Body in the Big Apple

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1?2 teaspoon baking powder

1?2 cup applesauce

1?2 teaspoon baking soda

1?2 cup chopped walnuts

1?4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan and set aside.

Melt the butter and chocolate in the top of a double boiler.

Cool slightly. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside. Beat the eggs, sugars, and vanilla together. Then add to this the chocolate-butter mixture and the applesauce, mixing well. Stir in the dry ingredients and mix well again. Add the walnuts, stir, and pour into the greased pan.

Bake in the middle of the oven for approximately twenty-five minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack. This recipe makes twenty-four squares.

One of Faith’s favorite apple recipes is the apple version of Denouement Apple/Pear Crisp found in the recipe section of The Body in the Cast. Make it with New York State apples to give it a Big Apple twist.

As always, all of these recipes may be modified, substituting Egg Beaters, margarine, low-fat milk, and low- fat sour cream. The only exception is the sauce for the pork loin. It doesn’t need to be heavy cream, but it does need to be creamy—light cream or half-and-half.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank Dr. Robert DeMartino once again for his invaluable medical advice and our years of friendship.

Many thanks also to Faith Hamlin, my agent, and Zachary Schisgal—an editor who edits.

And I am especially grateful to Patricia Hero of Arlington, Virginia, who suggested the title years ago at a bookstore signing!

About the Author

KATHERINE HALL PAGE is the author of thirteen previous Faith Fairchild mysteries. Her first book in the series, The Body in the Belfry, received the Agatha Award for best first mystery novel. She also won an Agatha Award for her short story “The Would Be Widower,” and The Body in the Lighthouse was nominated for a Mary Higgins Clark Award. She lives with her husband and son in Massachusetts. You can visit her website at www.katherinehallpage.com.

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Praise

THE BODY IN THE BIG APPLE

“New Yorkers and suburbanites alike should enjoy this fast-paced mystery; and gastronomes will relish the aptly apple-flavored recipes.”

—Publishers Weekly

And praise for Agatha Award-winner KATHERINE HALL PAGE’s previous

Faith Fairchild mysteries:

“Scrumptious suspense.”

—Boston Herald

“This highly entertaining series effectively mixes modern-day moral dilemmas with

charm, warmth, and humor.”

—Booklist

“Her literary concoction is satisfying and surprisingly delicious.”

— Los Angeles Times

“Page has kept her Faith Fairchild series fresh by making each novel distinctly different.”

—Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

“Murder most delicious!”

—Tulsa World

Other Faith Fairchild Mysteries by

Katherine Hall Page

THE BODY IN THE BOOKCASE

THE BODY IN THE FIORD

THE BODY IN THE BOG

THE BODY IN THE BASEMENT

THE BODY IN THE CAST

THE BODY IN THE VESTIBULE

THE BODY IN THE BOUILLON

THE BODY IN THE KELP

THE BODY IN THE BELFRY