THE BODY IN THE BOG

 The seventh in the author's recipe-laden, rife-with-murder adventures set in Aleford, the small Massachusetts town where amateur snoop Faith Fairchild (The Body in the Basement, 1994, etc.), wife of the minister and mother of two, runs a catering service. Aleford's citizenry is being torn apart by the plans of builder Joey Madsen, brash and ambitious, who wants to convert Beecher's Bog to Alefordiana Estates--a swath of high-priced houses. Town doyenne Millicent Revere McKinley, with computer expert Brad Hallowell, bird-watchers Nelson and Margaret Batcheldor and others, are busy recruiting members to POW--Preserve Our Wetlands. Meanwhile, Brad's ex-girlfriend, prim nursery-school teacher Lora Deane, one of the extensive clan, is having her own problems with threatening phone calls, a brick through her window, and a second identity, soon ferreted out by Faith. All this pales when Margaret Batcheldor's body is recovered from a new, unoccupied house--one of Joey's--that has burnt to the ground. The verdict is murder; weeks later, in midst of Patriots' Day celebrations, husband Nelson gets a near-fatal dose of poison. There's yet another death--this corpse discovered by Faith, who, between meetings, meals, catering jobs, funerals, sermons, and child care, resolves to set a trap for the killer in a clichÇd climax. A good-humored but soon tedious domestic chronicle (mercifully sans dogs and cats), allied with talkative, mildly interesting characters and makeshift plotting. Cozies' fans will find it comfy if not compelling. (Author tour)