Body in the Belfry [Paperback]

Page's first novel lacks professional polish and a likable heroine, flaws not compensated for by vivid evocations of a New England autumn in Aleford, Mass. This is home to Faith Fairchild, a native New Yorker, now the wife of the town minister, Tom, and mother of their baby Benjamin. Although she loves her husband and child, Faith belittles the stodgy townspeople, except for a few friends. Eager to help good neighbors Patricia and Robert Moore, the minister's wife throws herself into investigating the murder of their niece, Cindy Shepherd, whose body Faith discovers in the church belfry. Cindy had been an embarrassment to the Moores, her guardians after the death of her parents; a promiscuous young woman, she had upset virtually everyone, even her pathetic fiance, Dave Svenson. When the police arrest Dave, the logical suspect, Faith goes on sleuthing while Tom tries to help the youth and his family. The self-appointed detective pries into the affairs of numerous suspects, risking her life as well as the lives of Benjamin and another child. Perhaps Faith's continued adventures will find her less snobbish and almost as cute as she thinks she is.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"Faith is a gem." -- Toronto Globe & mail --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Katherine Hall Page was born and grew up in New Jersey, graduating from Livingston High School. Her father was the Executive Director of The Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and her mother is an artist. She has a brother and sister. Early on the family developed a love of the Maine coast, spending summer vacations on Deer Isle. She received her BA from Wellesley College, majoring in English and went on to a Masters in Secondary Education from Tufts and a Doctorate in Administration, Public Planning, and Social Policy from Harvard. College had brought her to Massachusetts and she continues to reside there. Before her career as a full-time writer, Ms. Page taught at the high school level for many years. She developed a program for adolescents with special emotional needs, a school within a school model, that dealt with issues of truancy, substance abuse, and family relationships. Those five years in particular were rich ones for her. This interest in individuals and human behavior later informed her writing.

Married for twenty-seven years to Professor Alan Hein, an experimental psychologist at MIT, the couple have one nineteen-year-old son. It was during her husband's sabbatical year in France after the birth of their son that Ms. Page wrote her first mystery, The Body in theBelfry, 1991 Agatha Award winner for Best First Mystery Novel. The thirteenth in the series, The Body in the Lighthouse, will be published by William Morrow in the spring. Ms. Page was also awarded the 2001 Agatha for Best Short Story for "The Would-Be Widower" in the Malice Domestic X collection (Avon Books). She was an Edgar nominee for her juvenile mystery, Christie& Company Down East.

Descended from Norwegian-Americans on her mother's side and New Englanders on her father's, Ms. Page grew up listening to all sorts of stories. She remains an unabashed eavesdropper and will even watch your slides or home movies to hear your narration. Her books are the product of all the strands of her life and she plans to keep weaving.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.