What do you think?
Rate this book
Faith Fairchild #26
The Body in the Web
In the 26th book in the award-winning Faith Fairchild Mysteries series, Katherine Hall Page’s beloved amateur detective is hunkered down with her family during the pandemic when a Zoom-bombing scandal sends the community into a tailspin ... and a dead body is discovered.
Faith Fairchild joins the rest of the world in lockdown mode when reality flips in March 2020. As the pandemic spreads, Faith and her family readjust to life together in Aleford, Massachusetts. Her husband, Tom, continues his sermons from Zoom; their children, Ben, who's in college, and Amy, a high school senior, are doing remote learning at home .
Faith is happy to have her family under the same roof and grateful for her resilient community, friends, and neighbors in Aleford. Town halls remain lively and well-attended, despite residents joining from their living rooms. It is at one of these town halls that scandal breaks out. In the midst of a Zoom meeting, damaging images suddenly flash upon everyone’s screens. Claudia, local art teacher and Faith’s dear friend, is immediately recognized as the woman who has been targeted.
When Claudia is later discovered dead, Faith, with the help of her friends, journeys deep into the dark web to unravel the threads of Claudia’s mysterious history and shocking passing.
272 pages, Hardcover
Published May 30, 2023
91 people are currently reading
3317 people want to read
About the author
Katherine Hall Page
54 books462 followersKatherine 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
August 8, 2023
okay, perhaps starting this series at this book wasn't the best idea. I didn't realize it was a series until I already checked it out. however, decided to continue with it after reading that these were able to be read as standalone novels. I regretted that soon.
The premise sounded great. Something happens at a town Zoom meeting, someone ends up dead, and an amateur sleuth solves the case. Read tons like this before and was really excited about the Web portion.
Then I started reading...
The amount of the book spent on the actual plot promised? It feels like maybe 20 pages if that much. It wasn't even that good of a mystery and could have had more suspense.
What the book really was? A long story about everyone literally other than the murder victim. Oh, and long drawn out descriptions of the various foods people were eating. Tons of focus more on the town and how they were all coping through Covid. Legit that was the real novel....how they got through Covid and lots of happy things happening versus the reality that Covid was. I think the author should have written a separate novel dealing with her feelings about Covid and then did a mystery novel as well.
As it stands, I don't plan to read anything more by her because I was promised a mystery and it was a very small side plot to the 40 (it seems) characters and their woes. Even after things happen like the Zoom meeting where a person was traumatized? people are barely checking up on her to make sure she is okay. and when they do, they are so focused on their lives, asking if she is okay is an afterthought.
The premise sounded great. Something happens at a town Zoom meeting, someone ends up dead, and an amateur sleuth solves the case. Read tons like this before and was really excited about the Web portion.
Then I started reading...
The amount of the book spent on the actual plot promised? It feels like maybe 20 pages if that much. It wasn't even that good of a mystery and could have had more suspense.
What the book really was? A long story about everyone literally other than the murder victim. Oh, and long drawn out descriptions of the various foods people were eating. Tons of focus more on the town and how they were all coping through Covid. Legit that was the real novel....how they got through Covid and lots of happy things happening versus the reality that Covid was. I think the author should have written a separate novel dealing with her feelings about Covid and then did a mystery novel as well.
As it stands, I don't plan to read anything more by her because I was promised a mystery and it was a very small side plot to the 40 (it seems) characters and their woes. Even after things happen like the Zoom meeting where a person was traumatized? people are barely checking up on her to make sure she is okay. and when they do, they are so focused on their lives, asking if she is okay is an afterthought.
June 8, 2023
I was disappointed in this book. I'd missed reading about Faith and her family, but I had trouble following the action in this book. It revolves around the pandemic, and she kept flipping back and forth between before pandemic, and at the start, and during. I could not keep up with when something was happening.
I haven't actually finished the book, which is telling in itself. It isn't often that I can put a mystery book down and not be anxious to go back and finish reading to solve the mystery.
I received this book as a giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
Maybe when I finally finish it, I can update with a a more positive review.
I haven't actually finished the book, which is telling in itself. It isn't often that I can put a mystery book down and not be anxious to go back and finish reading to solve the mystery.
I received this book as a giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
Maybe when I finally finish it, I can update with a a more positive review.
June 22, 2023
Nice cozy mystery, as all her books are, but it took place in the time of Covid, which is a tired, tired subject. Huge amount of harping about vaccines and social distancing.
August 11, 2023
i think this was written specifically for the nursing home crowd, so maybe it's not fair for me to rate it, but anyhow.
there are approximately 200 characters, and just as many povs and timelines. with that much going on, you'd think there would be a lot of interesting action, but it's a solid 200 pages of who had what baby and who had a phone call with who. this book has 248 pages. the mystery is introduced in page 90. 90. that's 1/3 of the way in. then you get 50 or so pages of a whole lot of nothing, before the murder happens around page 140. then you get a lot of asking around—there is no actual sleuthing, no evidence, it's just the mc going around asking random people questions—before you get a random drunk confession around pages 235-240.
even though this is less than 250 pages, it has more filler than a 1000 page fantasy book. just pages and pages of descriptions of random furniture and who wore what rolex and how abc knew xyz as a private school child. awful, cluttered dialogue but at least they were a reprieve from the droning descriptions. and making it take place during the pandemic was even worse. no book should mention the word zoom that many times.
even if you ignore the atrocious plot, the writing style itself is unnatural and stilted. very children's book-ish. reading this was a wasted hour of my life. the author must be something talented to come up with something so purposefully offensive to the eye, so kudos to her i suppose.
there are approximately 200 characters, and just as many povs and timelines. with that much going on, you'd think there would be a lot of interesting action, but it's a solid 200 pages of who had what baby and who had a phone call with who. this book has 248 pages. the mystery is introduced in page 90. 90. that's 1/3 of the way in. then you get 50 or so pages of a whole lot of nothing, before the murder happens around page 140. then you get a lot of asking around—there is no actual sleuthing, no evidence, it's just the mc going around asking random people questions—before you get a random drunk confession around pages 235-240.
even though this is less than 250 pages, it has more filler than a 1000 page fantasy book. just pages and pages of descriptions of random furniture and who wore what rolex and how abc knew xyz as a private school child. awful, cluttered dialogue but at least they were a reprieve from the droning descriptions. and making it take place during the pandemic was even worse. no book should mention the word zoom that many times.
even if you ignore the atrocious plot, the writing style itself is unnatural and stilted. very children's book-ish. reading this was a wasted hour of my life. the author must be something talented to come up with something so purposefully offensive to the eye, so kudos to her i suppose.
June 12, 2023
Unfortunately, I could not get into this book. Between the random rambling and the bouncing back and forth, I just couldn't get into this book. I really wanted to like it because it sounded good but I couldn't.
July 14, 2023
Very disappointed in this book.consider it the worse she ever wrote!
July 11, 2025
Number 26 in the Faith Fairchild series. I read it to distract me from my ill health during my first experience with Covid, but unfortunately this book was set during the pandemic and as a result was less of a distraction than I had hoped! Still a good read, and surprising how much damage Covid can still do!
March 5, 2023
The Body in the Web by Katherine Hall Page, the 26th in the Faith Fairchild Mystery series, is a departure from the formulaic cozy in which the victim usually meets their demise within the first chapter or two and is generally someone who is not very likable. In this cozy, the reader comes to know and care about the victim who does not meet their end until well past the halfway point. Also unusual is the pandemic setting, taking place just as the vaccine has become available. The author masterfully, yet humanely captures the essence of life during the pandemic - the food shortages, the isolation, and the mental health toll.
As with every book in this series, the mystery is a page-turner leaving the reader guessing until the very end. The characters are appealing, their relationships warm and family-centric, and the narrative well-written. (I reviewed an advance reader copy and all opinions are my own.). The mystery memorializes an important period in our history and, is in my opinion, a must-read.
As with every book in this series, the mystery is a page-turner leaving the reader guessing until the very end. The characters are appealing, their relationships warm and family-centric, and the narrative well-written. (I reviewed an advance reader copy and all opinions are my own.). The mystery memorializes an important period in our history and, is in my opinion, a must-read.
July 6, 2023
Most mystery writers have chosen to ignore Covid-19 and the terrible impact it has had on our lives and the world as a whole. Katherine Hall Page, however, has plunged straight into its icy waters and the real-life effects of this devastating disease on those all around her. Nothing is missing in this mystery set in the middle of how covid affected everyone, from the postponement of marriages to the isolation of children locked out of schools and embracing the isolation of long-distance learning, the people frantically trying to find available vaccine to protect their loved ones, living with empty shelves of toilet paper in the stores, having dinner dictated by what was and wasn't available in the market. She is to be highly praised for confronting the demon head on and producing another masterpiece in the continuing saga of Faith Fairchild, the minister's wife from Aleford, Massachusetts, and her family and friends, and how she changes her focus from catering happy events to providing daily sustenance for those impacted by quarantine, isolation, and shortages.
July 5, 2023
Sadly, I found this book a trifle long winded in spots.
August 28, 2023
Terribly written. Boring. Out of touch.
August 18, 2023
Couldn’t get into this book & finally gave up about 1/4 of the way in. All about the pandemic & lockdown-in detail. Not at all what I thought I would be reading.
September 27, 2024
I love the Faith Fairchild series and this book was set during Covid. It was interesting how Faith continued her culinary business and included her family and friends. I found this one to be a little sadder than previous books in the series. Faith loses a good friend and must unravel her friend’s life in order to solve how and why she died.
June 12, 2023
It was a L-O-N-G wait for this 26th book in the series, but so worth it! While my reading during the thick of the COVID crisis needed to be as far away from that reality we were living with as possible, I was finally ready for this retrospective look at what those of us who remain were able to triumph through. I didn't even know how much I needed it, but it was amazing to recall using Faith, her family and her friends as guides. Things were not sugar coated - actual deaths did occur in the storylines that were HEARTBREAKING, but I think that was the point. Exploration of the dark web/technology usually ramps up my anxiety; however, that treatment was addressed in an informative and helpful way, which I greatly appreciated. In addition to so many familiar characters from the previous stories, there were also the places that took on lives of their own through Faith's eyes: near Boston, New York City, Long Island and Maine. And room was made for many more new people and locales, seamlessly woven (spun?) into the novel. I so did not want it to end, but I could not put it down. Great mystery - Enjoy!
June 10, 2023
I absolutely love the Faith Fairchild series. In this latest entry. Faith and her family are negotiating the COVID-19 pandemic, feeling the first flutters of optimism as Tom is vaccinated and the rest seek their first shots. Meanwhile, they're continuing in pandemic mode--attending school and worship by Zoom, with Faith having transitioned her catering business to meal delivery. The local art teacher, Claudia, has helped Faith design menus. But Claudia is humiliated when the town's meeting where she is featured is Zoom-bombed, with nude images of her.
When her body is discovered in her rented carriage house a few weeks later, local police are quick to dismiss it as suicide or accidental death, as it appears she mistook a liquid she used in her art for her vodka. However, Faith doesn't believe it. Assisted by Zach, her dear friend Pix's son-in-law, Faith delves into Claudia's former life, about which she was always close-mouthed.
Katherine Hall Page does an excellent job of capturing what 2020 and early 2021 were really like. Someday this book may be an important artifact of that time. For me, it's still a bit raw, so I was slightly traumatized to relive those early months of 2021, when we all thought vaccinations would make the virus disappear. The story is excellent, though the lead-up to Claudia's death was quite long. I was starting to think there wouldn't really be a murder! #TheBodyintheWeb #NetGalley
When her body is discovered in her rented carriage house a few weeks later, local police are quick to dismiss it as suicide or accidental death, as it appears she mistook a liquid she used in her art for her vodka. However, Faith doesn't believe it. Assisted by Zach, her dear friend Pix's son-in-law, Faith delves into Claudia's former life, about which she was always close-mouthed.
Katherine Hall Page does an excellent job of capturing what 2020 and early 2021 were really like. Someday this book may be an important artifact of that time. For me, it's still a bit raw, so I was slightly traumatized to relive those early months of 2021, when we all thought vaccinations would make the virus disappear. The story is excellent, though the lead-up to Claudia's death was quite long. I was starting to think there wouldn't really be a murder! #TheBodyintheWeb #NetGalley
June 5, 2023
This novel is way down the line in the mystery series featuring amateur sleuth and pastor's wife Faith Fairchild. I have read several in the series and like them. This one reads quite well on its own.
The plot is one with a long build up. The murder does not happen until the second half of the book. Faith has to go against the views of officials when she is convinced the death is murder. She enlists her friends and family to unravel the complex history of the dead woman and find her murderer.
My favorite part of this mystery is that it takes place just as the covid vaccines are becoming available. The whole novel is a walk down covid memory lane. I liked being reminded of items missing from store shelves, the attempts to have human interaction with technology and the long lines for that initial shot. I always like to learn something when I read a novel and in this case it was about zoom bombing.
This is a good novel for readers who like a low key mystery. The revelation of the villain was a bit unrealistic but other than that, an enjoyable novel and trip down memory lane.
I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the Publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.
The plot is one with a long build up. The murder does not happen until the second half of the book. Faith has to go against the views of officials when she is convinced the death is murder. She enlists her friends and family to unravel the complex history of the dead woman and find her murderer.
My favorite part of this mystery is that it takes place just as the covid vaccines are becoming available. The whole novel is a walk down covid memory lane. I liked being reminded of items missing from store shelves, the attempts to have human interaction with technology and the long lines for that initial shot. I always like to learn something when I read a novel and in this case it was about zoom bombing.
This is a good novel for readers who like a low key mystery. The revelation of the villain was a bit unrealistic but other than that, an enjoyable novel and trip down memory lane.
I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the Publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.
June 17, 2024
First of all, the book captured an interesting period of the Covid pandemic and expressed a lot of what it felt like to live during that uncertain time.
I bought the book because it appeared to in the same genre as Shari Lapena, but I was very disappointed. It basically took half of the book to get to the basic premise described by the book cover. There were so many details and dialog involving people who had nothing to do with the mystery. It felt like mindless filler. Perhaps fans of Faith Fairchild enjoy this sort of writing, but to me it was pure drivel. While several suspects were identified, the book took no unexpected twists or was particularly gripping. In the end, amateur sleuth, Faith really did not solve the mysterious death, but more or less stumbled into a confession. I'll pass on the other books in this series.
I bought the book because it appeared to in the same genre as Shari Lapena, but I was very disappointed. It basically took half of the book to get to the basic premise described by the book cover. There were so many details and dialog involving people who had nothing to do with the mystery. It felt like mindless filler. Perhaps fans of Faith Fairchild enjoy this sort of writing, but to me it was pure drivel. While several suspects were identified, the book took no unexpected twists or was particularly gripping. In the end, amateur sleuth, Faith really did not solve the mysterious death, but more or less stumbled into a confession. I'll pass on the other books in this series.
January 1, 2024
I’ve read all the books in this series and this is the only one I haven’t liked. Maybe it is too soon to read about the Covid pandemic. Maybe after so many books in the series there are too many characters to remember. Maybe the murder could have happened sooner in the book and not in the last 100 pages. For me all of those things were true. I love Faith Fairchild and her family and her recipes are great. Usually I love reading about her solving murder mysteries, but this book was not my favorite.
June 19, 2024
Purchased this book at a talk by the author recently. I loved hearing her speak, but unfortunately I was disappointed by the read. Maybe it was because this is the most recent in a series and the first I’ve read. Maybe it was because there are soooo many characters to keep straight. Maybe because it took a while to get used to Page’s writing style. Whatever the reason I felt let down. I may possibly go back and read the first published in the series to see if it reads the same for me, but won’t rush to do so.
June 6, 2023
The Body in the Web by Katherine Hall Page is another in her long running Faith Fairchild series. Faith is a middle-aged, mother of two, wife to a minister. She is also a caterer and a cook par excellence. It is the start of the pandemic and Page handled it better than I have seen, telling the common person’s tale, no bitterness, no politics, but just the day-to-day. And it was not easy. Her minister husband was doing church services to an empty church, flowing out over social media. Thank goodness for their son, Ben. He knew about these things. The kids were both doing school online: Ben in college and Amy in her senior year in high school. Coffee with Pix, her neighbor, each on the other side of a gate, socially distant. Claudia was having to do art classes for elementary online, as well, packing up kits for delivery each week. It brought all the memories back, but also the strength of the people and how they coped. It was beyond touching. Then, during a ZOOM presentation to the town hall, someone hacked Claudia’s talk with a screen full of Claudia, naked. Some photos were photoshopped, using her head from the school website; sometimes it was real, although years in the past. Sebastian took it down, but not quickly enough. There was lots of support for her but there were unkind things said as well. Then there was murder. The police said it was an accident, possibly suicide, but Faith knew better. She went to work.
This is such a gently written book, yet so gritty, all at once. Claudia had a past. Faith’s sidekick, Zach, dove into the internet to get the whole story. But, still, who could hate her so much. She had been estranged from her father, really had been even before she had run from the church after seeing her maid-of-honor on her knees, her husband-to-be with his pants around his ankles. She never looked back. The only clue was that a man from the alarm company had been there several weeks ago to change the battery on the system. Because of the pandemic, Claudia sat in her car and the tech was in a hazmat suit. A friend of Zach’s came to help and found cameras. Could they trace the IP address of the person spying on her? Finally the inoculations were given and Faith could travel to see her parents, and to visit Claudia’s father. The phone call was met with, “He has no daughter,” as was the knock on the door. Then she was allowed in and met Claudia’s father, a man who missed his daughter. This was a well-thought-out crime placed in the midst of a national tragedy and was unbelievably well done, meeting all the confines, but still solving the crime.
I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Body in the Web by William Morrow, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #WilliamMorrow #KatherineHallPage #TheBodyInTheWeb
This is such a gently written book, yet so gritty, all at once. Claudia had a past. Faith’s sidekick, Zach, dove into the internet to get the whole story. But, still, who could hate her so much. She had been estranged from her father, really had been even before she had run from the church after seeing her maid-of-honor on her knees, her husband-to-be with his pants around his ankles. She never looked back. The only clue was that a man from the alarm company had been there several weeks ago to change the battery on the system. Because of the pandemic, Claudia sat in her car and the tech was in a hazmat suit. A friend of Zach’s came to help and found cameras. Could they trace the IP address of the person spying on her? Finally the inoculations were given and Faith could travel to see her parents, and to visit Claudia’s father. The phone call was met with, “He has no daughter,” as was the knock on the door. Then she was allowed in and met Claudia’s father, a man who missed his daughter. This was a well-thought-out crime placed in the midst of a national tragedy and was unbelievably well done, meeting all the confines, but still solving the crime.
I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Body in the Web by William Morrow, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #WilliamMorrow #KatherineHallPage #TheBodyInTheWeb
June 2, 2024
Again, giving credit to someone who has the initiative to finish a book and lucky enough to get it published, I will award two stars. but that's where it ends for this book
The first ninety pages or so are nothing but a description of how Faith Fairchild and her family are coping with the Covid-19 lockdown. Really?? Who cares. I had to look at the jacket cover more than once to see if this really was described as a murder mystery.
Eventually something happens when, during a town hall Zoom meeting, naked and pornographic pictures of a local art teacher, and friend of Faith's, start popping up. Oh my goodness, how could this happen to such a good friend of the community? Faith's son does an in-depth forensic analysis of the pictures and determines that the naked pictures are of the woman, but the truly pornographic pictures were photoshopped. by the way faith, did your son have his pants on while performing this investigation?
Well, almost another hundred pages goes by until a murder occurs. Guess who? Yes, the poor exploited art teacher. Well, the only two likely suspects are another teacher with whom she might have had an affair and his jealous wife. Nothing really happens for a while until we find out that the murdered woman came from a very wealthy family and was engaged to a bloke from another wealthy family. But then, dressed in her bridal gown and ready to walk down the aisle she finds her fiancée with his pants down around his ankles and her maid of honor on her knees in front of him. She decides this is reason enough to not marry the infidel, but the fiancée's mother doesn't agree, and her own father doesn't agree and decides to disinherit her from not marrying the louse. Go figure.
To get to the end, Faith decides to go visit the mother of the fiancée, who without any coaxing, blurts out the entire plot of how her and her son killed the art teacher. Now, normally in these novels, one confesses because "I'm going to kill you now, so what difference does it make what you know". But no! She kicks her out of the house. Naturally, she tells the police, the police arrest her and her son and justice is served.
The original two suspects? There dismissed in a short paragraph. Darling, I thought you did it because you were jealous. Dear, I thought you did to save our marriage. Kissy, kissy, hug, hug.
The author, Katherine Hall page, has won some awards, so she must have written some good books at one time, which I will read. but this ain't one of 'em.
The first ninety pages or so are nothing but a description of how Faith Fairchild and her family are coping with the Covid-19 lockdown. Really?? Who cares. I had to look at the jacket cover more than once to see if this really was described as a murder mystery.
Eventually something happens when, during a town hall Zoom meeting, naked and pornographic pictures of a local art teacher, and friend of Faith's, start popping up. Oh my goodness, how could this happen to such a good friend of the community? Faith's son does an in-depth forensic analysis of the pictures and determines that the naked pictures are of the woman, but the truly pornographic pictures were photoshopped. by the way faith, did your son have his pants on while performing this investigation?
Well, almost another hundred pages goes by until a murder occurs. Guess who? Yes, the poor exploited art teacher. Well, the only two likely suspects are another teacher with whom she might have had an affair and his jealous wife. Nothing really happens for a while until we find out that the murdered woman came from a very wealthy family and was engaged to a bloke from another wealthy family. But then, dressed in her bridal gown and ready to walk down the aisle she finds her fiancée with his pants down around his ankles and her maid of honor on her knees in front of him. She decides this is reason enough to not marry the infidel, but the fiancée's mother doesn't agree, and her own father doesn't agree and decides to disinherit her from not marrying the louse. Go figure.
To get to the end, Faith decides to go visit the mother of the fiancée, who without any coaxing, blurts out the entire plot of how her and her son killed the art teacher. Now, normally in these novels, one confesses because "I'm going to kill you now, so what difference does it make what you know". But no! She kicks her out of the house. Naturally, she tells the police, the police arrest her and her son and justice is served.
The original two suspects? There dismissed in a short paragraph. Darling, I thought you did it because you were jealous. Dear, I thought you did to save our marriage. Kissy, kissy, hug, hug.
The author, Katherine Hall page, has won some awards, so she must have written some good books at one time, which I will read. but this ain't one of 'em.
May 29, 2023
It's the beginning of COVID in Aleford, Massachusetts. Faith Fairchild, is talking with her sister Hope in New York, and Hope is telling her they will be in lockdown by March and she needs to shop quickly before everything is gone - masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and lots of food which can be stored. By March 12, her son Ben is on his way home from Brown, where classes have gone to zoom. Daughter Amy is also stopping live classes at Aleford High School where her graduation and prom will probably be virtual. Faith gets a call from Ursula, Pix's mother, who says Faith needs to go check on her friend Millicent. Faith finds Millicent in bed with weak pulse and a cold house. Faith calls 911. Meanwhile, she finds the cupboards are bare. Millicent probably doesn't know how to order supplies online, hadn't been able to pick up her mail and didn't have automatic fuel delivery. Ben sets her up with autopay, and Tom, Faith's minister husband, convinces her to wear a Medi Alert bracelet.
Meanwhile, Claudia, a young art teacher at the middle school has moved to a home in Aleford as a house sitter. She and Faith quickly become friends and Claudia begins designing menus and other things for Faith while working on her own artwork as well. Claudia later moves into the Carriage House. She is very talented.
Zach and Pix have come back to Aleford, with Pix pregnant. The younger generation is very helpful to the elder ones. Faith sets up a meal delivery program with Nikki and Amy. Ben helps with the deliveries. Zach and Ben help all the others and their families to get scheduled for COVID vaccines.
The Fairchilds find out that Ben has a significant girlfriend from Brown - Catherine. It takes awhile, but finally both families meet each other and both sets of parents are pleased with their child's choice.
Claudia is making a presentation at a zoom town meeting, about her classes at the school. All of a sudden there is a Zoom Bombing with rows of nude women. And then not too long afterwards, Claudia is found dead. The police believe it is a suicide, but Faith and her friends search widely, and finally figure out Claudia's hidden secrets along with her hidden enemies.
This is a great series. I have read all 26 books, and I love watching the children grow up as well as seeing Faith's great ability to solve murders.
Meanwhile, Claudia, a young art teacher at the middle school has moved to a home in Aleford as a house sitter. She and Faith quickly become friends and Claudia begins designing menus and other things for Faith while working on her own artwork as well. Claudia later moves into the Carriage House. She is very talented.
Zach and Pix have come back to Aleford, with Pix pregnant. The younger generation is very helpful to the elder ones. Faith sets up a meal delivery program with Nikki and Amy. Ben helps with the deliveries. Zach and Ben help all the others and their families to get scheduled for COVID vaccines.
The Fairchilds find out that Ben has a significant girlfriend from Brown - Catherine. It takes awhile, but finally both families meet each other and both sets of parents are pleased with their child's choice.
Claudia is making a presentation at a zoom town meeting, about her classes at the school. All of a sudden there is a Zoom Bombing with rows of nude women. And then not too long afterwards, Claudia is found dead. The police believe it is a suicide, but Faith and her friends search widely, and finally figure out Claudia's hidden secrets along with her hidden enemies.
This is a great series. I have read all 26 books, and I love watching the children grow up as well as seeing Faith's great ability to solve murders.
October 27, 2025
I find quiet relief in the apparent absence of announced sequels for this series. The narrative delays the murder until 57 percent of the way through, bogged down by COVID-19 angst and vaccine advocacy dialogues. To her credit, Page refrains from vilifying those who declined vaccination. The story spans the winter of 2020 to a near-complete return to normal family gatherings over a year later. Readers endure Amy’s lament over her canceled senior prom and Ben’s dejection as his university shifts to online classes. Ben, though healthy, succumbs to lovesickness, arranging a clandestine train station rendezvous with a girl he met days before the campus closed.
Persistence reveals the compelling story of Claudia, an art teacher. She narrowly escapes a marriage to a man who betrays her with the maid of honor on their wedding day—a cliché, yet striking, misstep. Relocating to Faith Fairchild’s small Massachusetts town, Claudia leads a quiet life until a Zoom-bombed town hall meeting exposes pornographic images of her, abruptly halted by the meeting’s host. Claudia and a fellow teacher, entangled in a flirtation via text and teetering on physical infidelity, face the wrath of his astute wife, whose ambition overshadows his. Her discovery ends their dalliance decisively.
Ultimately, Claudia meets a gruesome demise, leaving Faith to unravel the mystery and distribute her modest possessions.
The mystery, though engaging, occupies a mere sliver of the narrative, challenging my investment. I suspect a personal disconnect shapes my response. Page’s depiction of COVID-era angst and uncertainty diverges from my own experience. Without diminishing others’ struggles, I focused on the brighter moments of those years, finding unexpected joys. Yet, guilt shadows my admission of those silver linings, as I fear society already forgets the vital lessons of that period. This book frustrated me, its mystery arriving tardily and its tone occasionally shrill and overwrought. Assured that my cherished guide dog faced no risk from the virus, I navigated the era with resilience—an optimism this novel fails to echo.
Persistence reveals the compelling story of Claudia, an art teacher. She narrowly escapes a marriage to a man who betrays her with the maid of honor on their wedding day—a cliché, yet striking, misstep. Relocating to Faith Fairchild’s small Massachusetts town, Claudia leads a quiet life until a Zoom-bombed town hall meeting exposes pornographic images of her, abruptly halted by the meeting’s host. Claudia and a fellow teacher, entangled in a flirtation via text and teetering on physical infidelity, face the wrath of his astute wife, whose ambition overshadows his. Her discovery ends their dalliance decisively.
Ultimately, Claudia meets a gruesome demise, leaving Faith to unravel the mystery and distribute her modest possessions.
The mystery, though engaging, occupies a mere sliver of the narrative, challenging my investment. I suspect a personal disconnect shapes my response. Page’s depiction of COVID-era angst and uncertainty diverges from my own experience. Without diminishing others’ struggles, I focused on the brighter moments of those years, finding unexpected joys. Yet, guilt shadows my admission of those silver linings, as I fear society already forgets the vital lessons of that period. This book frustrated me, its mystery arriving tardily and its tone occasionally shrill and overwrought. Assured that my cherished guide dog faced no risk from the virus, I navigated the era with resilience—an optimism this novel fails to echo.
May 21, 2023
The Body in the Web by Katherine Hall Page is a recommended mystery for some readers and the 26th book in the Faith Fairchild Mysteries series.
In January 2021 Faith Fairchild's husband, Tom, is one of the earliest recipients of the vaccine. Since March 2020, Faith and her family have been in lockdown together in Aleford, Massachusetts. "As the pandemic spreads, Faith and her family readjust to life together Her husband, Tom, continues his sermons from Zoom; their children, Ben, who's in college, and Amy, a high school senior, are doing remote learning at home." Faith's business has turned into a delivery service. At a town Zoom meeting things go terribly wrong one evening when nude photos of a friend of Faith are shown on everyone's screens. After her friend is found dead, Faith is sure it is murder and begins investigating.
It is a good mystery and fans of the series will likely enjoy it, but it was a struggle for me. Thank goodness the page count is low and I could quickly read through it to follow the mystery and Faith's investigation. I thought I could do it, I thought the mystery would be the focus. It's a satisfying mystery, there are recipes, but, nah, it was a struggle for me. The problem is that this is a pandemic novel. One person's reality during the pandemic in a specific location during this time period was not everyone's reality. (I really must make sure novels are NOT pandemic stories rather than looking at an author's name.)
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins via Edelweiss.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2023/0...
In January 2021 Faith Fairchild's husband, Tom, is one of the earliest recipients of the vaccine. Since March 2020, Faith and her family have been in lockdown together in Aleford, Massachusetts. "As the pandemic spreads, Faith and her family readjust to life together Her husband, Tom, continues his sermons from Zoom; their children, Ben, who's in college, and Amy, a high school senior, are doing remote learning at home." Faith's business has turned into a delivery service. At a town Zoom meeting things go terribly wrong one evening when nude photos of a friend of Faith are shown on everyone's screens. After her friend is found dead, Faith is sure it is murder and begins investigating.
It is a good mystery and fans of the series will likely enjoy it, but it was a struggle for me. Thank goodness the page count is low and I could quickly read through it to follow the mystery and Faith's investigation. I thought I could do it, I thought the mystery would be the focus. It's a satisfying mystery, there are recipes, but, nah, it was a struggle for me. The problem is that this is a pandemic novel. One person's reality during the pandemic in a specific location during this time period was not everyone's reality. (I really must make sure novels are NOT pandemic stories rather than looking at an author's name.)
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins via Edelweiss.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2023/0...
August 14, 2024
January 14, 2021. The Pandemic Lockdown. Katharine Hall Page’s The Body in the Web (Faith Fairchild
Mysteries, #26) is the first book that I have read with the setting of the Covid pandemic. The author dedicates the book to ‘health care workers-especially nurses-EMTs, doctors, and teachers, along with the countless volunteers everywhere dedicated to all humankind who made many many sacrifices, ….’
Then the author states “We are always all in this together.” But I wonder! Then the following quotation by Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the World Wide Web (2018) says it all, I believe.
“If you’d asked me ten years ago, I would have said humanity is going to do a good job
with this. If we connect all these people together, they are such wonderful people,
they will get along. I was wrong. “
The author weaves the story with the pandemic and the technology of the World Wide Web. The good and the bad are seen through this mystery. The extant of the bad that is done through technology on the WWW continues to utterly amaze me. I constantly ask the question ‘Why don’t people use their minds for good instead of discovering ways to commit crimes?’ I would truly love an answer, but maybe that is just how some people work. I do not know. The mystery and the entire story is well done, but I continue to shake my head at the horror that happens every day through technology and the WWW. 4 stars.
Mysteries, #26) is the first book that I have read with the setting of the Covid pandemic. The author dedicates the book to ‘health care workers-especially nurses-EMTs, doctors, and teachers, along with the countless volunteers everywhere dedicated to all humankind who made many many sacrifices, ….’
Then the author states “We are always all in this together.” But I wonder! Then the following quotation by Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the World Wide Web (2018) says it all, I believe.
“If you’d asked me ten years ago, I would have said humanity is going to do a good job
with this. If we connect all these people together, they are such wonderful people,
they will get along. I was wrong. “
The author weaves the story with the pandemic and the technology of the World Wide Web. The good and the bad are seen through this mystery. The extant of the bad that is done through technology on the WWW continues to utterly amaze me. I constantly ask the question ‘Why don’t people use their minds for good instead of discovering ways to commit crimes?’ I would truly love an answer, but maybe that is just how some people work. I do not know. The mystery and the entire story is well done, but I continue to shake my head at the horror that happens every day through technology and the WWW. 4 stars.
Read
August 17, 2023In the 26th book in the award-winning Faith Fairchild Mysteries series, Katherine Hall Page’s beloved amateur detective is hunkered down with her family during the pandemic when a Zoom-bombing scandal sends the community into a tailspin ... and a dead body is discovered.
Faith Fairchild joins the rest of the world in lockdown mode when reality flips in March 2020. As the pandemic spreads, Faith and her family readjust to life together in Aleford, Massachusetts. Her husband, Tom, continues his sermons from Zoom; their children, Ben, who's in college, and Amy, a high school senior, are doing remote learning at home .
Faith is happy to have her family under the same roof and grateful for her resilient community, friends, and neighbors in Aleford. Town halls remain lively and well-attended, despite residents joining from their living rooms. It is at one of these town halls that scandal breaks out. In the midst of a Zoom meeting, damaging images suddenly flash upon everyone’s screens. Claudia, local art teacher and Faith’s dear friend, is immediately recognized as the woman who has been targeted.
When Claudia is later discovered dead, Faith, with the help of her friends, journeys deep into the dark web to unravel the threads of Claudia’s mysterious history and shocking passing.
Not as good as some of her other books.
Faith Fairchild joins the rest of the world in lockdown mode when reality flips in March 2020. As the pandemic spreads, Faith and her family readjust to life together in Aleford, Massachusetts. Her husband, Tom, continues his sermons from Zoom; their children, Ben, who's in college, and Amy, a high school senior, are doing remote learning at home .
Faith is happy to have her family under the same roof and grateful for her resilient community, friends, and neighbors in Aleford. Town halls remain lively and well-attended, despite residents joining from their living rooms. It is at one of these town halls that scandal breaks out. In the midst of a Zoom meeting, damaging images suddenly flash upon everyone’s screens. Claudia, local art teacher and Faith’s dear friend, is immediately recognized as the woman who has been targeted.
When Claudia is later discovered dead, Faith, with the help of her friends, journeys deep into the dark web to unravel the threads of Claudia’s mysterious history and shocking passing.
Not as good as some of her other books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2024
murder in the time of covid
As usual, very well written. Nice to see Faith’s children as young adults, helping Faith with on line techie stuff, and the elderly in their lives cope with covid.
Katherine’s timeline of the roll out of covid awareness & vaxes in Massachusetts was particularly difficult for me to read because of my own personal experiences. At 72, I didn’t qualify for early jabs in MA, so I made the decision to relocate until safe down to my condo in Maryland. Was in the first wave to safely get my vax in my car at 6 flags MD in February 2021, months before I would have be able to do so in Boston. With a heart condition and diabetes, it was important for me.
Reading Faith’s angst at delayed shots for her parent and loved elderly neighbors, the isolation felt by anyone adhering to the rules of separation, and the frustrations felt by teachers struggling with remote learning brought back difficult memories. The joy felt as more people got vaxed and small pod gatherings started brought back happier memories.
the book was well written, the mystery convoluted enough to keep me reading, and the recipes included look delicious. It is the first mystery that I’ve read that had COVID essentially as a main character, affecting everyone in the community.
I highly recommend the Body in the Web.
As usual, very well written. Nice to see Faith’s children as young adults, helping Faith with on line techie stuff, and the elderly in their lives cope with covid.
Katherine’s timeline of the roll out of covid awareness & vaxes in Massachusetts was particularly difficult for me to read because of my own personal experiences. At 72, I didn’t qualify for early jabs in MA, so I made the decision to relocate until safe down to my condo in Maryland. Was in the first wave to safely get my vax in my car at 6 flags MD in February 2021, months before I would have be able to do so in Boston. With a heart condition and diabetes, it was important for me.
Reading Faith’s angst at delayed shots for her parent and loved elderly neighbors, the isolation felt by anyone adhering to the rules of separation, and the frustrations felt by teachers struggling with remote learning brought back difficult memories. The joy felt as more people got vaxed and small pod gatherings started brought back happier memories.
the book was well written, the mystery convoluted enough to keep me reading, and the recipes included look delicious. It is the first mystery that I’ve read that had COVID essentially as a main character, affecting everyone in the community.
I highly recommend the Body in the Web.
June 12, 2023
Faith Fairchild has just changed her calendar to January 2021. Their family has lived as a pod during the Covid pandemic. Tom does Sunday church services on Zoom. Faith's catering jobs are all cancelled because no one is gathering for parties anymore. Amy is getting depressed. Her Senior year of high school will come to a close without a prom, graduation ceremony or chances to say goodbye to her friends. Ben's opportunity to work with a professor on a project through Brown University did not happen. He's studying online from home. But now there is hope on the horizon. The vaccine everyone has been waiting for is slowly becoming available. The residents of Aleford help one another.
Reading this book really took me back to what life was like during the pandemic. Katherine Hall Page shares in her author's note at the end of the book how she kept a daily journal beginning in March 2020 which later on would become "The Body in the Web". She included so many details of things I had forgotten - like the shortages of flour, yeast and cream cheese. I was glad to discover a new book by her. I highly recommend it.
Reading this book really took me back to what life was like during the pandemic. Katherine Hall Page shares in her author's note at the end of the book how she kept a daily journal beginning in March 2020 which later on would become "The Body in the Web". She included so many details of things I had forgotten - like the shortages of flour, yeast and cream cheese. I was glad to discover a new book by her. I highly recommend it.
January 27, 2024
From the beginning of the series, before GoodReads existed, I read many, but not all, of the Katherine Hall Page mysteries featuring Faith Fairchild, chef and pastor's wife. The cast of characters has grown and is an enjoyable group of folks to spend time with. This entry in the series was hard for me with its on-target recounting of the COVID pandemic, wisely beginning with vaccination availability, but then remembering back. Within the first several chapters many of the various scenarios of quarantining, fears, and domestic issues are introduced. The issues of pandemic overwhelmed the actual death/mystery for me and so much of the book was skimmed after I set the book aside for several days. The author's note at the end is worth reading as it tells how Page kept a detailed diary during the pandemic, which explains in part her recounting, and ends with her sense of hope for the world in our times.
June 23, 2023
This is a fairly good entry in the series, but I guess I'm not ready to read about year 2 of COVID yet. Faith Fairhild is busy coping, organizing everyone in sight, helping the elderly make appointments for the much-needed vaccines, despite losses among her loved ones from the pandemic. Her good friend Claudia, the grade school art teacher and a talented print-maker, is being harassed on-line through a zoom bombing. When Claudia dies, the police think that the campaign against her drove her to suicide. Faith is sure that Claudia was not depressed or unhappy, and turns to investigation mode, something made more difficult by Claudia's refusal to talk about her past or her family. A series of flashbacks early in the book means that readers know more about Claudia's past than Faith does.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews