Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and author Julia Spencer-Fleming for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

I don’t know for sure if At Midnight Comes the Cry is the final book in author Julia Spencer-Fleming’s book series centered on the town of Miller’s Kill in the New York Adirondacks. Some people have said it is based on the ending. I think she left it open enough that there could be more coming, but it feels like many of the ongoing stories have been wrapped up. It’s the tenth book in the series, and I don’t think it’s the place to pick up the series if you haven’t read any of the previous books. There are many character features that are known from earlier books, and although the author tries to recap without inundating readers with information, I think it’s best if you already have some familiarity with the characters.

It’s Christmas time in Miller’s Kill. Russ Van Alstyne is still trying to figure out his place in the world now that he’s been forced to retire as the town’s police chief. He’s finding fatherhood more enjoyable than he expected, but he’s not sure if that’s all he wants to do. His wife, Claire, is still the pastor at the local Episcopal church. When she takes her toddler to a local Christmas parade in a nearby town, the parade is disrupted by white supremacists. Claire makes the acquaintance of one of the wives and ends up with an invitation to their home.

Meanwhile, Hadley Knox is concerned about former officer Kevin Flynn. He left the Miller’s Kill police force for a job with Syracuse, but took personal time and hasn’t been heard from in months. He’s from a very close family, and his parents haven’t heard from him, either. Hadley manages to rope Russ into helping her search for Kevin, which leads them on the trail of possible domestic terrorists.

What I liked about At Midnight Comes the Cry was some of the ambiguity. I know most of the people I consider friends would never be supportive of white supremacists, but Claire tries to reach them by treating them as fellow humans. It may seem a bit naive, especially in our current climate, but it works because there comes a point when the casual friendship helps. I knew early on how some of this was going to tie together. It’s not saying that what they believe is right or supporting it in any way, but that you can’t reach people by ostracizing them. Is there a point where you give up on people? I think this book raises those questions and shows there really are no easy answers.

I liked how the central story felt so topical. It’s become very scary in this country over the past ten years, and it feels like the events that take place in the book are authentic. I thought the central event the book was leading to was a little drawn out, and the characters missed some obvious clues along the way, but overall it worked very well. Their personal lives interact with what they are doing, and it feels quite natural. The only objection I have is that Claire seems to dump her toddler off on relatives and friends a little too often. I think that is something that she and Russ are reckoning with, as both of them are so used to jumping in and getting involved without thinking of their safety, but they now have a child to think about if anything were to happen to them.

The audiobook narration is handled by the same narrator who has been there throughout the series. Suzanne Torren does a great job, although I’ve always felt that the accent she uses for Claire is overdone. I was distracted by the fact that she pronounces the nearby town of Greenwich as “green-witch.” I was sure she had it wrong until I looked it up, and yes, that Upstate NY town is pronounced like that.

This was a series I wasn’t sure of when I first started. In fact, I almost gave up on it early on. I’m glad I stuck with it. At Midnight Comes the Cry feels very timely. Perhaps that is what Spencer-Fleming was going for, as it could be the end of the series. She’s drawing a line between those you can potentially reach and those who are too far gone to help. I don’t see Claire completely changing who she is. She’s a little too optimistic that people can be changed, but that’s part of who she is as a woman of faith. I did enjoy it and listened to it over the course of two days because I was so riveted as to what was going to happen.

Previous book in the series: