Katherine Hall Page: the body in the...
Excerpt from the interview by Lynn Kaczmarek in the April /May 2008 issue of Mystery News
It's the middle of March and up here in Door County, there's still snow on the ground. I haven't seen my driveway in months! This winter has been the snowiest in recorded history. And I've been cooking stews and soup and yummy casseroles. Comfort food, a hot toddy and a fireplace -- what more can one ask for? Perhaps comfort reading...
I have never been a lover of "books with recipes." They've always seemed shallow and a bit silly. So it was with some apprehension that I pulled Katherine Hall Page's ninth book, The Body in the Bookcase, from the bookshelf and snuggled up next to the fireplace. I shouldn't have worried -- what I found was a clever puzzle with interesting characters, set in a place I could easily relate to. Murder surely happened, but there was a touch of humor too. And then there was all that food, tucked in carefully. This wasn't a "book with recipes," it was a challenging mystery that just happened to include food. It didn't take me long to find others in the series and I settled down for some serious comfort reading.
Katherine Hall Page is the author of the soon-to-be seventeen book series featuring New England caterer Faith Fairchild. The series began almost twenty years ago when Katherine found herself with some free time. "I had just finished a doctorate, my son was almost two, and my husband, who is a professor, took a sabbatical in France. And it was the first time that I really had free time -- the gift of time that all writers dream about. And the French have unbelievable child care...," Katherine told me during our phone call on that chilly day in March.
So, writing on a borrowed Underwood typewriter -- you know, the one that uses ribbons -- Katherine wrote The Body in the Belfry. She had loved Virginia Rich's books (and if you've not read them, you really must) that featured widowed culinary sleuth Eugenia Potter, so Faith Fairchild became a caterer. Other inspirations were Rex Stout and Dorothy L. Sayers as well as M.K.F. Fisher who Booklist one said was "America's most lauded food writer." So, the books needed to have an interesting puzzle along with the food. Katherine's enjoyment of books with a touch of humor (she enjoys Carl Hiaasen and Bob Morris!) brought a respite from murder. Making Faith a successful New York City professional transplanted to a small village outside Boston, and then marrying her to a minister allowed the author to play with the contrast of lifestyles...
The recipes didn't appear in the books until the fifth in the series, The Body in the Cast. After four years of Katherine sending recipes off to requesting readers, her editor, the inimitable Ruth Cavin, told her to just put them in the books. They were placed in the back so that readers could ignore them if they chose. "I don't like those books where you have the badly bludgeoned body and there's a brownie recipe..."
In my past life, who had time to cook, let alone bake? Now the thought of Apology Mushroom Soup simmering away on a snowy pre-spring day is wonderful. There's something so very comforting about it. So my recommendation to you is that you check out The Body in the Gallery, enjoy the characters and story created by Katherine Hall Page. Then, break out those cake pans and make yourself some luscious Red Velvet Cake -- and don't forget the frosting! A little comfort food, a little comfort reading - absolute heaven.
Read the complete interview in the April/May 2008 issue of Mystery News