Publisher/ Format: William Morrow First Edition, Hardcover, 272 pages
Year of publication: 2011
Subject: old and new mysteries
Setting: Aleford, Massachussetts
Series: Faith Fairchild Mysteries
Genre: Cozy mysteries, amateur sleuth
Source: Advance review copy from Early Reviewer program of LibraryThing.com
Rating: 4.2 of 5
I'm a fan of this series, although I've only read 2 of them so far. This one is #19, and once again, Faith Fairchild--daughter and wife of Protestant clergymen--uses her excellent people skills not only to run a successful catering business "Have Faith", she helps solve two different mysteries while doing good in the community. There....doesn't that sound very blah, off-putting, and dreadfully dull? These stories are anything but. They are well written, with characters who are believable, plots that move right along, in settings designed to make the reader feel immediately at home. She does just enough back-filling to let new readers jump into the middle of the series.
In this one, Faith is asked by her best friend Pix to look after her elderly mother Ursula while she (Pix) is out of town helping her son prepare for a wedding. Ursula begins telling Faith the details of a long buried secret from the past (1929). At the same time, Faith's husband, Tim Fairchild, is suspected by his vestry of embezzling $10,000 from the parish's emergency funds. Of course our intrepid heroine Faith helps to solve both mysteries. There are just enough plot twists and sub plots to keep the reader interested. This is not a 5 star who-dunnit, but it is certainly a delightful summer read, requiring just enough brain power to raise it above the brain candy category. I'm certainly looking forward to reading a few more in the series. I don't think I could take all 19 at once, but they certainly fill in the reading menu in their variety.
And, as an added treat, the recipes in the back of the book are delicious.
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Sounds like a good one.
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