Book Review: The Body in the Gazebo by Katherine Hall Page

✰✰✰✰ Amateur sleuth Faith Fairchild is back with not just one, but two mysteries to solve. Faith is a busy minister's wife and mom of two who runs a catering business on the side. However, when her best friend must leave her elderly mother's bedside to meet her future in-laws, Faith agrees to check in on her. Ursula Rowe takes advantage of her daughter's absence by sharing a story with Faith that is full of mystery and intrigue. Faith has no idea that the seemingly innocent trip down memory lane will involve an unsolved murder and threats of blackmail.

Meanwhile, the disappearance of $10,000 from the church discretionary fund that only Faith's husband, the Reverend Thomas Fairchild, has access to leaves him in a pickle. Thus, Faith must solve both a mystery from the past and one from the present. Is she up to the double challenge? We'll find out in this entertaining read full of secrets.

The Bottom Line: This is the first book that I have read in the series. Page does a great job of filling in the back stories of the characters, so I was able to pick it up without missing a beat. While The Body in the Gazebo gets off to a slow start, it is a quick weekend read that's perfect for the beach. Besides the two main mysteries there are lots of secrets and several subplots to keep the reader interested. While the ending was a bit predictable, this book was so much fun that I definitely plan to read the series from the beginning. Highly recommended for mystery fans who love cozies. Also, several appetizing recipes are included.

Details: The Body in the Gazebo: A Faith Fairchild Mystery by Katherine Hall Page. Hardcover published by William Morrow in 2011. 272 p. ISBN: 978-0-06-147426-2 Note: I received a complimentary copy from William Morrow (an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers) in exchange for a review. This was made possible by the Early Reviewer program at LibraryThing.