William Morrow, 2008
During a recent book signing at Quail Ridge Books, which she described as a "Mecca" for writers, Katherine Hall Page talked about how she came to write the Fair Fairchild mystery series. The Body in the Gallery is the seventeenth in a series that has maintained the quality of its writing and readers' interest. Each mystery can stand alone, but reading them in sequence enhances the pleasure. Like Miss Marple and Poirot, Faith solves murders with her brain rather than with CSI-style gadgetry.
At the beginning there was no intention of writing a series, but an editor asked for a second one. Her editor at St. Martin's Press said she could help with plot, but she could not supply a "voice." That first novel, however, had a voice that has remained constant throughout. Page said that she wrote in a style consistent with what she liked to read - Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, for example.
She wanted to write about an amateur sleuth in the third person, female voice. It was necessary to provide some reason for access so Faith's profession was a caterer. Caterers go places, see people. Plus, Page liked food. Then, she made Faith a minister's wife, a "profession" which also goes places and sees people, and a person in whom others tend to confide. Faith has an outsider's perspective so she can look at the life of her fictional town with fresh ideas; Faith is from New York, now living in the Boston area. She had a definite edge in the earliest books and really missed the city, but her feelings have softened somewhat during the series.
During a recent book signing at Quail Ridge Books, which she described as a "Mecca" for writers, Katherine Hall Page talked about how she came to write the Fair Fairchild mystery series. The Body in the Gallery is the seventeenth in a series that has maintained the quality of its writing and readers' interest. Each mystery can stand alone, but reading them in sequence enhances the pleasure. Like Miss Marple and Poirot, Faith solves murders with her brain rather than with CSI-style gadgetry.
At the beginning there was no intention of writing a series, but an editor asked for a second one. Her editor at St. Martin's Press said she could help with plot, but she could not supply a "voice." That first novel, however, had a voice that has remained constant throughout. Page said that she wrote in a style consistent with what she liked to read - Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, for example.
She wanted to write about an amateur sleuth in the third person, female voice. It was necessary to provide some reason for access so Faith's profession was a caterer. Caterers go places, see people. Plus, Page liked food. Then, she made Faith a minister's wife, a "profession" which also goes places and sees people, and a person in whom others tend to confide. Faith has an outsider's perspective so she can look at the life of her fictional town with fresh ideas; Faith is from New York, now living in the Boston area. She had a definite edge in the earliest books and really missed the city, but her feelings have softened somewhat during the series.
Novels alternate between Aleford and somewhere else - Sweden, France, Vermont - to give a different rhythm. Regardless of location, each novel, but especially those set in Aleford, captures the feel of a small town and its merry band of inhabitants. Each novel, according to Page, is a traditional village mystery regardless of its setting. A constant theme is appearance versus reality, the presentation of public versus private faces. Church dinners and the practice of bringing food to those in distress are exemplars of how a small town pulls together anywhere in America.
In this case Faith is cooking up a mix of murder and mayhem, while poking fun at some of the art now found in museums. A friend has asked her to help determine if a Romare Bearden collage is a fake. Fortunately, the museum's cafeteria has taken a hard tack so Faith is hired to bring some real food to the patrons. Of course, this gives her access to events at the gallery. Page indicated that she is very interested in the puzzle, the whodunit of the story. Simply, the story reports a crime and provides a set of facts. A number of red herrings can be thrown in to lead the reader astray, but the writer must play fair. The reader should be able to guess the identity of the perp because the solution to the crime is always there. There is no deus ex machina that suddenly appears and causes us to feel cheated.
In this case Faith is cooking up a mix of murder and mayhem, while poking fun at some of the art now found in museums. A friend has asked her to help determine if a Romare Bearden collage is a fake. Fortunately, the museum's cafeteria has taken a hard tack so Faith is hired to bring some real food to the patrons. Of course, this gives her access to events at the gallery. Page indicated that she is very interested in the puzzle, the whodunit of the story. Simply, the story reports a crime and provides a set of facts. A number of red herrings can be thrown in to lead the reader astray, but the writer must play fair. The reader should be able to guess the identity of the perp because the solution to the crime is always there. There is no deus ex machina that suddenly appears and causes us to feel cheated.
As in previous novels, there is an ensemble cast of characters who populate Aleford. Her characters have the ring of truth and always seem fresh and interesting in part because they are in realistic, everyday situations, doing the kinds of things people do. The protagonist, of course, is Faith. Her minister husband Tom and their two children, who have a slightly larger role in this mystery, round out the family. Police detective John Dunne provides both a sense of conflict and humor as Faith "interferes" with his professional investigations. Other characters come and go as needed. Tom and Faith's children have always taken a small role, but, in order to emphasize a secondary theme of cyber bullying, it was necessary to increase Ben's role. Now in the 6th grade, he has made a bad choice of friends. This results in increasing stress at home, declining grades and escalating behaviors at school, and some unwarranted extra-curricular behaviors at home and in the community. It is a cautionary tale for those with middle school children to stay current with what is happening in their lives.
Why read mysteries? People like to solve puzzles. The puzzle here is two-fold: Who committed the murder and who was the victim? The victim is unknown for two-thirds of the novel because Page wanted to write a "Jane Doe" story that explores the love-hate relationship between people. As humans, we have the ability to both love and murder. It is reassuring that, at least in stories, murders are always solved.
Why read mysteries? People like to solve puzzles. The puzzle here is two-fold: Who committed the murder and who was the victim? The victim is unknown for two-thirds of the novel because Page wanted to write a "Jane Doe" story that explores the love-hate relationship between people. As humans, we have the ability to both love and murder. It is reassuring that, at least in stories, murders are always solved.
Asked about her favorite writers, Page indicated that one of her favorite writers, Margaret Maron, was here in the Triangle of North Carolina. Others include Tony Hillerman, Donna Leone, Harlan Coben, and Peter Abrahams. Page likes the sense of justice in the novels of P. D. James. She dislikes the emphasis on the gruesome and novels that are didactic and preach from a soapbox. Page related a brief anecdote about Hillerman whom she met recently in Washington. It is true that the first Jim Chee novel was sent to 40-50 agents and was rejected by all. One agent said, "You write well, but lose the Indians." The letter is framed in tribute to that agent's folly.
Katherine Hall Page earned a Master's in Secondary Education and a Ph.D. in Administration, Public Policy, and Planning from Harvard. She taught high school and developed a program for adolescents with special emotional needs. The Body in the Gallery clearly shows this influence. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, an experimental psychologist at MIT. She won Agathas in 1991 and 2006, and has been nominated other times.
Katherine Hall Page earned a Master's in Secondary Education and a Ph.D. in Administration, Public Policy, and Planning from Harvard. She taught high school and developed a program for adolescents with special emotional needs. The Body in the Gallery clearly shows this influence. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, an experimental psychologist at MIT. She won Agathas in 1991 and 2006, and has been nominated other times.
