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| The Body in the Gallery: A Faith Fairchild Mystery (Faith Fairchild Mysteries) | 
 enlarge | Author: Katherine Hall Page
Publisher: William Morrow
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
Buy Used: $2.88
You Save: $21.07 (88%)
New (42) Used (27) from $2.88
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 142576
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 5.8 x 1.2
ISBN: 0060763671
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780060763671
ASIN: 0060763671
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Recycled Library Edition
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Product Description
Faith's catering business has been slow with the downturn of the economy, so when her friend Patsy Avery proposes that she take over the cafe at Aleford's Ganley Art Museum, it seems like a not-to-be-missed opportunity. And Patsy has an ulterior motive—she discovers that the Romare Bearden piece she lent the museum has been switched with a fake and wants Faith to snoop around to find the culprit. Life at the museum doesn't stay calm for long and Faith is soon enmeshed in the Ganley's murky past and present as she struggles to make connections among apparently disparate items: the fake Bearden, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers, and a Jane Doe corpse that turns up as an unintended part of an art installation. At home, son Ben, now in the hell known as middle school, becomes involved in a cyberbullying escapade and husband Tom wants his wife to morph into June Cleaver. Her investigation takes Faith into Boston's art scene and historic Beacon Hill, as well as into the lives behind the facade of the Ganley's very proper board of trustees. She is at her wit's—and almost dead—end, as the killer strikes again, and again.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 My review of The Body in the Gallery May 14, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Faith Fairchild is the wife of a minister, mother of two children, owner of a catering business and oh yeah - amateur detective. Have Faith, her business has been affected by the slowing economy, so when her friend Patsy suggests that Faith take over the cafe at the Ganley Art Museum, she jumps at the chance. There is of course a catch....
Patsy and her husband have donated a painting to the Ganley Museum and plan to make the loan permanent when she notices that something is not quite `right' with the painting. Patsy wants Faith to take over operation of the museum cafe and use her amateur detective skills to find out who has been replacing original works of art with skillful forgeries. As always, it doesn't take Faith long to stumble over trouble or rather a body. What starts out as an investigation into art forgery quickly turns to murder. Meanwhile on the home front Faith knows something is not quite right with her middle school aged son.
Initially I thought this book was boring, but the book did pick up speed about half way through and eventually grabbed my attention. I felt that a major portion of the book was taken up by paragraph after paragraph of descriptions about the origins the Ganley Museum, the food that was being served by the catering company or descriptions of the various pieces of artwork (real or imagined) that was highlighted in the story. This is the first book I had read by Ms. Page and perhaps if I had started from the beginning of the series (which is usually my preference); I might have felt more of a connection to Faith as a character. On a rating scale of 1-5 (where 1 = bad, 3 = average, 5 = exceptional) I would give this a rating of 3.
In summary, I believe that while this book is good, it could have been better had it contained less detailed descriptions of the food, artwork, museum etc., and had the plot expanded. I would have also liked for the book to be a little longer, at just over 250 pages including the recipes it felt, well, short.
Faith discovers unknown murder victim May 12, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Caterer Faith Fairchild is asked to take over the cafe at Aleford's Ganley Art Museum, and at the same time do some snooping for her friend Patsy who wants to know who put a fake collage in the museum in place of the genuine piece that she and her husband donated. In the course of her duties Faith discovers the body of an unknown woman who has become a gruesome part of an art object. Faith works to uncover the woman's identity and also to discover who murdered her. In the course of her investigation she uncovers unsavory aspects about many of the people who are connected to the museum.
The book also chronicles Faith's struggles with her teenaged son who has become uncommunicative and rebellious. He is involved in an activity which is an old one with a new cyber twist. It makes for interesting family background and also serves as a warning to parents of teenagers who may be involved in a similar activity. This is another good read from Katherine Hall Page.
 Another Hit for Faith Fairchild May 19, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Unlike earlier titles in the series, the latest Faith Fairchild mystery takes place close to home in Aleford, Massachusetts. Other reviewers have captured the plot; no need to recap that. I especially enjoy this series because the family dynamics are so real. Whether Faith is dealing with Tom's extended family (THE BODY IN THE SNOWDRIFT) or her own past (THE BODY IN THE BIG APPLE), the interplay among characters feels right on. In THE BODY IN THE GALLERY, Faith's relationship with her troubled teenaged son Ben has a great been-there-done-that feel to it. I can think of other series where the protagonist's family is just too perfect, which makes Katherine Hall Page's books such good reads--and I know that somehow Faith, Ben, Tom and the rest will survive Ben's adolescence--even with all of us watching from the sidelines. The issue of bullying is handled from an interesting point of view; so often the victim takes the forefront, but in this case not. Another thought-provoking book in a stellar series.
superb amateur sleuth April 26, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
In Aleford, Massachusetts, the Ganley Museum is gaining quite a reputation for quality items and exhibits. Board member Pasty Avery asks her close friend Faith Fairchild, owner of the catering business Have Faith, to visit the museum to see if a valuable Bearden collage she donated has been replaced by a fake. Faith is small enough to crawl under the laser beams to grab the painting, which she takes to Patsy, who becomes hysterical when the back lacks a telltale mark making this a fake.
A few days later at an extravaganza at the museum, Faith finds the dead body of a bald woman in a fish tank that is part of the exhibit. Patsy and Faith believe that the forgery and the homicide are linked with the latter trying to figure out how. Someone identifies the victim, but the police insist no such person exists. By the time the two amateur sleuths learn who the deceased is, someone else is killed. Faith is in the middle of another homicide investigation that brings her to the attention of a dangerous killer.
The latest Faith Fairchild amateur sleuth tale contains the usual delightful mystery with a murderer who is not easy to identify, but when revealed seems plausible that this person committed these atrocities. The story line also focuses on the heroine's home life and the problems she is having with her teenage son. Thus readers get an insightful family drama that adds depth to the plot, but also questions why she failed to address the issues with her son when they first surfaced. Nevertheless this is a fine body of work that will please fans of the author.
Harriet Klausner
Return of Faith May 27, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I was eagerly awaiting the return of Faith Fairchild and this book did not disappoint. I enjoyed the descriptions of the art and cuisine in the book. I will definitely be making a couple of the recipes, especially the endive. I thought that having Faith take over the gallery's cafe was a clever way to put her on the "scene of the crime". Since we did not see much of the Fairchild family dynamic in the last book, the situation with Faith's son Ben and her husband Tom was a welcome update. One of the best aspects of this series is the way Faith juggles her many roles, which often conflict. The book takes place in the fall, and the descriptions of the fall festival and East-Coast fall weather make a great backdrop for the mystery. My only minor criticism is that the murderer was almost too much of a surprise. With the many other, more plausible, possible suspects, the murderer was a bit of a stretch for me. Without giving too much away, there is one red-herring scene in particular that seems to reveal the murderer and then there is never any explanation for the totally bizarre behavior of that person. But all in all, a great book and hopefully we won't have as long to wait before the next installment.
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