A Fountain Filled With Blood

Outstanding Praise for Julia Spencer-Fleming’s

A Fountain Filled With Blood

“The plot is complicated, and the ethical issues are even thornier. Wisely, Spencer-Fleming treats them with the same delicacy she extends to Clare’s forbidden love.”

—New York Times Book Review

“Julia Spencer-Fleming ‘pulls it off’ again in her second outing.”

—Chicago Tribune

“Despite the brutal crimes, this is a quiet and civilized story just right for those who enjoy a modern take on the old-fashioned whodunit.”

—Denver Rocky Mountain News

“Serious issues…add depth to the story. An exciting mountain rescue keeps the pages turning as the pace picks up at the end.”

—Booklist

“Even more action, more plot-twists, and more unconsummated romance than in Clare and Russ’s notable debut.”

—Kirkus Reviews

In the Bleak Midwinter

“Atmospheric…. [A] freshly conceived and meticulously plotted whodunit.”

—New York Times Book Review

“Superb!”

—Library Journal

“Terrific action scenes…. [W]hat really distinguishes In the Bleak Midwinter, however, is the author’s skillful portrayal of her protagonist’s inner conflict.”

—Washington Post Book World

“Filled with many twists and turns….[A] warm tale.”

—Midwest Book Review

“A riveting page-turner from start to finish.”

—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Fleming hits a grand slam with In the Bleak Midwinter. The tension is constant. The dialogue is dead-on. The characters are interesting, thought-provoking, and honest. The prose soars above the quality usually found in this genre. To top it all off, the story twists and turns to the last page.”

—Denver Rocky Mountain News

“Compelling…many twists.”

—Romantic Times

“Without ever slighting the central situation of the abandoned mother and her abandoned child, Spencer-Fleming shows admirable resourcefulness in the changes she rings on it.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“The prose soars…. [T]he story twists and turns to the last page.”

—Maine Sunday Telegram

St. Martin’s/Minotaur Paperbacks Titles by Julia Spencer-Fleming

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER

A FOUNTAIN FILLED WITH BLOOD

~TO THE MEMORY OF~

VICTOR HUGO-VIDAL

1933–2002

WE WILL MEET, BUT WE WILL MISS HIM

THERE WILL BE HIS VACANT CHAIR

WE WILL LINGER TO CARESS HIM

WHILE WE BREATHE OUR EVENING PRAYER

—HENRY J. WASHBURN AND GEORGE F. ROOT

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;

And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;

And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;

And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.

Washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away;

And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power

Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.

Be saved, to sin no more, be saved, to sin no more;

Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.

E’er since, by faith, I was the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,

Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.

And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die;

Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.

Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save, When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.

Lies silent in the grave, lies silent in the grave;

When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.

—William Cowper, in Conyer’s Collections of Psalms and Hymns

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two