THE BODY IN THE FJORD

Eighth in a homespun series (The Body in the Bog, 1996, etc.) usually focused on busybody Faith Fairchild, a minister's wife in Aleford, Mass., who runs a catering service with the help of Pix Miller, a mother of two. Here, Pix's own mother, Ursala Rowe, has had a call for help from her old friend Marit Hansen, longtime resident in Norway: Marit's granddaughter Kari has vanished after the drowning death of her fiancÇe Erik. The two had left their jobs as guides on a Scandie Sights tour, supposedly to elope. In short order, Ursala and Pix are on their way to Norway to join the ongoing tour and help Marit find her granddaughter. As the tour group moves from town to town and fjord to fjord, Pix and Ursala cross-question the other travelers, mostly American, and the current guides Carl and Jan, finding out little but provoking someone to lock Pix in a sauna. It's also her misfortune to discover the body of Oscar Melling, an obnoxious New Jerseyite, who's been killed in a seemingly accidental fall. The huge swastika painted overnight on the front lawn of one hotel is bad enough, evoking connections to the country's Quisling past, but it takes the kidnapping, imprisonment, and eventual escape of our heroine to accomplish the trip's mission. Masses of tourist-guide information; lots of inane chitchat; an endless parade of food and drink (recipes included), and a string of common-sensedefying plot developments: all make, together, an uncompelling, often tedious outing. (Author tour)