The Body in the Lighthouse
A Faith Fairchild Mystery
By Katherine Hall Page  

     Faith Fairchild, caterer and minister's wife, returns in The Body in the Lighthouse. This is her thirteenth appearance, but that in no way dooms this story. The story began when the Fairchild went to Sanpere Island off the coast of Maine for their annual vacation.

     But their cottage wasn't ready for Faith and the two children, Ben, seven, and Amy, three. After one night in the unfinished mess, Faith accepted Ursula Rowe's invitation for the Fairchild family to stay with her at the Pines. Faith couldn't refuse the mother of her best friend, so she, Tom and the kids moved in for the short time it would take to finish the house.

      While there, Ursula confided to Faith that something was wrong on the island. Too many of their elderly folks were dying all at once. All of them had been sick, of course. And then, there was the dispute between Keep Sanpere Sanpere and Harold Hapswell. Hapswell, a realtor and developer, was building a gated community of hideous and huge homes on Butler Point. He had cleared the forest so these could be seen from the ocean, wrecking the view for all but the newcomers. Some of the summer folks had banded together to protest the development.

    Then, Persis Sanford, another realtor, was almost poisoned by some turpentine. The spray painting began next, then the fires in the development project. When Faith found Hapswell's body at the old lighthouse down the shore from Ursula's home, she knew things would only get worse. But could she solve the mystery before anyone else died?

     The Body in the Lighhouse is a plot full of twists, turns and wonderfully human characters. The end was quite unexpected. The recipes are mouth-watering. Katherine Page Hall is a new experience for me, but it is one I will love to repeat.