Review: This is a collection of short stories that generally feature Faith Fairchild. Most have the typical happy ending, but others leave some unresolved issues. These are well written, but not terribly exciting. ( )

Collection of short mystery stories, many featuring the author's creation, intrepid female sleuth, Faith Fairchild. Quality of material varies, as do most short story collections, as I've found. Light, frothy, easy reading. Each has an O. Henry twist at the end.

My favorites [not in order in the grouping but in my enjoyment]:

"Would-be widower": A man plans to kill his wife of many years, whom he dislikes, and tries several times. Macabre humor.

"Ghost of Winthrop": a spinster, trying with Faith's help, to find her deceased aunt's will, before any other relatives. Finder will inherit all. Puzzle mystery.

"Hiding places": a naïve young newlywed discovers her husband's odd penchant for secreting some of his possessions in out-of-the-way places.

"Proof is in the pudding": a poisoning at a Christmas dinner

"Sliced": Faith appears on a television reality cooking show.

"The two Marys": an unusual Christmas story. A spinster named Mary in rural Maine finds a baby wrapped in a beautiful afghan, on Christmas Eve, in her barn. Faith helps her find the mother--and complications ensue. ( )

Katherine Hall Page writes a mysteries series starring Faith Fairchild, a New York City caterer who marries a minister from from Massachusetts and moves there with him to start a family. Like Jessica Fletcher of TV's Murder, She Wrote, Faith frequently finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation that only she can solve.

Page's newest book is a short story collection Small Plates, most featuring Faith and her adventures. They are like little tapas, and like tapas, some are more tasty than others. There are nine non-linked stories here, and the last one, The Two Marys, is the longest and in my opinion, the best one.

Mary Bethany is a unmarried middle aged women who cared for her parents until their death. Now she only has her beloved nanny goats for company in the winter, and the guests who stay at her B&B home in the warmer months.

She finds a baby in her barn on Christmas morning, along with a note asking Mary to care for Christopher, and $50,000 in cash. Mary calls her neighbor Faith and asks her to help her find the mother, whom she believes is in big trouble.

I liked the character of Mary, and when Page has the time in the story to draw us into the characters and story, I found it more satisfying.

Some of other stories, which are much shorter, are interesting as well, such as Death In The Dunes and Across The Pond, where the moral of the stories is beware of your sister. The Hiding Place has a clever twist to the story of a woman who yearns to start a family with her loving husband, and when she finds that her husband hides things in odd places, she finds it charming- at first.

The Would-Be Widower tells the story of Mr. Carter, who wants to be a widower, "and, since he already had a wife, he figured he was halfway there." The writing crackles in this one, and like a good Alfred Hitchcock story, there is some humor here as Mr. Carter schemes to kill his wife to accomplish his goal.

Sliced is a fun story for fans of culinary reality shows. Faith is a contestant in a cooking competition evening for a local charity. We see some characters we have met in other Faith Fairchild books, like Chef Billy Gold, a man with a huge ego and a bad temper (think Gordon Ramsay) who treated Faith terribly when he gave her a job she started her culinary career.

Claudia Westell is a famous TV cook, who uses shortcuts to make easy dishes (like Sandra Lee). Claudia was once Faith's assistant, and Faith fired her when she was caught her scanning Faith's recipes to steal them as her own.

The last chef was Jake Barlow, who had a disastrous experience as a chef at a restaurant in Sanpere where Faith and her husband have a summer home. Faith was at the restaurant when Barlow tried to create an over-the-top experience menu that fell flat, and he blames Faith for the fallout.

This story is fun because we see Faith create delicious dishes, such a savory bread pudding, using anchovies, baguettes, rainbow and smoked Ghost Pepper flakes and a picnic meal from chicken livers, frozen lemonade, Cheez Doodles and peppermint hard candies.

The end of book features recipes from the stories, like Cardamom Raisin Bread, Mussels with Pasta and St. Germain Cocktail.

Some of the stories end rather abruptly, like perhaps they were the beginnings of books that were abandoned, but this is a fun little book, perfect for picking up and reading one story at a time when you have a few stolen moments. And it's always fun to catch up with Faith. ( )

This collection of short stories in the mystery genre is a cut above many collections in the genre. While most feature Page's sleuth Faith Fairchild, they are from different stages in her life and catering career and set in different locations. I'm pretty sure that I've read at least one of the stories in a previous mystery collection, but these are all worthwhile reads.

"The Ghost of Winthrop" - Aunt Eliza Winthrop dies leaving a challenge for her descendants to locate her will naming the finder the chief legatee. Following a ghostly night, Prudence enlists the help of Faith and Tom to find the will and the cause of the odd noises.

"Death in the Dunes" - Faith and Tom are at a retreat on Cape Cod where he is giving a talk. They seem to be followed everywhere by the Hadleys. What is going on? Leave it up to Faith to figure it out. The solution is a bit obvious for most seasoned mystery readers.

"The Would-Be Widower" - A man goes to great lengths in his quest to become a widower.

"Across the Pond" - Faith and Hope's friend Polly is besieged by attempts to prevent her marriage to Ian.

"A Perfect Maine Day" - Myra Peters goes overboard and drowns on a fishing boat. The unnamed narrator figures out it wasn't quite the accident it seemed.

"Hiding Places" - Felicity marries Geoff. When he is gone on trips, she discovers some of his hiding places.

"The Proof Is Always in the Pudding" - Tom's normally non-superstitious mother insists that Faith must invite a 14th guest for Christmas dinner if plum pudding is to be served. She relates the story about the Fairchild family's curse to Faith who resolves to solve the mystery.

"Sliced" - At the request of her friend Pix, Faith participates in a New England version of the reality cooking show, "Sliced," as a fundraiser.

"The Two Marys" - A baby is left on Christmas Day as a gift for Mary Bethany on Sanpere Island. She enlists Faith's help to locate the mother she believes may be in danger.

I received this as an advance e-galley from the publisher through Edelweiss for review purposes. ( )

Katherine Hall Page has delighted me for several years with her Faith Fairchild mysteries. I love the character, the settings and the usually plausible plots. In this newest volume from Page, she has given us 9 fantastic short stories which amazed me in their ability to pack in character, setting and a good plot line in such a short span. The longest story was only about 25 pages long.

It's always difficult to review individual short stories but the variety of plots and time periods is quite interesting. THere are ghosts, great recipes (what else can you expect from Faith Fairchild?), murder plots that backfire, jilted lovers seeking revenge, a gorgeous Maine beach,and two-timing spouses; there are bloody knives and poisoned puddings; and there's a final story that is biblically inspired and touching. Perfect for a Christmas reading.

In each story, Faith manages to put in an appearance. Sometimes she is central to the story, in others she's sitting on the sidelines. All in all this is a thoroughly enjoyable collection and one which I intend to purchase for my personal collection when it's published. ( )