Monday Murders Book Group: In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming

This is the first of three engaging mysteries featuring Episcopal priest Clare Ferguson, newly appointed rector of St. Alban's Church in the upstate New York village of Millers Kill. Shortly before Christmas, an infant is left on the steps of St. Alban's with a note indicating that the baby should be given to a specific couple in the congregation. Clare sees the abandonment as a way to begin a mission project to help unwed mothers, but her enthusiasm is rebuffed by the senior warden of the socially conservative church vestry, a retired army colonel. Suspicion mounts when the child's mother, an 18-year-old college student from the wrong side of the tracks, is found dead. Clare joins Millers Kill police chief Russ Van Alstyne in the search for the murderer. There are as many slippery twists and turns as there are on the snowy Adirondack mountain roads that Clare must negotiate. Narrator Suzanne Toren handles all the voices deftly, giving just a touch of Southern accent to the Virginia-born Clare; her pacing captures the mounting tension perfectly. An excellent selection. (Copyright 2010 Library Journal)

No registration, everyone welcome. Pick up a copy of the book on the 2nd floor of the library after the June 12 discussion.