The Body in the Belfry

Rating: 2.5* of five

The Book Description: 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 show more 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.

My Review: BAD First Mystery Novel Syndrome: Introduce characters that Central Casting would find rich and nuanced, but the Experienced Mysterian finds barely three-dimensional.

Then kill people that have blindingly obvious connections to each other, and to a cast of interchangeable Cozy Village Populators. Extra points (off) for including ancestor worshiping elders in a New England setting as major plot movers. Throw in a white cop from the Bronx as a detective with a Noo Yawk attitude. Ugh.

Describe your sleuth and her family with phrases so stock as to cause the Experienced Mysterian to make a mental police-artist drawing with attendant level of accuracy.

Set your story in a small New England stereotype of a town during the fall and have the transplanted New Yorker sleuth comment on the scenery and the weather without the slightest hint of fresh observation or even any believable motivation for her to so much as notice them.

Reveal the killer in such a way as to cause maximum snorts of derision and impatient huffing. The killer's identity was, I admit, not a standard choice, and so this first novel got an extra half star.

It's the first novel of NINETEEN in the series to date. If my very, very, very favorite porn star slipped into bed next to me, whispered disgusting and salacious suggestions of what he'd like me to do to him, and then said I had to read the second in the series before I was allowed to, I'd read the next one.

Otherwise, no. I have Ambien for sleeplessness, and while not as effective as this book in conkin' me out, it hurts less. show less

Faith Fairchild, a trust-fund baby-turned-caterer born and bred in New York City’s West Side, has relocated to New England to follow her pastor husband Tom to his parish in Aleford, Massachusetts. With a new baby and no job but preacher’s wife, Faith greatly misses her go-go life in the Big Apple where she literally catered to the City’s High Society. Nothing exciting happens in Aleford! Until it does.

Faith finds raven-haired siren Cindy Shepherd, a girl as scheming as she was beautiful, stabbed to death in the town’s belfry. Cindy’s slow-witted boyfriend Dave is accused, but both Faith and Tom know that’s not the case. Thus does author Katherine Hall Page usher in a most delightful cozy series. I never suspected the show more murderer, although the ending was a bit unlikely. Still, I loved aspiring, kind Faith so much that I’ve already ordered the next in the series, The Body in the Kelp. show less

I have had volumes in this series on my shelves for a while and decided it was time to give it a shot. Sorry to say it did not grab me. Faith, a NYC resident and caterer, is transplanted to a small MA town after her whirlwind romance and marriage to a minister. The story takes place a year and a half later when her baby is 5 months old and she is bemoaning the fact that nothing ever happens there. So, of course, she stumbles across the body of a very disliked young woman. She shortly is sticking her nose in everywhere and the baby is always accommodating or has a convenient sitter. Characters came across as cliches. A couple of problem areas for me were the fact that Faith knew minuscule background information on a lot of people in the show more town for someone who has been there a year and has claimed she is new to the helpmate job and doesn't seem that involved in parish work (maybe one reason she is bored). Secondly, her husband, immediately after talking to police and being informed that they don't appreciate amateur detectives, tells Faith that she needs to stay out of it. This is book one, why would he assume that is what she would do? Since I have several more volumes I will probably give the series another chance. Hopefully it improves. show less

I saw a favorable review of the latest Faith Fairchild mystery and decided to have a go at the series, beginning with this one, #1. So glad I did! Katherine Hall Page writes a cozy mystery that has more substance and style than most. Readers must like them because she's heading toward two dozen by now. I was surprised to see the tepid reviews, and even more, the snarky ones because I thoroughly enjoyed The Body in the Belfry and am eagerly ordering more books in the series. Apparently people either like the protagonist Faith Fairchild, or they don't. I like her very much indeed, probably because I identify with her (full disclosure: I'm a minister's wife, too, and I love NYC where I attended college). Her marrying a minister and moving show more to a small New England town was much like my marrying my minister/beloved and moving to a rural area in North Carolina, especially since she has a baby and a determination to continue on with her career. It's a challenge and a blessing, and I can identify so well with her struggles and joys - the book seemed authentic to me, and a good read. Looking forward to the ones that have followed, set in Aleford and various other locations, including two - to date - prequels. show less

I definitely liked this book, exceptionally well written first novel in a series. We quickly come to care about Faith, her family and her adjustment to New England after a childhood in New York City. The descriptions of places were right on with my memories.

Also, I like that Faith is not stupid.

[b:The Body in the Belfry|538238|The Body in the Belfry|Katherine Hall Page|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175628991s/538238.jpg|525649] is the first in a series whose protagonist is Faith Fairchild, a New York-bred caterer who falls in love with a minister and ends up in a small suburban Boston town. In this book, although she has been married long enough to produce a baby, she is still learning her way around the New England mores, as well as how to be a mother and a pastor's wife. When she discovers a dead body in a historic landmark (this belfry is free-standing, not atop a church) it leads to undreamed-of complications, particularly since the dead girl was a parishioner of her husband's. Faith is an engaging character who never show more quite loses her New York edge, and the other characters in the book are equally the kind who make the reader care what happens to them. Page is very good at showing the effects of murder on a community, even when the victim was a disagreeable character. Highly recommended for those who like traditional but not "cutesy" mysteries. show less

I enjoyed the relationship between amateur sleuth Faith Fairchild and her minister husband. I agree with another reviewer that this is a light read, but not a stupid read. The plot is sufficiently complex, the setting (small town New England) is rich and relevant to the story, and the characters have depth. The depiction of life as a minister's wife is realistic, not syrupy. I will definitely read more of the series.