The Fergusson/Van Alstyne Mysteries

A Fountain Filled With Blood

Book 2

Nestled in the heart of the Adirondacks, Miller’s Kill, New York is about as safe as it gets. That’s why Episcopal minister Clare Fergusson is shocked when the July Fourth weekend brings a rash of vicious assaults to the scenic town. Even Clare’s good friend, police chief Russ Van Alstyne, is shaken by the brutality of the crimes-especially when it appears that the victims were chosen because they are gay. But when a third assault of an out-of-town developer ends in murder, Clare and Russ wonder if the recent crime wave is connected to the victim’s controversial plan to open an upscale spa in Miller’s Kill. But not all things in the tiny town are what they seem-and soon, Clare and Russ are left to fight their unspoken attraction to one another even as they uncover a labyrinthine conspiracy that threatens to turn deadly for them both…

“Serious issues…add depth to the story. An exciting mountain rescue keeps the pages turning as the pace picks up at the end.”

—Booklist

“Spencer-Fleming’s second cozy-cum-thriller to feature the Reverend Clare Fergusson…is every bit as riveting as her first…with eloquent exposition and natural dialogue, the precisely constructed plot moves effortlessly to its dramatic conclusion.”

—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Even more action, more plot-twists, and more unconsummated romance than in Clare and Russ’s notable debut.”

—Kirkus Reviews

The Fergusson/Van Alstyne Mysteries

Book 1

Book 2

Book 3

Book 4

Book 5

Book 6

Book 7

Book 8

Book 9

Book 10

At Midnight Comes the Cry

New York Times bestseller Julia Spencer-Fleming returns to her beloved Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series.

It’s Christmas time in Millers Kill, and Reverend Clare Fergusson and her husband Russ van Alstyne—newly resigned from his position as chief of police—plan to enjoy it with their baby boy. On their list: visiting Santa, decorating the tree, and attending the church Christmas pageant. But when a beloved holiday parade is crashed by white supremacists, Clare and Russ find themselves sucked into a parallel world of militias, machinations and murder.

Meanwhile, single mom and officer Hadley Knox has her hands full juggling her kids and her police work. She doesn’t want to worry about her former partner—and sometimes lover—Kevin Flynn, but when he takes leave from the Syracuse PD and disappears, she can’t help her growing panic that something has gone very wrong.

Novice lawyer Joy Zhào is keeping secrets from her superiors at the state Attorney General’s Office. She knows they wouldn’t condone her off-the-books investigation, but she’s convinced a threatening alt-right conspiracy is brewing—and catching the perpetrators could jump start her career.

NYS Forest Ranger Paul Terrance is looking for his uncle, a veteran of the park service gone inexplicably missing. He doesn’t think much of an ex-cop and out-of-town officer showing up in his patch of the woods, but he’s heard the disturbing rumors of dangerous men in the mountains.

In New York Times Julia Spencer-Fleming's latest novel, as Christmas approaches, these five people will discover their suspicions hang on a single twisting thread, leading to the forbidding High Peaks of the Adirondacks. As the December days shorten and the nights grow long, a disparate group of would-be heroes need to unwind a murderous plot before time runs out.