The body in the bookcase (Faith Fairchild mystery, #9)

Stretched almost to the limit by the capricious demands of a Boston Brahmin bride-to-be, caterer and minister's wife, Faith Fairchild, faces real tragedy when she discovers the body of an elderly friend. Sarah Winslow had apparently surprised burglars ransacking her Aleford, Massachusetts, house. No sooner has Sarah been laid to rest than the Fairchilds find themselves the next target -- the parsonage is stripped of all their most precious possessions. Devastated and furious, Faith takes action, scouring pawnshops, antique marts, and auctions. As she turns up some of their stolen property, she is drawn onto a dangerous path of larceny and corruption in New England's venerable antique business -- a path that soon leads Faith straight to a killer! Amazon.com Review Katherine Hall Page won an Agatha Award for her first Faith Fairchild mystery, The Body in the Belfry , and since that debut she has developed a rich cast of characters around her beloved amateur sleuth. Now, in her ninth outing, Faith embarks on an adventure that draws from Page's personal experience with the burglary of her home in 1995. A former New Yorker, Faith is settled--or at least settling--into life in the small Massachusetts town of Aleford. Her husband, Tom, is a minister, and Faith feels called to make the rounds of the parish. But her first visit leads to a grim discovery: Sarah Winslow, the town librarian and a collector of antique books, lies dead in her home, tied to a chair. Sarah's house has been pillaged. Only a day after the funeral, Faith returns home to discover her own house has been torn apart, and many of her prize possessions--silver, jewelry, keepsakes--have been stolen, too. Of course, Faith does what any self-respecting minister's wife would do: she begins an investigation that leads her into a market of illegal antiques deals and shady pickers. Along the way she encounters even more murder and mayhem. As with other books in the Faith Fairchild series, one of the graces of the novel is the too-funny-to-not-be-real portrait of New England life. And the culinary components of this mystery once again derive from Ms. Fairchild's catering business, Have Faith. The recipes--from Avocado Bisque to Chocolate Oatmeal Goodies--are presented in tantalizing detail at the close of the book. But you won't be drawn to Page's series just for the food. The Body in the Bookcase serves a brisk mystery populated with a quirky cast of New Englanders you'll be sad to see depart. --Patrick O'Kelley From Publishers Weekly Graced with recipes from amateur sleuth Faith Fairchild's cookbook-in-progress, and inspired by the real-life burglary of the author's home, this ninth spirited entry continues Page's popular series (The Body in the Fjord, 1997) about the Aleford, Mass., caterer, wife and mother of two. Faith, like everybody else in town, is appalled when 80-year-old Sarah Winslow is found dead after her house is burglarized. After her own home is broken into, Faith decides to solve the crimes. Feeling violated by the loss of many family heirlooms, she begins a search of pawnshops and antique dealers, bringing her into the often corrupt world of antiquing. Her catering firm, meanwhile, is finalizing plans for the wedding of spoiled socialite Stephanie Bullock, whose parents, Julian and Courtney, have been separated and feuding for years. Faith discovers that George Stackpole, a crooked antique dealer, possesses not only many of her stolen goods but a past connection with Julian Bullock, a respected dealer. As she recklessly pursues Stackpole, she places her life in danger. Page's tale is tightly written, with strong characterizations and delightful descriptions of its New England setting. The author braids her various storylines neatly and briskly, right up to the enticing conclusion in which Faith confronts the brains behind the burglaries. Author tour. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. A crime-solving caterer delves into the dark side of the New England antiques trade in the Agatha Award-winning, "highly entertaining series" ( Booklist ). Stretched almost to the limit by the capricious demands of a Boston Brahmin bride-to-be, caterer and minister's wife Faith Fairchild faces real tragedy when she discovers the body of an elderly friend. Sarah Winslow had apparently surprised burglars ransacking her Aleford, Massachusetts, house. No sooner has Sarah been laid to rest than the Fairchilds find themselves the next target—the parsonage is stripped of all their most precious possessions. Devastated and furious, Faith takes action, scouring pawnshops, antique marts, and auctions. As she turns up some of their stolen property, she is drawn onto a dangerous path of larceny and corruption in New England's venerable antique business—a path that soon leads Faith straight to a killer . . . "Peopled with entertaining and resourceful characters and sprinkled with mouth-watering recipes." — Dallas Morning News "Satisfying and surprisingly delicious." — Los Angeles Times While preparing for the elaborate nuptials of Stephanie Bullock, the Have Faith catering company is stretched to its limits by the capricious bride-to-be. Taking a break from the demands of a blue-blood wedding, Faith is out and about one morning making her parish calls when she discovers the body of elderly Sarah Winslow gagged and bound. The house has been ransacked, and poor Sarah doesn't survive the brutal invasion of her home. Devastated by the death of her dear friend, Faith determines to find the burglars, especially when they target Faith's home the following week and strip the Fairchilds of their most precious antique heirlooms and family treasures.Faith's investigation draws her well beyond the confines of Aleford and into a dangerous ring of corruption and thievery that taints the world of New England antiques dealing. As her stolen property turns up in antiques stores and auctions, Faith follows the trail that leads to the killer, not realizing that she's much closer than she thinks until it's - almost - too late This time out, the crime occurs in Faith Fairchild's own home.She becomes the latest victim in a rash of neighborhood burglaries when thieves break in and clear out all her jewelry and silver. Faith sets out to find her precious belongings by figuring out how the break-ins are linked, plunging headlong into the complicated maze of New England's lucrative antiques business. Before long, she finds herself in the middle of a ring of scheming dealers who prefer theft to auctions and who aren't averse to murder if the price is right.