I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
The Body in the Bookcase
by
Katherine Hall Page
It is part of the Faith Fairchild #9 series and is a amateur sleuth, mystery in Paperback edition that was published by Avon Publications on April 2, 2002 and has 384 pages.
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Other books in this series include [books_series]
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include The Body in the Bouillon, The Body in the Vestibule, The Body in the Cast, The Body in the Basement, The Body in the Big Apple, The Body in the Moonlight, The Body in the Bonfire, The Body in the Lighthouse, The Body in the Attic, The Body in the Snowdrift, The Body in the Ivy, The Body in the Sleigh, The Body in the Bog, The Body in the Gazebo, The Body in the Boudoir, The Body in the Piazza, The Body in the Birches
Ninth in the Faith Fairchild cooking mystery series set in Aleford, Massachusetts.
My Take
You know Faith, she’s not willing to sit and wait for the police to figure out what’s happened so she slowly works her way up from scanning the stuff of pawnshops to the mall-type antique booths on up to auction houses gathering in her evidence and her treasures until she does discover who has been organizing the B&Es. All the while she’s catering, in every sense of the word, to a spoiled rich girl who keeps changing the rehearsal dinner menu.
Page really hits home on this home — the fear we can all embrace, that of the violation of our home space, our privacy, and then she turns around and gives us back some power when she has Faith searching all those different venues. I particularly liked the idea of searching those huge mall-type stores where a variety of dealers are in the same space but with their own booths as well as the show house with its bits of décor from everywhere. I’d never have thought of it.
Isaacson is very present, and we learn more about his family history. Pix appears to console Faith after the robbery and to babysit Ben and Amy. Tom appears to have acquired a particularly useful secre…oops, I mean, administrative assistant…for whom he is doubly grateful by the end of the story.
The Story
When Faith comes to the back door of Sarah Winslow’s house to leave her some scones and jam, she is devastated to find her body. It’s after Sarah’s funeral that it hits home when Faith returns home from a day of errands to find her own back door splintered and hanging open and herself a victim of a daylight burglary.
Only the antique treasures have been taken, just as at Sarah’s, and it turns out, at a number of other homes.
The Characters
Faith is a caterer, a minister’s wife, and a mother. The Reverend Tom Fairchild is her husband. Ben and Amy are their children. Niki is her catering assistant.
Pix Miller is Faith’s next-door neighbor and best friend. Sarah Winslow was an elderly friend with a house full of antiques. Isaacson is the chief of police.
Courtney and Stephanie are the wedding brats. Courtney is the demanding, I’ll-have-it-my-way mother-of-the-bride while Stephanie is, oh lord, desperately in need of some hobbies. With luck, Binky will be able to provide her with some.
The Cover and Title
The cover was misleading. I had thought the story was going to take place in New York due to something Faith said very early in the story, especially after looking at the cover, but it does make sense as the story goes on.
The Body in the Bookcase is a bit of a misnomer as the body is found next to the bookcase.
