Barbara Bailey Bishop, the renowned author, is hosting a reunion of her Pelham College friends and has hired the Have Faith catering kitchen to be the caterer. There will be a small group of about ten people, each to have their own room in the house of ten bedrooms with private baths. In addition, there would be a spa, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts, etc. 

On arrival, Faith learned that the island was located off the coast and entailed a boat ride of greater than one hour. On arrival at the island, she learned that once on the island, there would be no turning back, the only boat had returned to the mainland and there were no telephones or radios for communication. Each of the other guests had been invited under similar situations. A noted lecturer had been invited to conduct a series of lectures; a famous classical guitarist had been invited to give a concert, etc.

It isn’t long before Faith and the others learn the reason for the isolation – some years before a student at Pelham College was found dead at the base of the 182-foot Gothic tower on campus. The real reason for the invitations and isolation emerges – their hostess never accepts the reasons given for the death of the student and believes one of the guests is the real murderer.

In THE BODY IN THE IVY, Katherine Hall Page has set the scene adequately and the reader soon is immersed in determining the truth behind the death of the student. I never did guess the outcome and was surprised in the final chapters.