Customer Reviews

Body in the Belfry

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Page has created an energetic and rather believable heroine in Faith Fairchild, a gourmet chef who marries a clergyman and moves from her hometown of New York City to a small town in New England. She feels like an outsider in her new home, but gets right in the thick of things when she finds a body in the town's most historic building. She is amazed to find that many of the residents are more upset that she rang the old bell than that a person was murdered!

I thought this book was highly entertaining, though I must admit that I spent a good deal of time wondering just which suburb she was supposed to be in, being myself a resident of the area. I would definitely recommend this book as a fabulous New England "cozy" with fun characters, solid writing, and good red herrings. She has written a good number of books in this series (Body in the Belfry being the first), so there is a lot to look forward to when you dive in! Page has also written a few young adult mysteries under the title of Christie and Company, which I have heard are also quite fun and educational for young readers.

This book is the beginning of a growing list of "Body in the _____" series. Its heroine is Faith Sibley, a native New Yorker who has started a gourmet catering service. She meets and falls in love with Tom Fairchild, a young minister who whisks her away from her beloved home town to a much different life in rural Massachusetts. Faith is trying her best to fit into the role of pastor's wife in a small town where everyone's family goes back several generations and where everyone knows everyone else's business. While taking a walk with her baby son, Benjamin, Faith discovers a dead body in a belfry. The body is that of Cindy Shepherd a young, willful girl who had made plenty of enemies in their small town. The suspects include Cindy's fiance, and several men with whom she had had affairs and was subsequently blackmailing. Faith's curiosity and unofficial investigations eventually lead her and Benjamin into grave danger. This is an interesting and well-written "cozy".

I recommend this book for a really fun read - it's perfect for any vacation. Ms. Page has a wonderful sense of humor and is a fantastic writer! I am looking forward to reading all the other Faith Fairchild mysteries.

The first of the 'Body in the where-ever' mysteries as best I could figure out from copyright dates. Faith ran her own catering business in New York City when she met and fell in love with Tom Fairchild. Now, she's a mother and a minister's wife in Aleford, MA trying to fit into the fabric of the small town and considering starting up her business again before boredom kills her.

But she finds the dead body of Cindy Shepherd in the belfry at lunch time and rings the bell. You sort of have to know New England to realize that ringing the bell becomes as much a scandal as the body/murder. Cindy's parents Robert & Patricia Moore are not all that upset about Cindy's murder but are outraged that the police think it's her finance. Faith begins to ask questions and soon finds herself embroiled in town history and genealogy -- then it's a race whether she'll find the murderer or the murderer will find her.

Well written though not as tight as I'd like. I will go on to read more by this author because the promise is here in the descriptions and the characters.

Page beats around the bush way too much--the whole "time out" where Faith goes to New York was just pointless, and the whole family history murder thing was confusing. Also, Faith whines and complains a lot, and is rather annoying in general. Bad start to what turned out to be a bad series.

Note: I've read this entire series up to The Body in the Attic: A Faith Fairchild Mystery (Faith Fairchild Mysteries), and the best rating I've given any of them is 2 stars, which is sad and says a lot about the series. I kept reading because it really has potential but it never lives up to it, so save yourself the trouble and agony and try a a different series, such as Carolyn Hart's Death on Demand (Death on Demand Mysteries, No. 1) series, most of which are fun and enjoyable, or stop after The Body in the Cast: A Faith Fairchild Mystery, which was probably the best of the series. That's my recommendation, anyway.

Hall's charming heroine Faith had me searching the web for more titles featuring her as sleuth. The author's descriptions of New England landscapes, customs and people leap off the page. The book drew me in from the first paragraph, and, unbelievably, drew tears from me at critical moments, so much did I care about the characters. I'm so happy there are more "Faith Fairchild" titles out there to enjoy!

The author was on a Boston TV station this week being interviewed for her 17th book in this series. I had never heard of her, but as a great fan of mysteries decided I'd start with the first one and go from there.

As a resident of a small town in Connecticut, I was tickled at her descriptions and comments about folks in a small New England town. It's all true. Faith, the main character, has a bit of a time adjusting to a slower pace of life, but I think she will fit in eventually. The author said during the interview that the town is fictional. She didn't want to have people correcting her on locations, roads, etc.

I think the idea of including recipes in the books is a nice touch. It gives the stories an added touch.

I got hooked on this series after reading a few chapters of this book. The sleuth is a modern young mom who demonstrates a sense of humor about her cute little son Benjamin and her likeable minister husband, who encourages his feisty wife to do her own thing, which includes running a catering business and solving mysteries. I'm well-educated and have no tolerence for books reflecting poor writing skills; I found this author's writing skills to be literate and even witty. With a touch of humor, the author successfully alludes to classic mysteries and their sleuths. Before I'd finished this, the first book in the Faith Fairchild series, I'd ordered the rest of the books from the series. I've now read two of the books and have found a new sleuth that has grabbed my affection. Can't wait to read more mysteries in this series.

I don't know why. I'm not Christian and the series revolves around a minister's wife. Page just creates characters that feel like they are alive, and you want to find out what the're up to. Yes, if I knew of her I'd stay far away because everyone winds up dead at places she goes to, but I love to read about them