Page, Katherine Hall Books

The Body in the Gallery: A Faith Fairchild Mystery (Faith Fairchild Mysteries)

Katherine Hall Page

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Faith's catering business has been slow with the downturn of the economy, so when her friend Patsy Avery proposes that she take over the café at Aleford's Ganley Art Museum, it seems like a not-to-be-missed opportunity. And Patsy has an ulterior motive—she discovers that the Romare Bearden piece she lent the museum has been switched with a fake and wants Faith to snoop around to find the culprit.

Life at the museum doesn't stay calm for long and Faith is soon enmeshed in the Ganley's murky past and present as she struggles to make connections among apparently disparate items: the fake Bearden, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers, and a Jane Doe corpse that turns up as an unintended part of an art installation. At home, son Ben, now in the hell known as middle school, becomes involved in a cyberbullying escapade and husband Tom wants his wife to morph into June Cleaver.

Her investigation takes Faith into Boston's art scene and historic Beacon Hill, as well as into the lives behind the façade of the Ganley's very proper board of trustees. She is at her wit's—and almost dead—end, as the killer strikes again, and again.

The Body in the Ivy: A Faith Fairchild Mystery (Faith Fairchild Mysteries)

Katherine Hall Page

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The Past can continue to haunt the present 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

he Body in the Ivy opens with a May 17, 1970 newspaper clipping of the death of a Pelham senior, Hélène Prince, just prior to graduation, by a fall from the college clock tower. Mystery readers know that this news clipping is going to be important to the story that follows. But just how it's going to involve our intrepid caterer is certainly food for thought as the story unfolds.

Faith Fairchild is impressed that Barbara Bailey Bishop, a famous author, would ask her to cater a reunion of some of her Pelham classmates on her private island. It seems that Barbara remembered a delicious fennel soup Faith had served at a function years ago. The invitation came at a good time when Faith would be able to spend a week away from home.

Shortly after her arrival on the island retreat, Faith learns that the boat will return in a week and there is no phone, no radio, and no way to return to the mainland until the boat returns. Thus we have the classic setup for a country house mystery -- our characters are cut off from communicating with the outside world. Once we learn that they've been lured to this retreat under false pretenses, and that a storm is brewing literally and figuratively, there's nothing to do but to keep reading and hope that there's someone to be rescued when the boat returns. Since this is a mystery rather than a horror novel, the reader may assume that at least one person will survive but who that will be, and whether there will be more than one, is still unknown until the final chapter.

Page introduces each character as they receive their invitation, along with a short flashback to their college experience at Pelham. Through the flashbacks you get an idea of the women they were, who they've become, and their relationship to the young girl who died in 1970. Having lived in those years, I found the flashback awakening my memories of the time, and feeling a connection to these women and their past. Younger readers may have a hard time believing that at one time colleges took on the role of parents to their students, feeling the need to instill manners and morals.

Once all the characters take the stage or living room, we find that the years have not dimmed the memories of their years at Pelham or their hatred of Hélène Prince. Could it be that one of these women killed her? Is that the real reason they have been called together? But then why has Faith been invited? If it's not for her culinary skills could it be because of her past involvement with crime detection?

Each of the characters has their moment front stage as we learn more of their past and their present. Carefully, Page sets the scene and leads us to suspect first one then another of the guests or perhaps it is the hostess. There's red herring enough for a banquet, and that's before death begins to whittle the list of suspects down. Who'll be left standing? You'll need to keep reading to find out. I think this is one of the best of the Faith Fairchild mysteries.

Editorial Review:

In this homage to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, Faith Fairchild is asked to cater a very small, very private college reunion on an isolated New England island—an event that could be her dream job. But when she discovers the true reason for the get-together, not even the spectacular ocean views can keep it from turning into a nightmare. Thirty years ago, bestselling suspense writer Barbara Bailey Bishop lost her twin sister in a tower fall deemed a suicide. But Barbara is convinced that Hélène did not die by her own hand, and she's trapped Hélène's former classmates—her prime suspects—at her home with no phone lines, no cell reception, and no means of escape.

One by one, the alumnae fall prey to a madwoman. A disturbed sister's revenge . . . or a former coed's coverup? Faith must quickly unlock the secrets of Hélène's last night if she wants to leave the island alive.

The Body in the Belfry: A Faith Fairchild Mystery

Katherine Hall Page

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

During her years spent in New York City. Faith Fairchild was convinced she had seen pretty much everything. But the transplanted caterer/minister's wife was unprepared for the surprises awaiting her in the sleepy Massachusetts village of Aleford. And she is especially taken aback by the dead body of a pretty young thing she discovers stashed in the church's belfry. The victim, Cindy Shepherd. was well-known locally for her acid tongue and her jilted beaux, which created a lot of bad blood and more than a few possible perpetrators -- including her luckless fiance, who had neither an alibi nor a better way to break off the engagement. Faith thinks it's terribly unfair that the police have zeroed in on the hapless boyfriend, and so she sets out to uncover the truth. But digging too deeply into the sordid secrets of a small New England village tends to make the natives nervous. And an overly curious big city lady can become just another small town death statistic in very short order.

The Body in the Bouillon: A Faith Fairchild Mystery

Katherine Hall Page

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

a delightful concoction -- 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 11 people found this review helpful.

The adventures of Faith Fairchild make for rather low-key but very enjoyable reading; the characters are true-to-life and above, all, real. The plots make sense and are intricately woven into the lifestyle of the residents of Aleford, Massachusetts.

Faith Sibley was an up-and-coming caterer in Manhattan when she met and married Tom Fairchild, a minister. This new lifestyle wasn't totally strange to her, as her father and grandfather had been ministers, as well. It was the New England part of the equation that was the jolt, but gradually the small town charm began to take hold, as did her transplanted catering business 'Have Faith'. The birth of their son, Benjamin, made life wonderful, until the first murder in THE BODY IN THE BELFRY.

Now, it's two-and-a-half years later, coming on for Christmas--the busiest time in the church--and in this story, a large old estate in a nearby town has been converted to a residence for the well-heeled older citizens of the area. Run by a doctor, Roland Hubbard, plus his son and daughter, the genteel establishment should apparently have no problems. But a friend of Faith's Aunt Charity has discovered something, and mentioned it in a letter to her, but without any explanation. And then, suddenly, he dies. Aunt Chat asks Faith to please find out what went wrong.

When Faith seizes on the idea of visiting another resident acquaintance, she is taken for kitchen help, as the staff is temporarily overcome with the flu. She decides to go along with the idea, until the person she was going to visit collapses into the bouillion she had prepared.

An invitation to the Christmas Ball by the 'Pink Ladies' Volunteers takes Faith and Tom to Boston for the evening, and provides an introduction to the rest of the Hubbard family as well as various staff members, some of whom are definitely on the eyebrow-lifting side. As winter begins to settle in, preparations are underway for the church's Christmas season, not to mention all the holiday cooking and shopping, and Faith is kept busy with all the activity.

Her car slides off the road during a blizzard, necessitating a stay overnight at Hubbard House. What a terrific opportunity to do some exploring! But, when Faith returns to her room, she finds it occupied. By a corpse. Following so close after an accidental fall by one of the Pink Ladies, it's time to call in the forces of law.

The presence of John Dunne, a Detective Lieutenant of the State Police, plus Charley MacIsaac, the local police chief ensures a thoughtful conclusion. Indeed, you could do a lot worse than to embark on this series of life (and the occasional murder or two) in a small town in New England. I think you'll be glad that you did. My librarian recommended the first book to me, and I'm certainly happy I followed her advice.

Editorial Review:

Murder Served Piping Hot

Minister's wife, sometime sleuth, and culinary artist Faith Sibley Fairchild is intrigued by rumors of mysterious doings at Hubbard House -- an elegant, secluded retirement home for the well-heeled Yankees of Aleford, Massachusetts. Determined to do some surreptitious snooping, she joins the pricey retreat's flu-depleted kitchen staff, only to witness an aging resident collapse face-first into a bowl of Faith's hot and savory bouillon. But it isn't until a blackmailing drug dealer turns up dead in Faith's bedroom that the amateur investigator realizes that Murder not only happens at Hubbard, it's the specialty of the house! And Faith's own demise might very well be the next item on the menu.

The Body in the Kelp: A Faith Fairchild Mystery

Katherine Hall Page

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A Pleasant Cozy Mystery 3 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I've always found the Faith Fairchild series enjoyable and better than the average cozy. However, in "The Body in the Kelp" too much time is spent on incidental facts instead of working on the major plot points. This causes the solution to be a little disappointing-the motives for the crimes were murky and there were too many underdeveloped story threads.
One other major flaw is the high number of typos, on almost every page it seemed. Shame on publisher Avon Twilight for letting this go through. I wish publishers would realize how unprofessional this is and how it spoils the enjoyment of reading the book.
But, even though this book starts out more promising than it finishes up, there are some clever plot devices, including clues placed in a quilt pattern. That was fun to see solved, and there is enough of a story overall to satisfy the reader.
If you enjoy the cozy mystery genre, this book is worth checking out.

Editorial Review:

The Old Maid's Puzzle

It seems as if nothing is going to liven up Faith Fairchild's deathly dull vacation on Maine's Sanpere Island -- until she buys a beautiful handmade quilt at an estate auction. Lovingly constructed by wealthy, deceased, and detested Matilda Prescott, Faith's purchase turns out to be quite a bargain indeed -- especially when she discovers it to be a map to the old woman's hidden treasure. But instead of pointing the transplanted New York caterer-turned-minister's wife toward the fabled Prescott gold, Matilda's artfully crafted clues lead Faith to a kelp-covered corpse floating in a nearby tidal pool. Once again, the resourceful amateur sleuth has become entangled in a dangerous puzzle, ensnared in twisted, lethal threads of familial greed and cold-blooded homicide. And Faith won't be satisfied until she has the whole murderous matter sewn up.

The Body in the Bookcase: A Faith Fairchild Mystery

Katherine Hall Page

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Katherine Hall Page won an Agatha Award for her first Faith Fairchild mystery, The Body in the Belfry, and since that debut she has developed a rich cast of characters around her beloved amateur sleuth. Now, in her ninth outing, Faith embarks on an adventure that draws from Page's personal experience with the burglary of her home in 1995. A former New Yorker, Faith is settled--or at least settling--into life in the small Massachusetts town of Aleford. Her husband, Tom, is a minister, and Faith feels called to make the rounds of the parish. But her first visit leads to a grim discovery: Sarah Winslow, the town librarian and a collector of antique books, lies dead in her home, tied to a chair. Sarah's house has been pillaged. Only a day after the funeral, Faith returns home to discover her own house has been torn apart, and many of her prize possessions--silver, jewelry, keepsakes--have been stolen, too. Of course, Faith does what any self-respecting minister's wife would do: she begins an investigation that leads her into a market of illegal antiques deals and shady pickers. Along the way she encounters even more murder and mayhem.

As with other books in the Faith Fairchild series, one of the graces of the novel is the too-funny-to-not-be-real portrait of New England life. And the culinary components of this mystery once again derive from Ms. Fairchild's catering business, Have Faith. The recipes--from Avocado Bisque to Chocolate Oatmeal Goodies--are presented in tantalizing detail at the close of the book. But you won't be drawn to Page's series just for the food. The Body in the Bookcase serves a brisk mystery populated with a quirky cast of New Englanders you'll be sad to see depart. --Patrick O'Kelley

The Body in the Bog: A Faith Fairchild Mystery

Katherine Hall Page

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Faith stumbles over yet another dead body and invesigates 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

Faith Sibley has always detested living in the fishbowl of being a Minster's daughter. So it is a shock even to her that she fell in love with the Reverend Thomas Fairchild. Her feelings are genuine and deep for the man. She leaves the sophistication of her beloved New York City to settle with him in the backwater town of Aleford. Initially, Faith was bored with her relocation, but after opening her own catering business, the town began to grow on her. Also helping her keep the ennui away is the fact that she always seems to keep stumbling over corpses and spending much of her time on solving how the victims died despite the vociferous protests from the police and her husband to mind her own business. An independent woman, Faith goes her own way so it is not surprising that when a rash of ugly incidents, culminating in arson and murder, happens, she is in the forefront trying to discover who the culprit is. Once again, Faith stumbles over a corpse in an isolated area. After a few more days of sleuthing without any progress, Faith decides to use herself as bait in order to catch the guilty party. Her plan backfires when she becomes caught in the murderer's web with no one but herself nearby to help her. Like the previous six Faith Fairchild novels, THE BODY IN THE BOG, is a classic cozy that showcases the pros and cons of living in a small New England town where everyone knows everyone else's most intimate secrets. Katherine Hall Page makes her characters and the town come alive, leaving the reader feel as if they are visiting with old friends. This is a very special and charming mystery series that entertains and educates at the same time. It is strongly advises to read all the books in this series for an extraordinary experience. Harriet Klausner

Editorial Review:

Faith Fairchild is momentarily shocked to find her husband, the Reverend Thomas Fairchild, embracing Lora Deane -- and relieved to discover the distraught nursery school teacher is merely seeking solace and advice. Lora has been receiving threatening phone calls. And she's not the only resident of tiny Aleford, Massachusetts, who is being terrorized. Ever since local environmentalists have begun protesting the proposed housing development that will destroy Beecher's Bog, the more vocal opponents have become targets of a vicious campaign of intimidation-which is more than enough reason for Faith to launch into some clandestine sleuthing. But when a body turns up in the charred ruins of a very suspicious house fire, Faith is suddenly investigating a murder -- and in serious danger of getting bogged down in a very lethal mess indeed!

The Body in the Vestibule: A Faith Fairchild Mystery

Katherine Hall Page

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

An enjoyable read 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I enjoyed this book, and didn't figure it out until the end. Unfortunately I don't speak French, so at places I felt a little lost. She didn't always translate what was said in French (maybe it was meant to be obvious, but I couldn't keep up) so I was left feeling like I missed something. But despite that, I still enjoyed seeing what kind of problems Faith could get herself in to, and thankfully out of as well. I look forward to reading the next in the series.

Editorial Review:

Satisfying her hunger for epicurean adventure in the French provinces, small town caterer and minister's wife Faith Fairchild decides to throw the perfect dinner party. But during cleanup after the last guest has departed her gastronomical triumph, she encounters something neither expected nor welcome: a dead body lying in her vestibule. Unfortunately it doesn't help la belle americaine's credibility when the corpse vanishes before the local gendarmes arrive. But Faith realizes that, though the police refuse to take her seriously, a killer just might. And if she doesn't get to the bottom of this fiendish French conundrum, Faith's recent successful feast could end up being her last.

The Body in the Lighthouse: A Faith Fairchild Mystery

Katherine Hall Page

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Narrow Vision, Boring Book 1 out of 5 stars.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.

I guess I don't much care for Faith Fairchild. It got a little tiresome to be reminded 10 times how slender the heroine (usually a stand-in for the author) is. Okay, okay, so you're thin! Congratulations! It got even more tiresome that her reaction to anyone with any kind of social concern was to parody or shun them as "lunatics" or "terrorists" (terrorists?!). Faith's vision and concern never extends beyond her family, except for helping out with the Concord Players (sorry, Sanpere Players). She's as eager as the "ecoterrorists" to pull up the drawbridge and let no one else settle in Sanpere, yet doesn't recognize her own hypocrisy. Her view of life was summed up, for me, in her belief that her family was entitled to first refusal on a plot of land owned by someone else, destined to be sold to someone else, simply because her family enjoyed looking at it. This was my first Faith Fairchild mystery: I don't plan to bother with another.

Editorial Review:

Something was very wrong on Sanpere this summer . . .

To escape the misery of a sweltering August in Aleford, Massachusetts, caterer and minister's wife Faith Fairchild and her family head for their cottage on Maine's peaceful Sanpere Island in Penobscot Bay. But things have changed since their last visit. An aggressive developer is moving forward on plans that will destroy the unique ambience of the island, infuriating residents. Tensions are running dangerously high, and soon murder rears its hideous head. Faith discovers a corpse while exploring the grounds of Sanpere's historic lighthouse. With fear running rampant and volatile emotions approaching the detonation point, the intrepid sleuth must track down a killer for the sake of a friend and the island she loves.

The Body in the Snowdrift: A Faith Fairchild Mystery (Faith Fairchild Mysteries)

Katherine Hall Page

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A mixed bag 3 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Faith Fairchild is not looking forward to the family reunion which her father-in-law has planned at a ski resort in order to celebrate his birthday. As she tells her friends, she likes the Fairchilds but in "small doses". When she and her family arrive, things go downhill fast, as Faith discovers a dead body on the ski slopes. Tensions rise as Faith's sister-in-law has much different ideas about child-rearing than Faith does, and their families are sharing a cabin. When the resort's chef disappears, caterer Faith takes over and her vacation is essentially over. Another dead body shows up and no one knows who to trust. Author Page does a good job of portraying the difficult relationships which can occur when an extended family gets together for an long period of time. Her choice of a Vermont ski lodge as the setting of the book is also a good one. Her portrayals of the teenagers and the strange woman who lives in a "gingerbread house" in the middle of the woods are less believable. Also, the motive for murder is not hard to unravel and the ending is a muddle of information which is thrown at the reader in order to tie up all of the loose ends.

Editorial Review:

Caterer Faith Fairchild has a bad feeling about her father-in-law's decision to celebrate his seventieth birthday with a family reunion ski week at the Pine Slopes resort in Vermont -- the Fairchilds' favorite getaway since Faith's husband, the Reverend Thomas Fairchild, was a toddler. At first her unease seems unfounded -- until Faith comes across a corpse on one of the cross-country trails, the apparent victim of a heart attack.

Then one catastrophe follows another: the mysterious disappearance of the Pine Slopes' master chef, a malicious prank at the sports center, a break-in at the Fairchild condo, the sabotage of a chairlift. And when a fatal "accident" with the snow-making machines stains the slopes blood red, Faith realizes she'll have to work fast to solve a murderous puzzle -- because suddenly not only are the reunion and the beloved resort's future in jeopardy . . . but Faith's life is as well.