From Publishers Weekly
Developers and environmentalists do battle over a deserted lighthouse in Page's 13th absorbing "body" book (after 2002's The Body in the Bonfire) to feature Faith Fairchild, caterer, sometime sleuth and mother of two small children. Faith and her minister husband, Tom, who live most of the year in Aleford, Mass., are fixing up their cottage on Maine's Sanpere Island, where "mansionization"-the construction of trophy houses by rich summer people-is making the locals resentful. One evening the falling tide reveals the body of developer Harold Hapswell "wedged between two granite ledges at the base of the old lighthouse... as if he'd been filed between the two large rocks." Suspecting Hapswell's death was no accident, Faith has her worst fears confirmed when she herself is attacked on a walk near the lighthouse. Beneath the tranquil and festive summer activities, including the island-wide Fish and Fritter Fry and an amateur production of Romeo and Juliet, lurk arson and murder. Along with thematically related recipes, the author appends a moving afterword about the impact of September 11 on the novel's composition. This is an ideal beach read for cozy fans heading for the shore this summer.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
When caterer Faith Fairchild leaves the Massachusetts parsonage where her husband is pastor for a new summer cottage on Sanpere Island in Maine, she's not prepared for its woefully unfinished state. But that allows her family to stay with her friend Pix's lovely and wise mother, Ursula, who knows everyone on the island. With an environmental group fighting hard--and sometimes nastily--to keep development at bay, the apparent drowning of a developer at the foot of the picturesque lighthouse raises questions. Through a summer full of set pieces--the local theater production of
Romeo and Juliet, the ancient family feuds, the natives who eschew even electricity, and the siren lure of Home Depot--another murder and other mysteries unfold. Through it all, Faith cooks, keeps her arms around her children and stalwart spouse, and gets a hefty dose of local color, recipes included. Pleasant cozy fare, although the trend of casting environmentalists as bad guys has become an epidemic.
GraceAnne DeCandidoCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
