Book Review: The Body in The Sleigh

Title	The Body in the Sleigh: A Faith Fairchild Mystery (Faith Fairchild Mysteries)
Author	Katherine Hall Page
Rating
Tags	mystery, series, maine, island, cozy, minister's wife
	This is the 17th in Page's Faith Fairchild mystery series. I had not read any in the series before, but got this volume free at a professional conference. Now I have read it, I want to go back and read the rest of the series. Page is a writer who has earned my respect. She has a good touch with characters, the plot is believable. Faith's husband is a minister, and normally Christmas is their busiest time of the year. This year, however, Faith's husband, Tom, is recovering from a serious illness and surgery. Faith, Tom, and their two children turn the church over to others and go Sanpere Island, Maine, to recover. Faith finds the body of a young women in an antique sleigh outside the local historical society. Norah had been only a part-time resident of the island and had recently changed personalities, not for the better. While Faith is dealing with the aftermath of such a discovery, a local woman, Mary Bethany, calls her and asks for her advice - a baby boy has just been left for her to raise. How do these things connect? Faith must figure it out in order to help Mary. Page's writing strikes me as just right in a number of places. The plot moves well and is exciting without the heroine's being stupid. The character's are deftly drawn... one feels the reality of Norah's loss through the eyes of the young man who loved her, and Mary Bethany is simply delightful. I will be reading more in the series.
Publication	William Morrow (2009), Hardcover, 272 pages
Publication date	2009
ISBN	0061474258 / 9780061474255

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