In the Bleak Midwinter

"I don't even know where to begin with all the issues I had with this book--I stayed with it because I wanted to know the answer to the mystery. <br/><br/>It felt very dated, with its jokes about sexual harassment, anorexia and so much fat shaming. Then we have the priest, Clare, who was in the army but I'm not sure how she survived that considering she doesn't know how to start a fire, or have a decent coat and boots for the winter. The police chief, Russ, had to save her several times because of impulsive and thoughtless choices. It also seemed in poor taste that when Clare learns he's a recovering alcoholic, she continues to drink in front of him; and for the amount mentioned that she's drinking she might want to look into that too. <br/><br/>Not that he was the greatest either--showing morgue photos at church and giving out details about a victim to her classmate that unsurprisingly spread said details to her friends. The fact he let Clare be involved with the investigation as much as she was was also questionable. And finally the amount of times he said "excuse my French" when he cursed--either just curse or try to contain yourself. <br/><br/>There was also suggestion they might get involved, which I'm sure will happen in later books. My guess would be he divorces his curtain-making wife. Which who knew that was such a profitable business?<br/><br/>I will say the actual mystery was solid--I was invested in the outcome and found it fairly well-paced. The solution wasn't what I expected but it made sense."

"Perhaps partly because I can identify with the central character of Rev. Clare Fergusson in some ways (being female clergy myself) and perhaps partly because I can identify with location, I really did enjoy this book. The mystery was well done--enough clues that you could pick up on who the suspect might be (as opposed to some books where it comes so far out of left field it's like the author just made something up at the end with no real idea her/himself who did it when s/he started writing the book) without it being so obvious that you know from the start whodunnit. The characters are all well-written as well. Again, due to my personal experience, I particularly enjoyed scenes of the vestry meetings and other interactions with congregants. My only minor quibble is with the relationship between the two main characters--a trained clergyperson would be a whole lot more aware of and careful about certain types of interactions. But that's minor, and I'm willing to suspend need for reality for the sake of a good story.<br/><br/>I'm definitely going to read more in the same series. An enjoyable way to pass a few hours."