The Body in the Wardrobe

February 29, 2016
In Agatha-winner Page’s agreeable 23rd Faith Fairchild mystery, lawyer Sophie Maxwell joins her new husband, PI Will Maxwell, whom she met in Maine in 2015’s The Body in the Birches, in Savannah, Ga., his hometown. In a scene reminiscent of Rebecca, Will reacts violently when Sophie retrieves his deceased grandmother’s dress from the attic of his family’s house. Sophie then stumbles over a body that promptly vanishes, so that everyone believes she has imagined it or has seen an apparition. Next, she’s shoved into a storage room missing an interior latch. In addition, Will’s beautiful ex-girlfriend, Laura Belvedere, seems to still be in the picture, and Sophie begins to suspect that the deaths of Will’s wealthy grandmother and a colleague are suspicious. Faith, Sophie’s sleuthing caterer friend, flies to the rescue. Though readers may wish Sophie displayed more of a backbone, they will enjoy this entry in which danger—and clues—turn up in unexpected places. Agent: Faith Hamlin, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.

April 1, 2016

Faith Fairchild met Sophie Maxwell on Sanpere Island (The Body in the Birches), and they have remained friends. Now living in historic Savannah, GA, the newly married Sophie claims to have found a body in an antique wardrobe, but everyone thinks she saw a ghost, a by-product of inhabiting a haunted house. Faith welcomes a chance to head south to help her friend and eat some tasty low-country food. Great recipes included, as usual. [See Prepub Alert, 10/19/15.]

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2016
Two cultures gently clash. Yankee Sophie meets Southerner Will in Maine. After marrying at her mother's Connecticut Victorian home overlooking Long Island Sound and honeymooning on Georgia's beautiful Tybee Island, they move to Savannah, where they take up residence in a home that Will's stepmother is renovating until they can find a place of their own. Sophie, an attorney, goes to work for Will's father, who's finally gotten over his disappointment that despite his law degree, Will prefers being a private detective. Culture shock sets in when Sophie starts to meet Will's vast family and appreciate the differences between her ways and Southern ways. She loves everything about Savannah, from the beautiful architecture to the wonderful food, but with Will often in Atlanta on business, she begins to learn some uncomfortable facts about his past. Their stunning, pushy real estate agent, who'd planned on marrying Will, reveals while they're house hunting that the bridegroom, who inherited his grandmother's estate, is a much wealthier man than Sophie knew. Meanwhile, Will's cousin Patty Sue plays some nasty tricks on Sophie. When a body falls out of her wardrobe and then vanishes, Sophie knows it's time to call her dear friend Faith Fairchild, that experienced amateur sleuth (The Body in the Birches, 2015, etc.), for advice. Faith, who lives in Massachusetts with her minister husband and two children, has problems of her own. Mean girls are harassing her daughter, who's been forced to change schools, and her husband is thinking of moving to another ministry. After several more strange events, though, Faith pulls herself away from her domestic crises and flies down to support Sophie and help her solve a series of crimes. A paean to the beauties of Savannah with more romantic suspense than true mystery, but it's still a charming tale filled with lively characters and mouthwatering descriptions of local food.

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March 15, 2016
Faith Fairchild's good friend, newlywed Sophie Maxwell, has moved to Savannah with her new husband, private investigator Will Maxwell, and begun work as an attorney in her father-in-law's law firm. While Will is away in Atlanta working on a case, Sophie discovers a body in the wardrobe in the bedroom of their rental home. However, when the police arrive, the body is gone, and no one believes her. Making matters worse, Will has become distant; someone in his large, extended family clearly dislikes her; and her real-estate agent is none other than Will's former girlfriend. Meanwhile, back in Aleford, Massachusetts, Faith's daughter is being bullied by mean girls, Faith's husband is wrestling with a life-changing decision, and an elderly neighbor is acting out of character. When Sophie needs her, Faith travels to Savannah, and the two identify a murderer and uncover long-buried secrets. Rich in details of the city of Savannah, its cuisine, and the particulars of southern living, this satisfying mystery nicely weaves in the backstories of series characters' lives that cozy readers relishand it includes recipes of southern delicacies.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)