Summer

04 May 2010

THE BODY IN THE BOOKCASE - Katherine Hall Page


From the back of the book: 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, Massechusetts 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!
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This is a very enjoyable amateur sleuth series. Everything is handled, especially the two things I look for: why the amateur sleuth starts investigating on his or her own and what happens to the kids (if the amateur sleuth has them) while said amateur sleuth is out amateur sleuthing. That has bugged me in the past when the main character has younguns and just takes off, casually dropping the kids somewhere or conveniently has someone drop by to have coffee and ends up taking care of the kids or it doesn't get addressed whatsoever. Anyway...it bugs me...This doesn't happen in the Faith Fairchild series, or at least it hasn't happened yet.
Faith always has a plan of attack and she is stubborn in taking action to find the endgame. I admire her for this. And she takes care of her kids and family.
She takes action because of the death of her elderly friend and the robbery of her own house. She feels violated and wants results faster than the police can get them. She meets plenty of shady and potentially shady characters. Makes some new friends and has old friends to help along the way.
Neat info on the antique biz is included throughout. And since Faith is a caterer, so there are recipes in the back of the book....YUM!
Five antique beans.....

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