In creating her Chief Russ Van Alstyne and Pastor Clare Fergusson characters, Ms. Spencer-Fleming has also created a new and very popular series. Her clever "leave the reader guessing" ending in this latest in the series only makes this reader more eager to read the next one. Not at all a piece of "light" fiction, this author's work is intelligent, from crafty plot to interestingly complicated characters. The Clare Fergusson character, for example, is not at all sure that she belongs as Pastor of a small town Episcopalian church, and she is equally unsure of where it is that she does belong. How much more human can one be? On the other side, Chief Van Alstyne is just as confused and torn about how he is living his own life. The two characters were made for each other, fictionally and literally, and this reader is very curious to see how their conflicts are resolve, if they are resolved, in the next book in the series.

All Mortal Flesh is the kind of book that should be read in one long sitting, not picked up at lunchtime, put down for several hours or days, and again resumed. It is far too tricky in its plot's twists and turns for that. So, on the next long rainy, or snowy, day, or when you're lounging on some beach in the Bahamas (don't we all wish!), pick this one up and be prepared to not want to put it down again. Not Somerset Maugham, not La Carré, but highly recommended, nevertheless.
Review by Litera Scripta