Diane G. (icesk8tr) -
Helpful Score: 1
The ministers wife finds a body that has been murdered in th echurch belfry. Since this person was not the most loved in town there were many suspects in the murder.
Very good story!!
Very good story!!
Bonnie A. (ladycholla) -
Helpful Score: 1
Good 1st book for this series. Interesting start, hope characters continue to grow and develop.
Amy H. (catholicrose) -
Helpful Score: 1
This was, in general, a good story, but not an excellent one.
For one thing, I found it very difficult to sympathize with Faith.
In a first book, I want an introduction to a character, allowing me to get to know him/her over time and grow to like him/her more as I find out more about them in each story. Instead, it felt as though the author was trying too hard to make Faith seem authentic--as if trying to force me to care about her--by squeezing all of her thoughts, complexities and personality quirks into one story. It was too much at once, and made Faith seem inconsistent and unreliable, rather than complicated and genuine. If not for Benjamin and Jenny, I would not even have cared too much about the outcome of the life-threatening predicament in which she finds herself.
However, even though it was somewhat difficult to keep them all straight, I did find that I liked many of the other characters, and am looking forward to finding out more about them. There are a few parts that even made me laugh out loud.
The mystery itself was full of red herrings, twists and turns. Once I got into the story a bit, I enjoyed it. I would have preferred a bit more "tidy" an ending, but perhaps that wouldn't have been as believable for other readers.
Although I liked the book, it just didn't feel as "cozy" as most other cozy mysteries I've enjoyed, so I give it 3 stars.
For one thing, I found it very difficult to sympathize with Faith.
In a first book, I want an introduction to a character, allowing me to get to know him/her over time and grow to like him/her more as I find out more about them in each story. Instead, it felt as though the author was trying too hard to make Faith seem authentic--as if trying to force me to care about her--by squeezing all of her thoughts, complexities and personality quirks into one story. It was too much at once, and made Faith seem inconsistent and unreliable, rather than complicated and genuine. If not for Benjamin and Jenny, I would not even have cared too much about the outcome of the life-threatening predicament in which she finds herself.
However, even though it was somewhat difficult to keep them all straight, I did find that I liked many of the other characters, and am looking forward to finding out more about them. There are a few parts that even made me laugh out loud.
The mystery itself was full of red herrings, twists and turns. Once I got into the story a bit, I enjoyed it. I would have preferred a bit more "tidy" an ending, but perhaps that wouldn't have been as believable for other readers.
Although I liked the book, it just didn't feel as "cozy" as most other cozy mysteries I've enjoyed, so I give it 3 stars.
Janet B. (JannyB) - , reviewed The Body in the Belfry (Faith Fairchild, Bk 1) on + 162 more book reviews
Quick, fun read!
Stephanie S. (punkinema) -
This is the first in the series of Faith Fairchild and I look forward to reading the rest of them. Faith is learning all about small town living in Aleford, Massachusetts but she didn't know it would include finding a dead body. The book was very good, with lots of twists and many suspects, all of whom had good reason to kill Cindy. Even Cindy's fiance had good reason to kill her and he is, naturally, the first suspect to be questioned. Faith receives a blank envelope with a pink rose in it and she and Tom (her husband) believe it signifies a threat to her life. That doesn't stop her from asking questions until she asks the wrong person.
Sharon Z. (Texascher) reviewed The Body in the Belfry (Faith Fairchild, Bk 1) on + 14 more book reviews
Faith Fairchild wife of the local minister finds a body in the belfry of their quiet village
Lynne T. (mignon) reviewed The Body in the Belfry (Faith Fairchild, Bk 1) on + 256 more book reviews
This is the first book in this series-copyright 1990. Quite interesting to read a book 25+ years old. No cell phones make solving the mystery a lot harder! I am just trying this 'cozy' mystery series out. The only thing that seemed off kilter to me was how fast the heroine jumped from being a new mom/retired caterer/preacher's wife in a small town into being a super sleuth. I think the segue could have been more believable and then again I am just a reader and not a writer. Will continue for a few more books. Stay tuned.
Look forward to reading more from this author
Priscilla B. (Skeeter1942) reviewed The Body in the Belfry (Faith Fairchild, Bk 1) on + 131 more book reviews
During her years spent in New York City , Faith Fairchild was convinced she had seen pretty much everything. Bt the transplanted caterer/minister's wife was unprepared for the surprises awaiting her in the sleepy Massachusetts village of Aleford. And she is especially taken aback by the dead body of a pretty young thing she discovers stashed in the church's belfry. The victim, Cindy Shepard, was well-known locally for her acid tongue and her jilted beaux, which created a lot of bad blood and more than a few possible perpetrators...including her luckless finance, who had neighter an alibi nor a better way to break off the engaement. Faith thinks it's terribly unfair that the police have zeroed in on the hapless boyfriend, and so she sets out to uncover the truth. But digging too deeply into the sordid secrets of a small New England village tends to make the natives nervous. And an overly curious big city lady can become just another small town death statistic in very short order.
Michelle W. (maw68) reviewed The Body in the Belfry (Faith Fairchild, Bk 1) on + 21 more book reviews
During her years spent in New York City, Faith Fairchild was convinced she had seen pretty much everything. But the transplanted caterer/minister's wife was unprepared for the surprises awaiting her in the sleepy Massachusetts village of Aleford. And she is especially taken aback by the dead body of a pretty young thing she discovers stashed in the church's belfry. The victim, Cindy Shepherd, was well-known locally for her acid tongue and her jilted beaux, which created a lot of bad blood and more than a few possible perpetrators -- including her luckless fiance, who had neither an alibi nor a better way to break off the engagement. Faith thinks it's terribly unfair that the police have zeroed in on the hapless boyfriend, and so she sets out to uncover the truth. But digging too deeply into the sordid secrets of a small New England village tends to make the natives nervous. And an overly curious big city lady can become just another small town death statistic in very short order.
