The Body in the Casket (Faith Fairchild, #24) (2024)

Katherine Hall Page's new book, The Body In The Casket, was a very fast read. I've read some of her other books in this series and enjoyed them. Unfortunately this one was a disappointment. Not including the recipes and authors note at the back, this story is 227 pages long. Of that number only 81 pages was devoted just to the mystery. The rest was about the main character Faith Fairchild and her family, friends and business.I wish the author would have switched things around and expanded on the mystery and gave us less about Faith's life.

Spoiler alerts: when is a murder mystery not a murder mystery? When the book is 228 pages long and the first murder occurs on page 218. And the build-up isn't even interesting. Forget it.

I found this book quite fast and I couldn't get through it because it was too much happening in such a short amount of time if that makes sense? So much talk and very little action

A former Broadway producer asks Faith to cater a birthday celebration at his home over a weekend. He's invited those persons connected with his last play, Heaven and Hell. He chose Faith because of her sleuthing reputation. One of the persons invited seeks to kill him and sent him a casket to emphasize the point. At the same time, Pix's daughter investigates the man dating her grandmother Ursula. A developer wants to raze a historic home, but many in the town want the historic, but not registered, home preserved. Tom's position on the town council puts him in the midst of that controversy. Most of Faith's sleuthing is done before the guests arrive although the opportunity to observe guests adds some insight. I fingered the guilty person early in the novel. This is an enjoyable, although imperfect, installment. The novel's plot probably serves as much to set the scene for future installments as it does a mystery. It's a twist on a locked room mystery except the murder has not yet taken place. At various times in the novel, the author compares the scenario to Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express and the classic board game Clue. Comments are based on an advance reader's copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing Early Reviewers with the expectation of an honest review.

The story lingered so long on the subplots that the actual mystery was nearly forgotten.

“One of my guests wants to kill me.” Katherine Hall Page’s The Body in the Casket (Faith Fairchild, #24) has Faith Fairchild hired to cater a birthday party for a “legendary Broadway producer”, but he is also hiring Mrs. Fairchild for her sleuthing abilities. This producer receives an early birthday present - a casket with an old Playbill from his his final and twenty year old “failed production, Heaven and Hell”. Max, this producer, invites members of the “cast and crew” as his guests to his birthday party. Mrs. Fairchild finds some fun food to go along with Heaven and Hell theme to serve at this party, (Recipes included.) but every time she views the casket, Faith truly wonders just what kind of ‘party’ she is catering. Everyone is invited for the weekend including Mrs Fairchild, and that could be a long weekend. The story felt as though it dragged to me. I kept anticipating something. Mrs. Fairchild’s food sounded so good that I wished to taste a bit if this and some of that. At times I believe that I kept reading to discover what Mrs. Fairchild would serve next! When the end finally arrived (Is that an oxymoron?), it is clever. 3.75 stars

This is a nice, cozy mystery book. So fans of this type of genre will enjoy this book. I read this book within a day. So it is a fast read. Yet, sadly, my problem with the book was that I did not connect that much with the characters. Thus I was not fully invested in the story and what was transpiring. For me the story was not memorable. This is largely due to the fact that I could not connect with the characters ad it was not because I had not read the prior novels. As this book can be read as a stand alone novel.

Although, I will give this book props as it did have hints of the board game Clue. I think any mystery fan enjoyed playing Clue. So, this aspect of the story was nice. It just would have been grander if the eccentric level of mystery within the story and characters had been pumped up higher. Which, for me than this book would have stood out more. While, this book may not have worked for me, it does not mean that it will not be an enjoyment for other readers.

Meh. The Max Dane storyline, the one that inspired the title, is nearly obscured by the various family and town storylines. Pity. There was a lot of potential in the Max Dane storyline, and had there been less "white noise" (not to be confused with red herrings), this might have been a good book. This is the first of Hall Page's books I've read, so I don't know if this is typical of the series.

"The Body in the Casket" by Katherine Hall Page is another fantastic book in the Faith Fairchild mystery series. Max Dane, the legendary Broadway producer, has asked Faith Fairchild, a caterer in Aleford, Massachusetts, to attend his seventieth birthday celebration at his mansion. But he's not just hiring her for her catering skills - he wants her to figure out which of his guests plans to kill him.
I highly recommend this book!

If you're ever on the lookout for a gentle yet lightly adventurous cozy series, this is it and the newest episode adds a dollop of fun by presenting a scenario very reminiscent of the boardgame (and movie) Clue. The Body in the Casket is a bit of a featherweight compared to some of the other books in the series---more time is spent on the lives and times of various continuing characters in and around Aleford than on the actual mystery---but it still offers a few hours of pure pleasure.

Faith has never catered a weekend-long house party before but she's intrigued by the prospect and even more so by Max Dane's conviction that one of his guests intends to kill him. He's not sure who it is but he knows the potential killer is someone connected to the last musical he produced; it's up to Faith to figure out who before the deed can be done.

A few sidestories add even more interest to the core tale, such as a fight to keep a developer from tearing down an historic building and a couple of romantic issues but, as always, it's Faith's sleuthing and her scrumptious food that held my attention. The identity of the killer wasn't much of a surprise but that was okay with me as I quite enjoyed my time with Faith & company.

The cast of characters from a long ago theatrical flop, did not hold my attention

This book was the first selection of the newly formed mystery book club at my local library.

I realize that this is the 24th book in the series so it is obviously a successful mystery series. But for me, this was a real slog of a book to get through.

Classified as a "traditional" mystery series, I never felt any kind of connection to the characters. Faith Fairchild is the caterer/cook and sleuth lead in the book. She is hired to cater a weekend long party to celebrate the 70th birthday of Max Dane, a retired Broadway producer. The cast of his one epic failure makes up the guest list. But alongside providing a weekend series of meals, Dane also wants Faith's help to determine who amongst the cast sent him a coffin and is making a threat on his life.

The set up and synopsis of the book made this seem like a very intriguing read. But given that the story is 228 pages long, I was disappointed to see that the first three quarters of the book were more of a general fiction kind of tale. The real mystery of the book was when exactly the book's ACTUAL mystery might start. Most of the story seemed taken up with the food preparation for the event and a spectacularly uninteresting series of subplots featuring friends and family of Faith Fairchild. On top of which, at three separate times during the story, there was a description of a particular menu item where the author mentions the recipe being in the back of the book! Yes, right there in the narrative itself. This took me out of the story completely each time.

Sadly, though I did read the entire book, I was uninterested in the resolution by the time it kind of accidentally rolled around. I just wanted it to be done and over with. This book was just a non-starter with me and I won't continue reading any further books in the series.

Another enjoyable book in the Faith Fairchild series. I did miss Faith’s family and neighbor who weren’t in the story very much. Faith is hired to do a live-in catering weekend at a wealthy resident of Havencrest, a secluded area. Max is a legendary Broadway producer. Besides Faith’s cooking he wants her to figure out which of his guests will try to kill him.

I've read others in this series quite a while back, so when I ran across this one I couldn't resist. It reminds me of some of the golden age mysteries, with a house party to celebrate the host's birthday. It's a fun story, although the mystery aspect is less prominent, and the solution wasn't really shown before the denouement. 3.5 stars

As usual this was a great read...24 in her series on Faith Fairchild mysteries. I have enjoyed these books for many years. If you are not familiar with her books the entire series is available @ our library.

Way too cozy for me- and heavily weighted to catering, family and friends, with a tiny little bit of mystery and possible murder in the last few pages. No more for me.

The title of this is a total misnomer. There is no body in a casket. There is a casket, but it's sent to Max Dane as a scare tactic, making him think that someone at the party he's about to host is out for his blood. This should be called "A Week in the Life of Faith Fairchild"; it's more about her friends than about solving a mystery.

You know me - I love the Agatha Christie style who-at-this-dinner-party-is-a-murderer and it was set up to be what I thought would happen, but that was a far cry. The dinner party happens at the end of the book, is basically 10 pages long, a murder does happen (to someone we barely know, Max's cousin Chip Frost), and then everything is solved in a page (the longtime butler/Jeeves Ian). The mystery of why Dane's show 20 years ago closed unexpectedly is lame - "it was a placeholder" - and the jinx of it never really seemed to make sense. One bad show ruins 10 people's lives? Whatever. The Samantha storyline was ok, it just seemed to be a plot to fill the book past 200 pages, and the fact that she is being cheated on by her longtime boyfriend makes it even more unlikely that she'd tell Zach the IT guy that she loves him two weeks into their friendship.

I love Katherine Hall Page and her Faith Fairchild mysteries! This was like reading a classic Agatha Christie "Murder at the Manor" themed novels! It was great fun!

2.5 stars

I have been a longtime fan of the Faith Fairchild series, but the last couple of books have been disappointing. This installment is short at 227 pages, and, in my opinion, lacks plot development and action. I want to like The Body in the Casket but can only give it a tepid endorsem*nt to fans of the series.

This was not the first Faith Fairchild mystery I have read, nor will it be the last. The series includes over twenty titles centered on the caterer and minister's wife, Faith Fairchild, who seems to be quite adept at finding herself in dangerous situations. In the latest volume, she has been chosen to cater a birthday weekend specifically because of her reputation as an amateur sleuth. I have to admit that I do not know the Boston suburbs, so I can only assume that the local color is accurate, but the location is relatively minor. The story could be set in any metropolitan suburb and not be diminished. I do know something about living with a minister, being the son of one and having grown up in parsonages, and that part of the story is very accurate, in my experience. With a good share of unlikable characters, The Body in the Casket is reminiscent of both a good Agatha Christie novel or the board game Clue, and for me, at least, the villain, when finally revealed, was a complete surprise. Easy, enjoyable reading, good characterisation, and a compelling story line (actually several story lines interwoven), how could I not enjoy and recommend this book. And as the protagonist is a caterer, there are even recipes that tempt. Highly recommended.

http://openbooksociety.com/article/th...

The Body in the Casket
Faith Fairchild Mystery #24
By Katherine Hall Page
ISBN#9780062688071
Katherine-hall-page.com
Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Daniele

Synopsis: William Morrow

The inimitable Faith Fairchild returns in a chilling New England whodunit, inspired by the best Agatha Christie mysteries and with hints of the timeless board game Clue

For most of her adult life, resourceful caterer Faith Fairchild has called the sleepy Massachusetts village of Aleford home. While the native New Yorker has come to know the region well, she isn’t familiar with Havencrest, a privileged enclave, until the owner of Rowan House, a secluded sprawling Arts & Crafts mansion, calls her about catering a weekend house party.

Producer/director of a string of hit musicals, Max Dane—a Broadway legend—is throwing a lavish party to celebrate his seventieth birthday. At the house as they discuss the event, Faith’s client makes a startling confession. “I didn’t hire you for your cooking skills, fine as they may be; but for your sleuthing ability. You see, one of the guests wants to kill me.”

Faith’s only clue is an ominous birthday gift the man received the week before—an empty casket sent anonymously containing a 20-year-old Playbill from Max’s last, and only failed, production—Heaven Or Hell. Consequently, Max has drawn his guest list for the party from the cast and crew. As the guests begin to arrive one by one, and an ice storm brews overhead, Faith must keep one eye on the menu and the other on her host to prevent his birthday bash from becoming his final curtain. (Goodreads)

Review:

With twenty-four books and counting in this long running series, I feel like Faith Fairchild has become a friend. The well executed puzzles and all the talk of food usually make me enjoy my time spent with her and her family and friends, but The Body in the Casket is perhaps the weakest entry in the series.

Faith finds herself hired for both her cooking and investigative skills by legendary Broadway producer and director Max Dane. He has planned a weekend party to celebrate his seventieth birthday, and all of the invited guests were involved in his last musical, a total flop, twenty years ago. To add to the intrigue, Max received an early birthday present – an empty casket – so he is confident someone from his past is out to get him. It is up to Faith to keep everyone fed and keep Max safe during icy weekend festivities.

The premise of The Body in the Casket is a good one, a throwback to traditional locked room mysteries, but the execution is lacking. There is a great deal of time spent leading up to the party with no death until very late in the story (there is a death early on that is glossed over). And then the book rushes to its conclusion. Even with all of the ruminating about the party guests, I still do not feel like I got to know them well nor am I satisfied with their motives or the explanation (or lack thereof) for the failure of the musical. There are several subplots introduced that feel like filler, and I kept waiting for them all to tie together in some way to make a cohesive story, but they did not. In fact, most of them are left open ended, perhaps to be explored in future books.

Overall, I am quite disappointed in The Body in the Casket and can only hope that future installments are back up to the high standard of the earlier books. I tentatively recommended for longtime fans of the Faith Fairchild series.

There's a certain pleasure in settling down with a Faith Fairchild mystery. You know that Faith, a caterer married to a clergyman (Tom), will find a body, solve a mystery, and do some really good cooking (and provide recipes!). If you haven't read any of these, you won't be hampered by starting here. I've read all of them- amazing how many years I've been reading her!- and while I'll admit some are better than others, they are always well written and gentle in their way. You'll meet some wonderful characters in Faith, Tom, their kids Ben and Amy, Niki, and Pix. This entry is a takeoff on the game Clue, with Broadway producer Max Dane warning Faith, who he's hired, that someone is going to try to kill him. Guess what happens- that's right- and Faith is there to untangle this not too twisty mystery. This is a classic cozy and for me, at least, a happy return to Aleford. Thanks to edelweiss for the ARC. Give it a try for a family oriented, positive (if murder can be positive) read.

This was an audiobook, so I'll start from that aspect. The reader wasn't that bad, but most of her male voices sounded alike. One had a very slight New York accent (supposed to be Brooklyn), otherwise, it was very difficult to tell the characters apart. She also had an oddly precise way of speaking, especially for Faith's (the protagonist's) voice, which kept pulling me out of the story to wonder why she'd pronounced a word a certain way.

As for the novel, only about a third of the story was actually devoted to the mystery plot, and only about a third of that to actual action at the scene of the mystery plot. The rest had to do with preparations before the murder, half of which had to do with food rather than murder. The mystery plot could have been written as a short story. The rest of the novel was non-mystery sub-plots having to do with series characters who I was never given a reason to care about.

One other problem I had was that a lot of the description (clothing, décor) was given in terms of designer names, which since I'm not familiar with most of them, didn't give me any kind of a picture in my mind.

That said, I did like the author's storytelling style and it was an easy book to keep reading (though possibly if I'd been reading the print version, I may have put it down halfway though). I'd read some of the earlier Faith books and liked them a lot.

Wasn’t terrible but definitely not a favorite. Very slow.... took forever to actually get interesting in my opinion. The end felt very quick and once something interesting happened, it was over in 2 seconds.

Summary from Goodreads:

"For most of her adult life, resourceful caterer Faith Fairchild has called the sleepy Massachusetts village of Aleford home. While the native New Yorker has come to know the region well, she isn’t familiar with Havencrest, a privileged enclave, until the owner of Rowan House, a secluded sprawling Arts & Crafts mansion, calls her about catering a weekend house party.

Producer/director of a string of hit musicals, Max Dane—a Broadway legend—is throwing a lavish party to celebrate his seventieth birthday. At the house as they discuss the event, Faith’s client makes a startling confession. “I didn’t hire you for your cooking skills, fine as they may be; but for your sleuthing ability. You see, one of the guests wants to kill me.”

Faith’s only clue is an ominous birthday gift the man received the week before—an empty casket sent anonymously containing a 20-year-old Playbill from Max’s last, and only failed, production—Heaven Or Hell. Consequently, Max has drawn his guest list for the party from the cast and crew. As the guests begin to arrive one by one, and an ice storm brews overhead, Faith must keep one eye on the menu and the other on her host to prevent his birthday bash from becoming his final curtain.

Full of delectable recipes, brooding atmosphere, and Faith’s signature biting wit, The Body in The Casket is a delightful thriller that echoes the beloved mysteries of Agatha Christie and classic films such as Murder by Death and Deathtrap."

My Thoughts:

This series is a favorite of mine even though I'm reading the books completely out of order at this point. It's funny because I started with the first book like most readers would do and then jumped ahead to the 23rd book in the series. Here I am now having finished the 24th book and even though I've read them out of order, this series has still become a personal favorite of mine. What I love about these books is just the normal, every day feel to them (besides the fact that there is usually a murder or mystery involved). I get so caught up with these characters and their lives - I find it just so fun to read about! This book was different than the other two books that I've read in this series because a murder hasn't actually happened. Instead Faith is asked to investigate and basically help prevent a murder from happening. This book was really fun to read! It had the feel of the game Clue - was it going to be Ms. Scarlett in the study with the candlestick? I loved playing this game when I was younger so I was delighted that this book had that same kind of feel at times. I do feel at times that I'm missing out a bit from not having read the previous books in this series. The author throws out references here and there from those earlier books and it makes me want to have read them all. It doesn't affect my enjoyment of the book overall, I just know that I'm missing things that I wouldn't if I had read those books as well. It sure gives me a reason to work on catching up on this series in 2018!

Overall, I found this book to be another enjoyable addition to this mystery series! I really enjoyed the set up for this book and thought that it added a different level of tension compared to other more typical mysteries that I have read. I will say that there were a lot of other different storylines with this book that at first I had a hard time following along with. Halfway through though, I was fully invested in each and eager to see how everything was going to turn out. I would be remiss if I also didn't mention how much I enjoy the references to Faith's cooking in these books. Mysteries that include food seem to be a favorite of mine that I can't get enough of! I wish that I was half as good of a cook as Faith is! I can easily recommend both this series and this book though! I don't plan on waiting too long before I move on to book two in this series!

Bottom Line: A solid mystery that added to my love of this series!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss.

The Body in the Casket tells the story of Faith Fairchild, a caterer who plans a big 70th birthday party for Broadway legend Max Dane. The problem? One of the guests wants Max dead. Faith juggles her catering work and sleuthing to solve the mystery.

This is my first Faith Fairchild mystery, and I really enjoyed it. I would like to go back and read the other novels in this series by Katherine Hall Page, but this book does work as a standalone.

The Body in the Casket is a wonderful traditional mystery. I found the rambling old mansion setting fascinating and loved the description of the house. I also enjoyed the theater details. I worked in theater in my 20's and thought these details were particularly well done.

I loved the storytelling in The Body in the Casket. The mystery was intriguing and kept me guessing for quite a while. The characters were well developed. I especially liked Faith and enjoyed the different aspects of her life -- part time sleuth, caterer, wife, and mother.

There were some unique elements of The Body in the Casket that I particularly liked. Faith received a list of guests from Max Dane's assistant early in the novel, so this also shared a list of characters with readers. There are a number of characters (and suspects!) and I found this list really helpful.

There are also italicized glimpses into the lives of the guests/suspects. The first time this occurred in the novel, I found it a little disconcerting because the style and perspective suddenly changed without a character attribution. However, once I realized these were scenes involving the dinner party guests, I found them very interesting and appreciated what they added to the story.

The book also includes several recipes in a section cleverly titled "Have Faith in Your Kitchen." The most intriguing recipe to me was Himmel und Erde (Heaven and Earth), a dish that includes Russet potatoes and apples.

The Body in the Casket is a very enjoyable read, and I would recommend it to other mystery fans. I am off to explore the rest of the series!

Amateur sleuth Faith Sibley Fairchild returns once again in the delightful series by the oh-so-talented Katherine Hall Page. Ever since her marriage several years ago to her clergyman husband, Tom, the transplanted New Yorker and proprietor of Have Faith in Your Kitchen catering has called the sleepy town of Aleford home. It’s been quite an adjustment for Faith, but she’s managed it with grace and nary a misstep, largely thanks to the friendship of the Fairchilds’ next door neighbor, Pix Miller, and her family.

But even Pix is surprised when Have Faith is called upon to cater a weekend birthday celebration in the secluded enclave of Havencrest for legendary Broadway producer Max Dane. Neither Havencrest, itself, nor Rowan House, Dane’s mansion, can be found on GPS, but that turns out to be the least of the surprises waiting for Faith when she accepts the job. Dane has received a death threat in the form of a casket, sent as an early present. The only thing in the casket is a twenty-year-old Playbill from Dane’s final, and only failed, production, Heaven or Hell. Fearing for his life, Dane has hired Faith to do double duty as live-in caterer and sleuth, and figure out which of his guests, all of whom were part of the failed production, is out to kill him.

It’s clear that the weekend is doomed. Two of the invited guests are unable to attend because they’ve just died. And the guests who show up aren’t there to celebrate the birthday of the man they blame for bringing a premature end to their theatrical careers. With so much squabbling inside the mansion, plus an ice storm swirling outside which temporarily cuts off power, it’s clear that Faith has a lot more to deal with than she ever expected.

“The Body in the Casket,” like the others in this series, is an intelligent, well-plotted mystery with believable, likeable characters and a satisfying, logical ending. Bravo!

If you've ever read a Agatha Christie mystery, you will fall in love with Katherine Hall Page's new mystery about Max Dane and his grand 70th birthday party that could possibility end in murder. Faith runs a catering business so when she gets a call asking her to cater a huge event in the historical piece of town by the grand playwright Maxwell Dane she is most excited and also very intrigued. He offers a luxury kitchen with everything Faith could want in the way of budget and food prep. He also offers a huge amount of money as well.

She tells him she will stop by to see the place and learn more details before she can commit as the man as also asked that she stay for the party all weekend long which involves leaving her family. Once Faith arrives and meets Max she soon realizes he wants more than her culinary expertise and is looking for her sleuthing solving skills as well. You see, Max has received a most interesting gift. It is an empty casket and Max is sure that one of his ten invited guests wants to see him in that casket.

I flew through this book. I couldn't believe how fast it read, and how intrigued I was by every aspect of the story. The author does a great job at making the reader imagine themselves as one of the characters in the story. I couldn't help but think "what would I do in many of these situations Faith found herself in".

This is my first book by Katherine Hall Page and I am excited that there are many more books I can pick up by her as well as more in the Faith Fairchild series. I was shocked when I realized this book was number #24! I can't wait to start from the beginning.

I have never thought of myself as much of a mystery reader, but Katherine has quickly converted me.

This book was a bit slow to get into but honestly once you get into it, it gets pretty good! I’d say about a quarter of the way in, I was really excited to continue reading! There are so many details given about so many of the characters that don’t have anything to do with the main plot, I often times had to go back to the beginning to get back on track. I didn’t mind in the beginning because I hoped it would make for good substance to build up the ending. It didn’t. I was so disappointed with the ending that I’m second guessing reading any of the other books in the Faith Fairchild Mystery series; which I was honestly looking forward to! I believe this was the last in the series (I’m not 100% sure so please don’t quote me on that 🤣).

The ending was underwhelming to say the least but, I can honestly say I learned a lot from reading this book! I’m not ashamed to admit that there are so many words in the book that I had never even read before; I stopped reading so many times to look up the definition and to hear the pronunciation of words. I’ve even taken pictures of many words to reference for later!

Also, there was a good bit of drama and a twist (you expect it but forget about it because the suspicion gets buried in all the other details) but it comes literally within the last few pages of the story. With so much character development of the other characters, I just wished the ending hit harder with the main characters!

The best parts of the book were all after the story:

- the Author’s Note
- the recipe list (if you read the book, you’ll get it ☺️)
- the About the Author section

I would recommend reading this book if you really enjoy plot development!

For a murder mystery there is amazingly little mystery or murder. There's the bones of an interesting thing here. Faith Fairchild, caterer and super sleuth, is hired to cater a party for a repulsive play producer who also wants her to figure out who is trying to kill him. A mysterious person slipped a casket into his home as an ominous message. Neat right? And since Fairchild is a caterer this clearly falls into one of those niche mystery genre books where it'll probably also be really heavy on the work of catering/food preperation, right?

f*ckING NOPE!

This book is 90% faffing about with subplots that don't go anywhere with characters the book thinks I should care about, but I picked this book at random at the library sooooo.

Again, there is some interesting bones. The Max plotline is interesting, has some neat set up, and if it wasn't in such a f*cking rush at the end had an interesting murder mystery. But like.....they just immediately solve it. Like someone FINALLY DIES and its not a bad conclusion I guess but THEN it has the real killer step out and just exposition his entire stupid plan and its so bad. The end of this book is so incredibly bad.

That said, does have some recipes at the end with brief food history. Its a shame the best part of this book is just a recipe for lobster pasta.

Seriously though, avoid this book. Its not even fun to make fun of. Its just dull from beginning to end and its only real solace is how short an experience it is.