All hornedhopper's Fault!

A couple of weeks ago, hornedhopper was heavily pushing the books by someone named Julia Spencer-Fleming about an Episcopal priest named Clare Fergusson and the adventures she gets into during her first year in upstate New York. I was a bit leery, because one always is at someone else's book recommendations. I like mysteries, but tend to prefer them cosy, with bad puns in the titles, or at least deft humorous touches throughout [sounds rather like a courtship, that, what? ;)].

So I went down to the library & put them all on reserve. Books 2 & 3 came in first, because life's like that, but eventually the first book came in. I sat down with it yesterday afternoon. By chapter 5, the Rev. Clare had the following soliloquy:

Later, in her shower, she let the hot water soak into her bones, trying to quiet her mind enough to hear the small, inward voice that would tell her which way to go. What to do. In her experience, hard knowledge, painful knowledge, was a gift. God's way of pushing aside the distractions, the self-centeredness, leaving the right way clear, open, marked for travel.

We may disagree on punctuation, but what a way cool quote! The resonances & references to Ekaterin, Cordelia, & Ista are left as an exercise for the student, but, let's just say, these gals could really party, if they ever got together! I'd suspected it before, but, when I came to that paragraph, I knew the book was a keeper. The problem was, it had sequels, & they combined/conspired to keep me up until after 3 in the morning. ;(

So, I had a good time until far too late at night, & it's All hornedhopper's Fault!