Sun 6 Aug 2017
Archived Mystery Review: KATHERINE HALL PAGE – Murder in the Belfry.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[4] Comments
KATHERINE HALL PAGE – Murder in the Belfry. Faith Fairchild #1. St. Martin’s, hardcover, 1990. Avon, paperback, 1991.
Finding the body is [the former] Faith Sibley, displaced New Yorker and now the wife of a minister in a small New England town. The dead girl has been president of the Young People’s Club, but she was also a blackmailer, and worse — and somebody probably wanted her stopped.
At first this is a “let’s solve a murder — it’ll be such fun” type of book, but when the dead girl’s innocent boy friend is suspected, a real reason for finding the killer emerges. Unfortunately Faith stumbles onto the truth almost by accident, spoiling the ending more than a little.
[UPDATE.] Faith Sibley’s married name is Faith Fairchild, and this is how she is known throughout the rest of series. If you has asked me in 1990 when I wrote this review how many books would end up being in the series, I’m sure I’d have said three or four. I believe that was the standard publishers contract at the time for a new series. Unless the books and the leading characters caught on, and for Katherine Hall Page, I’m happy to say that they did. See for yourself:
The Faith Fairchild series —
1. The Body in the Belfry (1990)
2. The Body in the Kelp (1990)
3. The Body in the Bouillon (1991)
4. The Body in the Vestibule (1992)
5. The Body in the Cast (1993)
6. The Body in the Basement (1994)
7. The Body in the Bog (1996; aka The Body in the Marsh)
8. The Body in the Fjord (1997)
9. The Body in the Bookcase (1998)
10. The Body in the Big Apple (1999)
11. The Body in the Moonlight (2001)
12. The Body In The Bonfire (2002)
13. The Body in the Lighthouse (2003)
14. The Body in the Attic (2004)
15. The Body in the Snowdrift (2005)
16. The Body in the Ivy (2006)
17. The Body in the Gallery (2008)
18. The Body in the Sleigh (2009)
19. The Body in the Gazebo (2011)
20. The Body in the Boudoir (2012)
21. The Body in the Piazza (2013)
22. The Body in the Birches (2015)
23. The Body in the Wardrobe (2016)
24. The Body in the Casket (2017)
August 6th, 2017 at 7:51 pm
That’s a lot of bodies.
August 6th, 2017 at 8:25 pm
I wonder if they were all from the same small town in New England. I hope not!
August 6th, 2017 at 11:30 pm
A word of explanation, if one is necessary. I was going through a kind of writer’s block at the time I wrote this review. To force myself through it, I came up with a format that helped: One paragraph to describe the story, followed by one paragraph to summarize what I thought about the book.
Most of the reviews in this old issue of Mystery*File were written this way. I think it helped, as I was back to meatier reviews by the time the next issue came around.
August 7th, 2017 at 1:11 am
Not sure this one sounds as if it could bear a meatier review. For the right reader I’m sure it is perfect, and she has obviously found the right reader, but I suspect I’m not it. Wife of small town minister solves murders sounds a little too Jessica Fletcher for me.