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Julia Spencer-Fleming's mystery series set in the town of Millers Kill, New York has already won rave reviews, awards, and legions of fans. TO DARKNESS AND TO DEATH, its fourth installment, should bring even more accolades to this deserving series.
Spencer-Fleming's main characters are Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne. As the two inevitably get drawn into solving mysteries in their small town, they also have developed an undeniable romantic attraction. The only problem? Clare is the town's Episcopal priest while Russ is Millers Kill's older, married police chief. The moral complexities of the pair's attraction to each other add a thought-provoking dimension to the series' excellent character development and exquisite plotting.
In TO DARKNESS AND TO DEATH, both Russ and Clare's relationship, and Spencer-Fleming's storytelling skills, are taken to the next level. The author takes the risky move of setting the novel's entire action in a single day, switching rapidly from character to character as she tells her story, often revealing events only through a series of overlapping perspectives. The result is a tale that is rich in dramatic irony, as the reader soon becomes aware of mistaken identities, lies, and misunderstandings that are unapparent to the characters, who do not have the benefit of these multiple perspectives. Despite making the reader feel all-knowing, though, Spencer-Fleming still has some tricks up her sleeves, and will almost certainly still manage to surprise most readers somewhere along the way.
Like other books in the series, this latest installment touches on environmental issues and on small-town politics. This time, a large estate occupied by a mysterious, reclusive burn victim is about to be sold to a large corporation and managed by the Adirondack Conservancy Corporation. The impact on the area's hunters, not to mention its logging companies and paper manufacturers, will be significant. It seems that every businessperson in town has a stake in the future of the land, and that some will go to great lengths to protect their own interests.
Spencer-Fleming has a good understanding of small-town life, and TO DARKNESS AND TO DEATH underscores many of her themes. All the characters seem related in multiple ways, connections that can provide support but also complications. Near the end of the novel, Russ Van Alstyne reflects, "It's true… We are all related. If not by blood, then by bonds we don't even realize. Until they're gone." In her mysteries, Spencer-Fleming offers not only good stories, but also reflections into the nature of human connections and the human heart.
--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl
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