Review of THE BODY IN THE ATTIC by Katherine Hall Page (see her website)

A FAITH FAIRCHILD MYSTERY

William Morrow, April 2004

When her pastor-husband takes a temporary teaching job at Harvard, Faith Fairchild worries about uprooting her children but finally goes along. Her husband has arranged to borrow a huge Cambridge house close to the University, but Faith senses that something isn't right about the house--a sensation reinforced when she discovers an ancient diary that recounts the story of the wife of a former owner--who was held captive and raped by her husband. Faith's problems with her husband's new job are reinforced by the sexy graduate student who seems intent on meeting with Faith's husband every time she gets the chance and the emergence of Faith's old boyfriend--now apparently a client in a homeless shelter.

Author Katherine Hall Page (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by Page) surrounds the reader with Faith's daily life--her business as a caterer, her sister's upcoming wedding (and baby), the gossip of Aleford where Faith had lived and her husband had preached until the move to nearby Cambridge. So much so, however, that the mystery doesn't actually get started until the book is halfway over.

Page's smooth writing kept me turning the pages through this mystery but Faith wasn't especially sympathetic as a character, resourceful as a sleuth, or clever in escaping from danger. THE BODY IN THE ATTIC is a nice enough quick read but that's about all.

Two Stars

Reviewed 5/16/04

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