Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The Body in the Gazebo

The Body in the Gazebo
Katherine Hall Page
Avon-Mass Market
Harper Collins Publisher
May 2012
ISBN 978-0-06-147428-6
Pages 326

Pastors’ wives do not have an easy life. They are expected to be perfect in the eyes
of the congregation served by their husband. They are always expected to be
impeccably dressed, while not extravagantly, and be the perfect housekeeper, cook,
mother of perfectly behaved children while still being a partner with their husband.
Sounds easy?

Faith Fairchild is all the above and also the proprietor of her own catering business.
However, her husband has just informed her of a problem after the church finances
were audited. Ten thousand dollars is missing from the minister's discretionary fund.
Both Tom and Faith are in shock! Who is the person responsible for the accounting
of this fund? Her husband, Tom Fairchild.

Pix, Faith's best friend, is leaving for preparations for her son's wedding in the South,
asking Faith to look in on her ailing mother, Ursula. When she meets with Ursula who
also has a nurse, she wants to confess something about an incident that happened
years ago. Being that Ursula's tale is long; it takes many visits with each one feeling
like a cliffhanger and becoming more intriguing.

Katherine Hall Page writes a believable and intricate tale. Each clue was logically
built on the foundation of the previous ones developing into a gripping mystery that
intensifies with each page turn. The characters are realistic with daily demands of the
life, even though I felt that the children were sometimes unsupervised or forgotten for
a short period of time. The interactions with the adults were definitely genuine,
including the secrets.

This is one of numerous books, over twenty by Katherine Hall Page that can be read
either as a standalone or as part of this series featuring Faith Fairchild and
entitled "The Body in the ..." This is a new series to me that I thoroughly
enjoyed. The cozy mystery is well-written, logical, and tells a wonderful story.

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