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 Gazebo
by
Katherine Hall Page
It is part of the Faith Fairchild #19 series and is a amateur sleuth, mystery in Hardcover edition that was published by William Morrow on April 19, 2011 and has 259 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 Bookcase, 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 Boudoir, The Body in the Piazza, The Body in the Birches
Nineteenth in the Faith Fairchild culinary-religious mystery series. This one challenges Tom and also takes us back to the 1920s of Ursula’s teens.
My Take
Okay, the whole takedown scene at the end was pretty unreal. Not that I minded seeing the straits to which the bad guys were reduced…talk about justice at last! But it was just too easy a finish.
Zach gives a brief yet thorough précis of the number of ways computer hackers work while the Uppity Women’s Luncheon Club whip it out for a friend in need.
I also think the embezzlers got off too light and I wanted to see some decent payback…dang it!
The Story
Ursula is getting nasty letters that hearken back to her teens when her brother was murdered.
A new parishioner with the heart of a Scrooge has gotten very active with the church and has coerced an independent audit of the Church’s books. It appears that Tom has embezzled $10,000 of church funds.
On a positive note, Pix is panicking over having to spend several weeks bonding with the potential in-laws — Mark is getting married!
The Characters
Tom, Faith’s husband is a reverend, also comes in for some nastiness that proves how naively trusting he is with people. How sad that he can’t even find Christians within his own church.
It’s rather nice to get some back history on Ursula, Pix’s mother. Proves up what a truly decent woman she is as are her parents! Pretty rare to encounter parents willing to buck the status quo. Theo was Ursula’s brother. Mark, Pix and Sam‘s oldest child, is getting married! And it turns out that the new daughter-in-law’s father is an old beau of Pix’s.
Niki Constantine is preggers! A fortunate event that is eclipsed by an unfortunate event. Zach Cummings makes an appearance to help Faith with some computer hacking insight as does a former church intern, Lily Sinclair.
The Cover and Title
The cover is more picnic than gazebo. I suspect they got stories mixed up since there are no picnics in The Body in the Gazebo although, I suppose, you could say that life for the Fairchilds and Ursula Rowe is not a picnic… As a title, it is accurate.
