmth between them immediately becomes apparent to the reader–and other denizens of the town. Complications abound.

If you are looking for a fun and unique crime-fighting duo far from the big city, In the Bleak Midwinter is for you.