REVIEW: I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming

I Shall Not Want (2008) by Julia Spencer-​Fleming is the sixth entry in the pop­u­lar award win­ning series fea­tur­ing Rev. Clare Fer­gus­son and Chief Russ Van Alystyne. I Shall Not Want is a smartly writ­ten sus­pense novel in a series that has been con­sis­tently strong and a plea­sure to read.

Urban crime has reared it’s ugly head in Millers Kill, which is a small town in Adiron­dacks, New York. Three dead Latino migrant work­ers seem to hint at pos­si­ble gang activ­ity in the area. As an aside, let me say that this author is not shy in tack­ling seri­ous and recent issues in her books. Moving on. The invis­i­ble Millers Kill migrant com­mu­nity are thrust up front and center here, exam­in­ing many of the social issues we are famil­iar with in how ille­gal immi­grants are treated in this coun­try today. Even Russ’s family, who recently invested in a dairy farm, are caught up in the mael­strom of cur­rent events.

Despite the well writ­ten and sus­pense­ful mys­tery, at the heart of this series is the ever-​evolving rela­tion­ship between Clare and Russ. Fans will not be dis­ap­pointed in that they are finally together after six books. This is the most roman­tic entry in this series and it made romance fans like me stand up and cheer. We’ve had to watch Clare and Russ dance around each other and watch them break each other’s hearts but despite the fact that Russ was a mar­ried man, the two seemed like they were always the right fit for each other. Or to describe it another way: they are soul mates. Their rela­tion­ship is one of the many things I love about this series out­side of the char­ac­ters and nar­ra­tive and engag­ing voice of the author.

There’s a new addi­tion to the Millers Kill Police Depart­ment that added some fresh air. Hadley Knox, a single mother with two kids, gets the pres­ti­gious honor of being the first woman on the police force. Along with the new we have the same famil­iar faces along with the usual church pol­i­tics, small town gossip and the tight knit com­mu­nity of Millers Kill. When­ever I read JSF’s books and step into this small yet not so sleepy com­mu­nity, the expe­ri­ence leaves me with a feel­ing of vis­it­ing with old friends. There’s also some humor in here to even out the dark and besides Clare and Russ’s romance, there are two other subtle, roman­tic sub­plots to enjoy as well.

While the story is well writ­ten and a com­plete joy to read, I did kind of rush through the ending and felt that a com­bi­na­tion of events kind of stretched things out - making me an impa­tient reader. The ending did feel some­what anti-​climatic to me. Anyway, I enjoyed I Shall Not very much and highly rec­om­mend this book to new and old read­ers alike. I strongly rec­om­mend that you start at the begin­ning with, In the Bleak Mid-​Winter, but if you are impa­tient to start this series now, there really isn’t any­thing wrong with you start­ing with this book. How­ever, the only down­side is that you miss out on the dynam­ics of Clare and Russ’s rela­tion­ship and the many mem­o­rable moments the author cre­ated between the couple in each of the six books in this series. Anyway, fans should not be dis­ap­pointed in this book and the ending, well, let’s just say it’s going to be a long year, my grade, B+.

*****

I Shall Not Want Reader Giveaway, Enter To Win Your Copy!

I was really in a rush to get this review out so that I can start my con­test today. I barely made the dead­line. Anyway, if your inter­ested in win­ning a copy of this book, I SHALL NOT WANT, make sure to leave a com­ment to this post. The con­test will end on Monday, June 30, 2008 at 11:59pm CST. The pub­lisher has gra­ciously donated (4) copies of the com­pleted novel for this give­away. While you’re com­ment­ing, maybe share your favorite mys­tery authors that have a strong roman­tic sub­plot in them as well? I”m always look­ing for new authors.

Win­ners will be drawn ran­domly and please make sure to check back when the con­test is over as I will announce the win­ners on Wednes­day and you will have three days to claim your prize. Other con­test details: anony­mous names will not be counted in the draw­ing and please make sure you have a valid email address because if I can’t get in touch with you, your win­ning status is null and void. This con­test is open to every­one. Ok, that’s all. Good luck!

Con­test is now closed and the win­ners will be selected and posted tomorrow!

Tagged as: Cozy, Cozy Mystery, Illegal immigrants, Julia Spencer-Fleming, Millers Kill, Russ and Clare series