THE BODY IN THE SLEIGH
by Katherine Hall Page
A babe in a manger and a somewhat older babe dead in a sleigh provide sleuthing caterer Faith Fairchild with a Christmas conundrum.
Faith Fairchild and her family are spending the holiday season on Maine’s Sanpere Island. Even the allegedly idyllic island in Penobscot Bay has not escaped the evils of the drug trade. Faith discovers the corpse of a teen with island connections, presumably the victim of a fatal overdose, in an antique sleigh. In the meantime Mary Bethany, a spinster who runs a summer B&B, keeps goats and makes cheese, has found Christopher, a newborn baby boy, in her barn, along with a note asking her to keep the baby and a paper bag with $50,000 to defray costs. Mary enlists Faith to help her find the baby’s mother from a short list of people who knew of the reclusive goatkeeper. As Faith’s husband, Rev. Thomas Fairchild, amuses the children while recovering from a gallstone operation, Faith begins her journey of discovery. She soon finds a connection between the baby’s mother, Miriam Carpenter, a college student with a drug-dealing boyfriend, and Norah, the dead teen whose Sanpere boyfriend is a suspect in her murder. Drug dealers insufficiently supplied with the Christmas spirit make life dangerous for Faith and Mary.
No more mystery than usual for Faith (The Body in the Gallery, 2008, etc.), but the feel-good Christmas theme, pleasant characters and recipes will keep the faithful content.