The Body in the Kelp

Faith Fairchild #2

by Katherine Hall Page

It seems as if nothing is going to liven up Faith Fairchild's deathly dull vacation on Maine's Sanpere Island -- until she buys a beautiful handmade quilt at an estate auction. Lovingly constructed by wealthy, deceased, and detested Matilda Prescott, Faith's purchase turns out to be quite a bargain indeed -- especially when she discovers it to be a map to the old woman's hidden treasure. But instead of pointing the transplanted New York caterer-turned-minister's wife toward the fabled Prescott gold, Matilda's artfully crafted clues lead Faith to a kelp-covered corpse floating in a nearby tidal pool. Once again, the resourceful amateur sleuth has become entangled in a dangerous puzzle, ensnared in twisted, lethal threads of familial greed and cold-blooded homicide. And Faith won't be satisfied until she has the whole murderous matter sewn up.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Audiobook, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 15, 1990

About the author

Katherine Hall Page is the author of twenty-five previous Faith Fairchild mysteries, the first of which received the Agatha Award for best first mystery. The Body in the Snowdrift was honored with the Agatha Award for best novel of 2006. Page also won an Agatha for her short story “The Would-Be Widower.” The recipient of the Malice Domestic Award for Lifetime Achievement, she has been nominated for the Edgar, the Mary Higgins Clark, the Maine Literary, and the Macavity Awards. She lives in Massachusetts and Maine with her husband.

Reviews

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faith Fairchild and her toddler Benjamin may be on vacation in Maine, but murder never takes a holiday. Faith has joined her good friend Pix Miller at Sanpere Island, where her family has summered for decades. Two friends, both incomers and potters, inherit a house when a wealthy spinster die and leaves her home to them instead of her family. When one of the lucky heirs turns up dead on the beach, Faith can’t help but snoop around.

I’m not sure I liked the sequel as well as the debut book, but that’s only because The Body in the Belfry was so suspenseful and humorous. I enjoyed the islanders, and it was fun to see baby Benjamin grow up just a little. I don’t want him to grow up too fast, as I want this series to last a nice, long time. Looking forward to No. 3, The Body in the Bouillon.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent mystery, I didn't see the killer until the end. However, the length of the chapters absolutely turned me off. These chapters were right about twenty pages each, which is entirely too long in my opinion. I would start a chapter and feel like I'd lose interest, even though the story was excellent. I will read the next one!

[Lesa Neace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came late to this mystery series starting with the newer books first. This volume is the second in the series of cozy mysteries featuring minister's wife, Faith Fairchild, displaced New Yorker and Foodie. This series works in real time as the characters age and evolve as time passes. So it was a bit of a treat to see the characters at younger ages than that to which I was accustomed. The setting for "The Body in the Kelp" was Maine instead of the usual Aleford, MA and offered a rich view of island life Down East. Add a really interesting mystery and you've got a great read. But I must admit I really don't understand what's so offensive about hot dogs and casseroles.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Body in the Kelp was my second visit to the world of Faith Fairchild, ex-New York foodie and wife of handsome minister Tom. In this book Faith and her 2 year old son are staying in a rented cabin on a quiet Maine island while her husband is away, attending a conference for most of the summer. She quickly makes friends with several of the locals and attends an auction where she bids on and wins a quilt made by a recently deceased wealthy recluse. This leads to a mystery, several murders and all sorts of mayhem making short work of her plans for a sleepy island idyll.
I liked this book and its clever and likeable protagonist, and will look for the next in the series.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

"There's a murderer on this island who, in addition to the regularly-scheduled murdering, is out to get me. Should I go for a walk in the foggy woods alone?"

"Absolutely."

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plot was good, but Faith Fairchild was surprisingly unlikeable.

[Larraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a few "guilty pleasure" authors. They are writers who are a lot of fun with characters who are pretty much flawless unlike the rest of us. We have Faith Fairchild, former up and coming Manhattan caterer, who fell head over heels in love with Tom Fairchild, an Episcopal minister, and gave it all up. (Of course having a modest trust fund from your grandmother helps cushion the blow. See what I mean?) Of course she is beautiful, has the ability to cook gourmet meals while taking care of a 2 yr old and, oh, by the way, is always finding a body wherever she is. In this episode, Faith is on a vacation on a Maine island called Sanpere. Their neighbors, Pix and Sam, have a summer house. Of course, Sam is an attorney, and Pix is a housewife. Faith has been working on bringing good food to their small town of Alesford near Boston, but this is a vacation. Still, thanks to two teenage girls, she has the time to whip up a fish mousse plus some other gourmet delights. This book is a fun read with more than one body, a lost treasure and more. It's a fun series and a good break after reading something dark.

[Anne Libera · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a duality in this series that I find fascinating (and occasionally frustrating/confusing). There are the long sections of cozy descriptions of wealth/virtual wealth/ a kind of Martha Stewart (circa 1990) version of "the good life." And then the violent and abrupt murder mystery elements with a sort of reverse-engineered plotting (they do make sense in retrospect but not in and "oh, of course, now I see it" way but in more of a "that was a weird detail for the author to include and now I get why" manner. The central figure is part Nancy Drew - a bit too virtuous, a bit too lucky in her easy access to highly competent babysitters, and in her serendipitous stumbling upon clues. But there is an interesting frisson of judgment of her from the author that appears every once in a while- Faith is blind to her own faults but I'm not sure that we're not meant to see them clearly for what they are. Regardless, I'm finding that this series holds my interest and I'm curious to see if/how these dualities continue.

[Carole Jarvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot to like about this cozy mystery series. The protagonist, Faith Fairchild, for one... wife of an Episcopal pastor named Tom, mother of 2-year-old Benjamin, ex-caterer in Manhattan. I'm drawn to New England settings, so the small-town Massachusetts setting of Aleford holds great appeal.

The Body in the Kelp has an atmospheric setting on an island off the Maine coast, where a vacationing Faith and Benjamin spend time while Tom attends a conference. Island images were vivid, making me feel as if I was actually there. While the previous (and first) book in this series moved at a steady pace, this story seemed filled with lengthy descriptions that slowed the action down somewhat. But the mystery was well plotted and unpredictable, making this a very enjoyable read overall.

Mainstream fiction with a few instances of mild profanity.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

PAGE, Katherine Hall -- THe Body in the Kelp 4/B 11/24/11
Mystery/1991/St. Martin's/246 LP
#2 in Faith Fairchild series
1990's/Sampere Island, Maine
Faith Fairchild/ minister's wife, former caterer, mother to Ben
1st lines: Matilda Prescott was sitting up in bed piecing a quilt.
Comments: Nice comfortable read. Faith and family are summering on a small island off the coast of ME. Her friend Pix has a home there and suggested they try this area. A nice mix of summer people and islanders are included in the list of characters for this entry. Faith is out walking w/ Ben when they find a body of a neighbor covered in kelp. Roger is a newer resident to the area, a potter who recently co-inherited an older Victorian home w/ his business partner. Some of the long-time residents are not too happy about this home leaving the "family" and going to newcomers. Enjoying this series!

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad - plausible body finding and she keeps track of the child - I have seen other authors forget that a babysitter must be included as one rushes away to follow clues when one has a toddler.

Faith can be irritating - she is a food snob, and her taste in food is not good. She can't seem to summon up the personal oomph to let her sister know she doesn't want to be called "Fay". And she can be fairly stupid about some things, but I can't complain about the thing that irritated me the most because it would be a spoiler! However, she does grow on one. And I do like her friend Pix.

There aren't enough clues to the murderer in this one, although it was plausible when revealed. The very end of the book makes me think we will get to see more of the friends that Faith made this summer, and that is good. They are all interesting characters.

[Jehnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Not great, not terrible

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

"That was the trouble with nature. It looked so good, but once you were out in it, there were all these hidden drawbacks."

This is a very cozy mystery to me because it talks about so much other than the main mystery. We get opinions about casseroles, conversations about the Sanpere fog, and in depth recaps of a funeral. Faith is still adjusting to new motherhood with baby Benjamin and she's at Sanpere for the first time (and from reading newer books in the series, the Fairchilds go back regularly over the years).

"Somewhere along the line he had lost that sweet, milky baby fragrance and taken on a sweet, sweaty little-boy smell. It had happened before she realized it."

I am very glad there was a picture of the quilt in the front of the book so that we could match up the quilt squares with Pix and Faith. The ending made sense to me but I agree with another review that I would never have guessed who it was from any clues in the book (were there any?).

I actually thought it was Jill, not because of any particular motive she might have had but just because she felt the least likely. Eric (whose last name changes in the book) and Margery are apparently lovers and murderers. Eric is also a drug trafficker and killed his best friend Roger because Roger was going to marry his long lost love Bird. He also killed Matilda so he could inherit her house sooner. I did appreciate that there were two "treasures" - the one with the deed to the Point, very valuable real estate in Sanpere, and the gold coins that Tom finds in one of the auction lot boxes.

As I read I was trying to remember what characters come back in future books. Nan and Freeman seemed familiar.

While these aren't the most compelling of reads, they are comforting in their own way. Faith can be a bit judgmental, particularly about food not found in New York, but she does seem real to me in that regard.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the strangest thing. This is the 2nd book in a series--a cozy series for Pete's sake--and I like it. Already put the next one on hold. The setting has completely charmed me...northern New England is an area I only visited once...but I think I could happily live there. And the story, characters, and local color were charming as well. Faith, the minister's wife who is the main character, is a fully fleshed out character with a delightful personality but with some quirks and very un-expected (for a minister's wife) opinions. She has a lot of help in solving this mystery from her good friend, as she and baby are visiting a quaint Maine Island where her friend Pix and family have a summer home. Even though the mystery part of the story takes a long time to start happening, once it does with the first murder, it comes on like gangbusters, becoming very dark indeed with fights, break-in's, stalking, and dead bodies galore. It's a bit of a treasure hunt as well, when Faith comes into possession of a quilt that turns out to be a map to a rumored stash belonging to the quilter, whose death at the beginning of the story(which is not quite as "natural" as initially ruled) starts the whole bloody sequence. The ending of the story rather reverts to cozy format with everything wrapped up tidily and a happily ever after feel, but that's ok in this one, since it hints that this setting will figure in more of Faith's adventures. Yay! More vicarious NE vacations for me!

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty standard cozy type mystery. The writing is fine and the story was good. There were a number of random typos that I can only put down to AI error in the typesetting of the digital file. The original publication date is 1990 so it's likely there was OCR involved in creating the kindle version.

Faith is a wife and mother but also has her own small business as a part time caterer. But this summer they're in Maine having rented a house near that of friends of theirs. The weather is great, the friend's teenage daughter LOVES babysitting young Benjamin and they're fitting right into the local 'society' of both regular residents and summer people.

But -- as in the first book -- Faith happens upon a body which is soon determined to be a tragic accident. But things don't sit right somehow. There is some bad blood between the dead man and some long time locals but is it bad enough for murder? Then there's the unfinished quilt top she got at an estate auction -- it's a sampler quilt but the more she and her friend Pix look at it, the more they think it's more than that. And people are acting ... weird.

In the end, everything hung together, though I had not at ALL pegged the full solution. I had noticed some anomalies but hadn't put it all together. I'm not sure Faith did either, until the final showdown, but she realized the situation quickly and acted appropriately -- no 'too stupid to live' silliness with an ironic final coda that was exactly right.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not having known this was the second in a series, I had no trouble jumping in. I'm generally more of a thriller-mystery type person, so my rather mid reaction to this book might be due to it leaning more towards what I understand to be a cozy-mystery. It was serviceable, the unfolding of the various elements flowed and seemed reasonable. The reader got to know the community well. One thing I'm not sure I feel about is completely minor. While I appreciated the amount of local knowledge when it came to services and geography and had a good laugh at the 'locals' comments about what was happening to 'their island' as I hear those same things to today--things that aren't completely unwarranted -- at times it edged towards screaming HEY I KNOW MAINE maybe a little too hard. And while I realize the point of mysteries that are as much about the vibe and atmosphere and it words as the protagonist is 'from away', the amount of seafood consumed and full out spreads at some point made me start shaking my head. Though Faith's fear about potluck supper casseroles is pretty on the money.

[Jean Boobar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed listening to account of the adventures of a summer visitor in a Maine island community. The reader on the CD wasn't very skilled talking with a Maine dialect, but she tried. Faith, her minister husband Tom and 2-yr old Ben were renting a summer cottage where Pix, her good friend lived. Lots of descriptions of what they cooked along with special spots to visit around the island. She attended a local auction and had the winning bid on the unfinished hand-made quilt. She and Pix realized that the pieces were part of a message, and worked diligently to uncover the mystery of various spots in the community that might ultimately lead to a legendary "pot of gold." Faith seemed destined for calamities, large and small. She and her young son discovered "the body in the kelp". and were followed in the woods. The ultimate threat was their lives being at risk if they did not turn over the gold they had supposedly found.

It was a good mystery and an easy listen.

[Sandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faith Fairchild and her friend Pix find themselves embroiled in couple of mysteries while vacationing on an island off the coast of Maine called Sanpere Island. While attending an estate sale for Matilda Prescott, Faith purchases a beautiful cradle and an unfinished quilt that turns out to be a treasure map. But while trying to follow the clues three people are found dead. Faith's son, Benjamin running on beach, thinks he sees a man swimming but it turns out to be a dead man and it is a friend of Faith's . It is thought to be an boating accident but the second dead body Faith found was a horrible murder. There is a lot of things happening on Sanpere Island besides summer vacationing, dances, lobster stews, and fairs. The mystery is a really good and I would have never guessed what really happened on Sanpere Island that summer.

[Karen Stallman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this second Faith Fairchild mystery. Her books are a fun - fast read and just right for on the bus ride to and from work or on the weekend. I find her prose to be witty and I love the relationship between Faith and her best friend, Pix. The setting and interactions between the characters are enjoyable and the mystery has just enough twists and turns to be interesting.

Faith and her family are vacationing on an island off the coast of Maine, along with her best friend Pix and her family. An elderly woman is found dead and her newly-completed quilt seems to have clues to the woman's stash of gold coins. Faith and Pix have a real challenge in unraveling the clues, while even more people begin to die.

[Julie Trapp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faith and her minister husband Tom have gone to Sanpere Island for a summer vacation. Tom is called away to a 3-week religious retreat leaving Faith and 2-yr old Benjamin to enjoy the vacation without him. At an auction, she buys a quilt made by an island resident who has died and left her mansion and the contents to non-locals. Oh, horrors!!! In the investigation that she wiggles her way into, 2 more murders are discovered and the quilt that she purchased has clues to a mystery. Again, Faith comes across as a snob of the first class. Nothing compares to NYC. She also cannot seem to find the time to take care of her son - always pawns him off on a friend's daughter.

[Deb White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coast of Maine, Sanpere Island (between Boothbay and Bar Harbor) Quilts!!!
Faith and her son, Ben, are on this island for the summer. Husband, Tom, is off island at a seminar. Her friend, Pix, has a teenage daughter who babysits Ben.
Roger is found dead on the rocks wrapped in kelp seaweed. Why?
Roger and Eric inherited an old family house from a prominent island family. Was someone jealous? Wanted the treasure in the house?
Then "Bird" (young female neighbor) is murdered. What is going on? Is there a map in the quilt to find the gold treasure?
Lots of people to keep straight in this book...who did it?

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd book in Faith Fairchild series was much better than the first, though the ending got very convoluted. Set on Sanpere island off Presumscot Bay attached by a Bridge to the Maine mainland, the action involves familiar locations as Faith literally stumbles over two bodies while vacationing on the island where her Aleford MA neighbor Pix Miller has summered forever. The unfinished quilt top Faith buys at an auction reveals itself as a map made by the unwanted and lonely spinster living in the family manse to the legendary hidden treasure of an ancestor. Very believable until the end. I like the author’s wry sense of humor. Will keep reading the series.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faith and Ben are in Maine on an island and Faith discovers the body of a neighbor, Roger, who is partnered with Eric, a potter. This is a business only relationship as he also loves Bird, the next victim.

Eric dates Jill but he's more interested in the Prescott fortune. He and Roger had inherited the mansion, and Faith has won the treasure hunt map, a quilt. She and Pix, her neighbor in Massachusetts, decipher the clues and find the box and are overpowered by those also interested in it.

I own a copy.

[Linda C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faith, her minister husband, Tom, and son, Ben, rent a cottage on Sanpere Island in Maine for the month of August next door to their good friends Pix, Sam and daughter, Samantha. Sam and Tom leave for the middle weeks and their wives get involved in a murder case when Faith finds a body. But more than that is going on. There are gold coins to find and a treasure map to figure out. I felt this mystery was better than the first volume but I really have not warmed up to Faith yet. She seems a bit snobby and to get easily bored.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, it’s really two and a half. Really the first 2/3rds are interesting. It’s the denouement that gets me every time. Too surprising, too rabbit out of a hat. The problem with cozies, as much as I love to escape with them, is that the perfectly normal main character keeps turning up dead bodies. Willing suspension of disbelief and all that, my issue with the Faith Fairchild books (all two of them I’ve read so far) is that the ending comes fast and furiously and unlikely.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a quilter, I loved having a quilt be a treasure map. Nice twist on what and where the treasure actually was.
I was surprised to find half a dozen errors of, probably, an algorithm that permissted sentences that made sense alone but not in context. Allowing now to substitute for not, or having an action that was completely logical but not by a two year old child.
Lots of fun. Love her writing style.

[Jeanne Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early entry in the Faith Fairchild series (#2). I have read most of the later books, so it was nice to read an early one. It was also nice to see how much Faith has grown as a person, realizing that NYC isn't everything - that other places have their attractions, too. The mystery was well done. There were lots of possible suspects and the killer was a bit of a surprise. Overall, I enjoyed this early peek at the Faith Fairchild series.

[Rachel N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faith Fairchild and her young son Ben are summering in Maine while her preacher husband attends a conference. Faith's friend Pix and her attend an estate sale on the island and Faith buys a quilt that might lead to missing gold. Faith also stumbles across the body of a local artist in a tide pool. I enjoyed the setting and the characters but the mystery this time around was pretty slow paced.

[Dail Sams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faith Fairchild spends a long vacation on an island off the coast of Maine, expecting a quiet, relaxed getaway. Tension, building into fear, begins with a feud between long-term residents and relative newcomers becomes violent and Faith seems to find herself at the wrong place at the right time to find two dead bodies.

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

the 2nd book in the Faith Fairchild series continues to find Faith immersed in murders, this time while on vacation in Maine. Faith doesn't mean to become involved in solving murders, but she keeps stumbling upon bodies of murder victims. What else can she do but solve the murders. I am so glad I discovered this series and extremely glad to learn there are more than 20 books to go.