Review: The Body in the Wake by Katherine Hall Page

Kerry Hammond is here to tell us about the latest book in the Faith Fairchild mystery series by Katherine Hall Page.

Katherine Hall Page, author of the long-running Faith Fairchild mystery series, has released her 25th book in that series. The Body in the Wake was published on May 7, in Hardcover, by William Morrow. Any author that can keep a series fresh for 25 books amazes me, yet Page manages to do just that.

In The Body in the Wake, Faith and her friend Sophie are taking a swim in the pond when they come across the dead body of an unknown man. The police are baffled by the man’s death as well as the strange tattoo he has on his arm. Faith, although busy helping plan her friend Pix’s daughter’s wedding, finds time to do a little sleuthing with Sophie to find out what the man was doing in town and why he was killed.

Followers of the series have seen a lot happen in Faiths world. Kids have grown, and there have been many marriages, funerals, and babies. These books are feel good reads where catching up with the characters is just as important as the plot, and this plot hits close to home by dealing with the opioid crisis. Page does a great job weaving a real-life issue into a fictional murder mystery; the details are all too realistic.

Life at Faith’s summer cottage in Maine is always interesting and I think the setting makes the book a great summer beach read. Each installment reads well as a standalone and the author manages to give enough backstory for those who jump in mid-series. So reading them out of order isn’t an issue.

A great added bonus: the books have a large culinary component and the author includes recipes in the back that appear in the story.

This book was provided to Mystery Playground by the publisher. The review was fair and completely independent.

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