The Body in the Moonlight

Faith Fairchild #11

by Katherine Hall Page

The Agatha Award–winning author of The Body in the Big Apple dishes up “scrumptious suspense” as a toxic tragedy rattles a New England village (Boston Herald).

Minister’s wife Faith Fairchild is excited about catering her church’s restoration campaign kickoff at historic Ballou House. But when a beautiful young woman dies moments after finishing dessert, Faith is suddenly in serious trouble. Not only is her business in jeopardy—but Aleford’s wagging tongues are suggesting that Faith herself laced the goodie with cyanide, having discovered her husband Tom’s perhaps overly pastoral interest in the victim. Faith’s world feels steeped in poison and never before have her amateur sleuthing skills been more crucial—especially when another body is found in the moonlight carrying an unmistakable  you’re next!

“Intriguing . . . clever and unexpected.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette“

Enchanting . . . well-written . . . Page’s style is entertaining and unpretentiously cultured.” —Portland Herald

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Cooking, Mystery Thriller

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Katherine Hall Page is the author of twenty-five previous Faith Fairchild mysteries, the first of which received the Agatha Award for best first mystery. The Body in the Snowdrift was honored with the Agatha Award for best novel of 2006. Page also won an Agatha for her short story “The Would-Be Widower.” The recipient of the Malice Domestic Award for Lifetime Achievement, she has been nominated for the Edgar, the Mary Higgins Clark, the Maine Literary, and the Macavity Awards. She lives in Massachusetts and Maine with her husband.

Reviews

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 4 out of 5]

After having suffered through the tenth entry in this usually fine series, The Body in the Big Apple, how glad I am that Faith Fairchild is back in Aleford, Massachusetts in the present day! (Well, at least in 1999.) The minister’s wife, caterer and mother still has plenty of problems, though, as a guest at a fund raiser Faith catered drops dead at the first bite of a panna cotta Italian cream dessert. Faith’s terrified she’ll be arrested. But even with an arrest, news of a fatality would destroy Faith’s catering business, called Have Faith.

At the same time, some very unsavory but completely unfounded rumors are going around about Aleford’s Winthrop Elementary School. Faith is determined to put an end to it, and she makes common cause with some unlikely allies.

So glad to have the real Faith Fairchild back and in a mystery readers will care about.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Up until the ending, this was my favorite of the series, but I found the explanation of the murderer's motive to be entirely unconvincing. Still, I liked seeing a more vulnerable Faith who wasn't quite as snooty, even if there's still a bit too much name-dropping in the descriptions of clothing and furniture for my taste.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one started off slow for me, but then picked up speed. Actually, what might have been responsible for the early slowness was the unease engendered by the feeling of "something's wrong in Faith & Tom's marriage." At this point in the series, I've come to believe in the relationship between these characters and it was uncomfortable to see the distance between them. If anything, however, the author has become able to reach a little deeper and produce more than just a fluffy, cozy mystery for us.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tenth chronologically and eleventh in the publication order in the Faith Fairchild cooking mystery series.

My Take
Faith is learning all about being a school mom with Ben going off to kindergarten this year; no separation anxiety for our boy! The only other school "problem" — and it really is a problem — is that the principal has been accused of a horrible crime.

Unfortunately for Faith, these issues will become minor to her peace of mind as she debates Tom's fidelity and the community itself questions Faith's motives…and starts canceling dinners right and left.

Good thing she now has the time to solve two mysteries: who would smear the school principal and who murdered Gwen. At least until more tragic death throws Faith in a new direction, solving one issue but raising others, until another meet-and-eat is set up, which scarily resolves the identity of the killer.

Man, I got so hungry reading through this. You almost need to shop the recipes in the back first so you can cook before doing the actual reading!

The Story
It should be a good fundraiser, catering a Murder Dinner to kick off the restoration campaign. Until one of the dinner guests provides them with a real victim. And Faith has a motive for having wanted her dead.

The Characters
Faith Fairchild is a caterer, the wife of a minister, and a mom. The Reverend Tom Fairchild is her spouse. Their son, Ben, is going off to kindergarten this year. Amy is their pre-school daughter. Nikki is Faith's assistant in her business, Have Faith.

The school principal.

The First Parish 250th Anniversary Campaign is…
…to raise funds for church repairs. One idea is the Murder Dinner planned by Polly Pringle, a party planner. Gwen is a young art major getting married in a few months.

The Cover and Title
I really don't get the cover. I don't see what relevance it has to the storyline. I mean, a scarecrow in a field of corn?? The title is where one victim is found, The Body in the Moonlight.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Registered on Bookcrossing - https://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/...

[Nina Foster · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written and boring, too much detail and time wasted on mundane things. I don’t recommend it, there are better books out there.

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faith Fairchild has to be one of the most endearing amateur sleuths in any book anywhere. She's that rare combination of sophisticated city woman and practical, down-to-earth mom and wife.I'd love to eat a meal of her creation, but I'd like it even more if she could enjoy the meal with me.

Faith is the proprietor of Have Faith, a catering company she originally established in New York City and revived in the small Massachusetts town where her husband is a minister. Often, Faith's Big Apple perspective clashes with her small-town New England neighbors' way of thinking, but Faith manages to take it all in stride, be a good sport when she has to, and always approach life with that quick wit and basic kindness and decency that has served her so well throughout the series.

The church-going community has come together as this book opens to hold a fundraiser. Members can't decide whether to use the money to fix the steeple or the church crypt, but that divisive decision doesn't have to be made until the money is raised.

It's her husband's church; naturally, Faith has agreed to cater the event.

Very little escapes the ever-observant Faith. She is troubled that her husband seems to be enjoying dancing with a young woman who is about to be married. There's a chemistry between the two that is noticeable to townspeople in addition to Faith. But things get exponentially worse for Faith when her husband's dancing partner eats a dessert Faith prepared only to die in a most horrible way minutes later.

Now Faith not only has to find a murderer, she has to try to save her cherished catering business. As news gets out about the woman's death, cancelations start pouring in, and Faith suddenly has more time to devote to sleuthing out a killer than she wants.

Before she can figure out who killed the young woman, another murder will occur and Faith's own life will be endangered.

So are these books a bit formulaic? Perhaps you could argue that, but they're wonderfully written, and at least Faith doesn't have to rely on the burly cop husband/boyfriend to bail her out of tight spots.

I've never been disappointed by a book in this series. The profanity index is super-low, and there are no steamy sex scenes to deal with. I didn't see the end coming, so I enjoyed the surprise. I have the author's short story collection, "Small Plates," in audio form on my hard drive, so you can be certain I'll relish another visit with Faith and her family in the not-too-distant future.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a big controversy in Tom Fairchild's church. Should the church repair the steeple or the crypt? Regardless of which they decide to do, the congregation realizes that a fund-raising campaign is needed. And who else should do the catering for the fund-raising dinner than Faith Fairchild, wife of the pastor. Faith and her assistant prepare their usual delicious meal, but everyone is horrified when one of the guests dies of poisoning after eating dessert. Faith immediately becomes the prime suspect because her husband Tom has been paying a lot of attention to the murder victim. There are other suspects however, including the victim's fiance and her boss. Another problem occurs when the principal of the Fairchild's son's school is accused of child molesting. After Faith does some amateur sleuthing she begins to feel that the two matters are related. When a second body turns up on Faith's lawn, things get even more confusing. Faith is invited to a meeting with one of the characters. she identifies this person as the murderer. .

[Addison Public Library]

While the congregation is still considering whether to spend money on the crypt or the steeple, obnoxious party planner Polly Pringle decides a mystery dinner would be the perfect fundraiser with four local mystery authors as special guests. Everyone is shocked when a guest dies of cyanide poisoning. Of course Faith catered the dinner and can't help but get involved in the murder investigation. Faith considers the suspects and looks into her own heart before the truth becomes clear. 11th in the Faith Fairchild series.

KD

Check out this book today!

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

#11. Faith is catering the church’s restoration campaign kickoff at historic Ballou House. The elaborate theme revolves around a murder mystery. Four well know mystery writers attend as guests. What started well ended with the poisoning death of the art gallery fiancée of the church’s music and choir master. Who, how, why? A nasty rumor is started about the beloved long time elementary school principal. When Faith’s catering business is closed and then reopened, but with many cancellations, she has excess time and the need to clear herself and her son, Ben’s principal, before she becomes the next body.

[Ellen Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another interesting Faith Fairchild mystery. I did not like the problems Faith and Tom appeared to be having in this book and the secrets both kept, since they appeared to be so happily married in other books of the series which I have read. I am not certain that the rather vague explanation given for their problems toward the end of the book satisfied me. The murders which occurred and were being investigated by Faith to salvage her catering business offered some twists and turns and surprises, so the book held my attention even though I did not like everything about it.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

was surprised at how disturbed I was by the unexpected rockiness in Tom and Faith's til-now so-stable marriage. I was as invested in seeing the chatacters' happiness restored as I was in solving the mystery.

[Kathie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a very good story, bad clues that didn't connect to any real story line. Didn't like this one.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a a fan of the Faith Fairchild series in general! In this one, a guest at one of the functions that Faith caters, falls dead from poison. Her business suddenly goes into decline as people are suspicious. Then her minister husband, Tom, seems to be very affected by the death of the beautiful young woman and Faith can't help but be worried. She trusts Tom wholeheartedly, and after all, he is a man of the cloth, but why has he become so distant? I enjoyed Faith going around to each of the mystery authors who were at the fateful dinner and asking them that if they wrote the book, who they thought was the murderer. As usual, Faith figures it out and almost gets herself killed; I did not guess the murderer.

This is an earlier book in the series when Faith's children are young, and there's a lot about them. The books are very rounded stories that include the mystery and Faith's world in general. The kids literally grow up during this series. I don't read them in order, but pick them up here and there and it isn't bothersome. I can never figure out where she finds the time to make such complicated dishes (recipes in the back) while taking care of her young children and sleuthing.

[Sharon Healy-Yang · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book. The characters were interesting. The mystery of who killed the art gallery gal with cyanide on her dessert played out pretty well, although the actual killer didn't seem to have been set up for us as well as that person could have been. The author seems to know small town New England politics, so the world of her Massachusetts town rang pretty true. This is one of those mysteries that abounds in recipes, so it would be wonderful for foodies. I'm really only interested in what people are eating up to a point. Consequently, for me the descriptions of myriads of meals was an impediment to the pace of the book. So, I just skipped those paragraphs. If you are into detailed descriptions of food, this is your book. If not? Join me in skipping ahead.

[Karen Hufman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turns out that I read this installment in the Faith Fairchild series a long time ago but didn't remember the story. Faith and her husband live in a picturesque New England town where she's a caterer and he's the pastor. During a fundraising mystery murder dinner for the church where Faith provides the gourmet food, a young woman drops dead of an apparent poisoning. Faith feels like her business reputation will never recover if she doesn't solve the crime. There are a number of mystery writers who were present when the crime was committed and she leans on them for their thoughts of who may be responsible.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book except I hated the ending. Faith is a good main character but she didn't have a clue about the killer. Throughout the book, I wondered why she eliminated the writers from her list of suspects. Then she blithely meets someone by herself and nearly gets killed, except for the lucky happenstance of someone coming early for a meeting. I guess she was clueless because there wasn't a discernible motive. Killer didn't care who died. That's actually a very interesting plot. I really dislike the amateur sleuth putting herself in danger and needing to be saved storyline. Otherwise I liked the book so I'll try another in this series.

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book tremendously. The author definitely threw a few monkey wrenches in this time. Tom and Faith's marriage seeming not so perfect, Tom questioning his faith, Faith being not quite herself-all lead to a different tone in this book. The cast of characters all have blended nicely. You are quite sure how that will happen when everyone is so different.
The murder happens early in the book and the majority of the pages are spent unraveling who did it. This is as it should be, nothing is worse than the crime being committed in the last three-fourths of the story. The author then has a tendency to rush the conclusion.
A truly enjoyable read.

[Anne Libera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable entry in this cozy series - something didn't quite cohere for me in this one. It seemed as if there were a number of ideas being played with none of which were quite fully explored (the relationship with the lawyer, the art world, the visits with the mystery writers). Characters who showed up early just kind of disappeared. Also, at this point Faith's lack of savvy about getting herself into situations in which she is held captive by the murderer feels less like a character trait than actual amnesia.

[Betty Dodds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. Katherine Hall Page always gets my interest and keeps me guessing "who done it." Her books can be read as stand alone but she does running updates on her family growing up and how her business is doing. I love the descriptions she gives her characters, not silly like the board game "Clue," but she draws word pictures where I can have a face to come alive in her stories. The main character can take care of herself. Faith isn't a helpless female but, thankfully, she isn't an armed guerrilla fighter either - she's someone who could be your neighbor who can think through problems and bake a great batch of cookies.

[Julie Trapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a prequel. Faith's business, in NY, before marrying Tom and moving to Aleford is in jeopardy. At a banquet she has catered, a diner drops dead after the dessert that was laced with cyanide. But only that one person's was poisoned. And she was the woman with whom Tom was dancing cheek to cheek at the event. Slow start, and she is a label name dropper. However, seeing that this was when she lived in NY and not married, not as obnoxious as when she is married and moved away from NY.

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another pages turner entry in this series

Faith Fairchild is a guilty pleasure for me. The unorthodox pastor's wife with a questionable theism. A New Englander (New York!) Who has charmed this southerner. The mysteries are always entertaining and this is was no exception. The tension between Faith and Tom keeps the characters realistic. I'm so happy to have discovered, albeit belatedly, this series.

[Annamarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how the book has kept me interested in continuing to read. It keeps readers intrigued and interested in reading more and more. I definitely recommend reading this book if you like to read mystery and suspenseful novels.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one had my stumped from the beginning. And Faith wasn't her usual clear headed and optimistic self. I guess that is more realistic -- it is the way life is. Sometimes things just don't go our way.
I always enjoy the Faith Fairchild mysteries. They give me a view of life in a small town.

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reading the entire Faith Fairchild mystery series. Minister's wife and caterer, Faith Fairchild continues to find dead bodies in her small New England town...this one on her front lawn. This series is well written and fun, but not silly as are so many cozies.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun - I'd try more books by her.

[Patti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great mystery! I didn't figure it out!

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good read. Always pay attention when there are new folks in town!

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The mystery was kinda dumb and the relationship issues unexplained. This felt like a missed opportunity, though still quite readable.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Setting and hitting a high bar.