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kathydavie's review against another edition
3.0
Eleventh chronologically and twelfth in the publication order in the Faith Fairchild cooking mystery series set in the small town of Aleford, Massachusetts.
In 2002, The Body in the Bonfire was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Novel.
My Take
Daryl was amazing, he is so mature and insightful for his age with a wicked sense of humor; I hope he'll appear in future Faith Fairchild installments.
The whole concept of a cooking class for high school students is a good one. I should think that such a course could be tailored to account for college-bound students who would be cooking in a dorm or a very restricted space. I like that Faith included table manners as part of the course.
Faith learns both about the characters of the individual students as well as gaining some reassurance as to when Ben hits the teen barrier.
My peeve in this story is that I didn't feel she had much in the way of evidence when she leapt to her conclusion of who was behind the racial attacks. Yes, he seemed the most obvious, but there was no evidence for it. In fact, Faith seemed to leap to conclusions quite a bit; it would certainly make me leery of partnering up with her.
Patsy Avery is the driving force in this story. Pix is having her own particular crisis with her son, Danny…oops, I mean Dan, in this issue. To top it off, Lorraine Kennedy is so not a Faith fan!
Still, it is a quick and easy read with a very homey feel to it.
The Story
Patsy Avery has asked Faith to conduct a two-and-a-half week cooking class at the local prep school as a cover to investigate racial attacks on a young black student.
The Characters
Faith Fairchild is a caterer, wife, mother, and much-too-interested amateur sleuth. The Revered Tom Fairchild is her husband. The kids, Ben and Amy, add their small complications. Pix is a neighbor and good friend — as well as a sounding board for all things family. Dan is one of Pix's kids.
Mansfield Academy is…
…a prep school in Massachusetts. Daryl Martin is a young black student there.
Patsy Avery is a lawyer and Daryl's main champion. Her husband, Will, is also a lawyer; he makes a brief appearance.
Lorraine Kennedy is a colleague of John Dunne's.
The Title
The title is of The Body in the Bonfire that underscores the seething cauldron of the school.
In 2002, The Body in the Bonfire was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Novel.
My Take
Daryl was amazing, he is so mature and insightful for his age with a wicked sense of humor; I hope he'll appear in future Faith Fairchild installments.
The whole concept of a cooking class for high school students is a good one. I should think that such a course could be tailored to account for college-bound students who would be cooking in a dorm or a very restricted space. I like that Faith included table manners as part of the course.
Faith learns both about the characters of the individual students as well as gaining some reassurance as to when Ben hits the teen barrier.
My peeve in this story is that I didn't feel she had much in the way of evidence when she leapt to her conclusion of who was behind the racial attacks. Yes, he seemed the most obvious, but there was no evidence for it. In fact, Faith seemed to leap to conclusions quite a bit; it would certainly make me leery of partnering up with her.
Patsy Avery is the driving force in this story. Pix is having her own particular crisis with her son, Danny…oops, I mean Dan, in this issue. To top it off, Lorraine Kennedy is so not a Faith fan!
Still, it is a quick and easy read with a very homey feel to it.
The Story
Patsy Avery has asked Faith to conduct a two-and-a-half week cooking class at the local prep school as a cover to investigate racial attacks on a young black student.
The Characters
Faith Fairchild is a caterer, wife, mother, and much-too-interested amateur sleuth. The Revered Tom Fairchild is her husband. The kids, Ben and Amy, add their small complications. Pix is a neighbor and good friend — as well as a sounding board for all things family. Dan is one of Pix's kids.
Mansfield Academy is…
…a prep school in Massachusetts. Daryl Martin is a young black student there.
Patsy Avery is a lawyer and Daryl's main champion. Her husband, Will, is also a lawyer; he makes a brief appearance.
Lorraine Kennedy is a colleague of John Dunne's.
The Title
The title is of The Body in the Bonfire that underscores the seething cauldron of the school.
amlibera's review against another edition
4.0
More like 3.5 - I enjoy the ways in which Page sets these mystery novels clearly in the time she wrote them, this one references early 2000s computer culture. The mystery is (as per usual) not necessarily solvable by the reader and there is the final confrontation with the real murderer who reveals all. But a good read for all of that.
julieputty's review
3.0
The mystery wasn't as satisfying as some, but snobby Faith made me laugh this time (sometimes she's just annoying).
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