This series is 50% mysteries to be solved and 50% the personal dynamics of the characters. I like the mysteries fine, but it's the characters who keep me coming back for each installment. In the beginning, it was the chemistry between Russ and Clare, despite his wife and her religious vocation. Often in these kind of books once the couple gets together the tension just goes out of the plot and the series limps to a close. Not so with this series—there are always new obstacles to be overcome.
There are multiple problems in this book. The town council is threatening to disband the Millers Kill Police Department and go with the State Police service to save money. Russ feels frustrated by the lack of support and their lackluster funding. He realizes that his officers will have difficulties if they lose their jobs and he feels responsible for them.
Meanwhile, Clare is trying to find her footing as a new mother, fitting childcare around her erratic priest's duties. Worse, the pills and booze that she used to deal with her post-military issues are very much on her mind. The craving has its hooks in her and won't let go.
If these matters of personal turmoil weren't enough, there's a mysterious dead woman deposited on a lonely road. She is remarkably like another young woman found in the same spot by Russ when he was newly returned from Vietnam. He was a suspect at the time and never cleared, which makes him determined to solve this case.
Hadley Knox is gradually living down the scandal of her police colleagues discovering her past as a porn actress. She has become a good cop. She is still angry that her past seemed to matter so much to Kevin Flynn that he transferred to another police department to get away from her. He ends up undercover in the area and Hadley has to inform him that her vindictive ex-husband has named them both in a law suit that accuses them of planting drugs in his luggage.
Spencer-Fleming has crafted a solid mystery that begs for a solution with very little evidence to help with that endeavor. As usual, it is a joint effort between Russ and Clare that puts the pieces together. There are two uncertain futures at the end of this novel. Russ and Clare are still a solid couple, but their employment may be changing drastically. Hadley still has a job, but Kevin seems to be strangely missing. Is it voluntary or has something bad happened? Thankfully there is another book published that will likely address these situations.
The acknowledgements at the end of the book reveal the reason for the long delay between the previous book and this one. The author lost her husband, a close friend and her mother all in a matter of months. I think it's amazing that she can pick up so well from where she left off and produce such a gripping story after having the rug pulled out from under her that way.
