“One Was a Soldier” by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Minotaur, 336 pgs., $24.99)

A hallmark of Julia Spencer-Fleming’s engrossing novels about Rev. Clare Fergusson is how a flawed person of faith maneuvers in contemporary society. Being a religious person is not synonymous with perfection, as Clare, an Episcopalian priest, shows time and again.

Clare, last seen in 2008’s “I Shall Not Want,” makes a most welcomed return in “One Was a Soldier,” the seventh novel in this series. Known for enfolding tough society issues in her intelligent plots, Spencer-Fleming explores the problems of soldiers returning to civilian life, including how female soldiers deal with deployment. While the subject is serious — and the author deftly handles this with sensitivity and sophistication — Spencer-Fleming never forgets she is writing crime fiction, not a dissertation. “One Was a Soldier” is a briskly paced mystery accented by realistic, fully formed characters and solid twists and surprises.

In “One Was a Soldier,” Clare returns to her duties as the priest at St. Alban’s in Millers Kill, N.Y., and to police chief Russ Van Alstyne, her not so-secret lover. But adjustment isn’t easy and she can’t shake the 18 months she spent flying helicopters in Iraq. Clare’s drinking has spiraled and, on the quiet, she’s popping the pills left from her Army medical kit. Clare finds some solace in a support group for other returning soldiers, although anonymity isn’t possible since all the members are from the same small town and have known each other for years. When a member of the support group is killed, Clare pushes Russ to investigate the death as a homicide, even though the clues point to a suicide. The victim’s past in the Army suggests that the former solider may have been targeted.

“One Was a Soldier” skillfully illustrates the difficulties a soldier may have in trying to settle back into a previous life. Spencer-Fleming makes each character three-dimensional as she treats each’s service in Iraq with respect and concern. Spencer-Fleming also sensitively shows how addiction can overwhelm a person, especially one who isn’t the stererotypical skid-row addict. As Clare tries to come to terms with her addiction to pills and alcohol, she worries that she’s “not strong enough. … that loving (Russ) and God won’t be enough to keep (her) afloat.”

Although Spencer-Fleming’s last novel was three years ago, “One Was a Soldier” is one of her best and most heartfelt in this superior series.