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Despite its title, which was taken from an old hymn by the English poet William
Cowper, A FOUNTAIN FILLED WITH BLOOD is neither grisly nor especially violent.
This book, the second in a series by new author Julia Spencer-Fleming, is a traditional
mystery that is unlikely to offend anyone and quite likely to entertain many.
Clare Fergusson is a former Army helicopter pilot, now an Episcopal priest in the small upstate New York town of Millers Kill. In her late 30s and unmarried, she has in general a healthy, no-nonsense attitude toward life and a particular calling toward her religion, which is also now her livelihood. Her faith is strong but unobtrusive --- there's no proselytizing here. Rather, the author uses the occasional inclusion of a prayer or a bit of ritual to add atmosphere while also providing insight into Clare's character.
Here, as in the first book in the series, IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER, Clare partners up with Sheriff Russ Van Alstyne to solve a crime into whose path she, literally, stumbles. It seems someone around Millers Kill doesn't like gay men. Two are badly beaten in a manner that suggests a hate crime and then one more is found dead; he's the body Clare stumbles into. There happens to be a connection between the dead man and a young couple whose marriage she is to perform in a couple of weeks, which gives Clare opportunity to learn some things Russ and his deputies might not. Because of her military training and a healthy dose of curiosity --- of the sort that amateur detectives must have or these books would never go anywhere --- Clare doesn't hesitate to learn all she can, though at some cost to herself.
The small-town setting will feel familiar to a large number of readers, regardless of the specific upper New York State locale; there is a sort of comforting togetherness going on. There's a Fourth of July celebration in the park and a town meeting where a new development is opposed on environmental grounds. There's a big old Victorian house on the edge of town that has been turned into a bed and breakfast and is run by a pair of openly gay men who are life-partners. There are summer tourists with their stiff, new city-bought leisure clothes, necessary to the fragile economy but getting in the way. Even the nature of the crimes and their impact on the community seem familiar, especially when Clare proposes to her vestry that their church should show support for the victims of a crime that the older, uptight vestry members would rather pretend had no connection to sexuality.
An interestingly different thread of tension runs through the entire book, in the form of a strong sexual attraction between the priest and the sheriff, who not only is a very married man but also loves his wife --- and they both know it. These two characters are extremely well drawn, real people in a very personal conundrum.
Spencer-Fleming is at her best with action scenes --- most interesting in that she portrays them vividly yet without gratuitous violence. She writes so well that she doesn't need blood and gore to get our attention. In the latter half of the book, there is an extended episode in which Clare uses her helicopter pilot skills, honed during the Gulf War, that will have you breathless as you await the outcome, unable to guess what it will be.
For readers who prefer conventional mysteries --- and for anyone who might like a change of pace from the tougher, darker thrillers --- A FOUNTAIN FILLED WITH BLOOD would be a good choice. Especially since, if you like it, the author's previous novel, IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER, is now out in paperback.
--- Reviewed by Ava Dianne Day
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