A Body to Die For: A Savannah Reid Mystery

Soon after plus-sized PI Savannah Reid helps San Carmelita, Calif., Det. Sgt. Dirk Coulter nab a peeping Tom at Clarissa's House of Pain and Gain in McKevett's lively 14th mystery to feature the proprietor of the Moonlight and Magnolia Detective Agency (after 2008's Poisoned Tarts ), obnoxious diet guru Clarissa Jardin reports her womanizing, gambling husband, Bill, missing. When Bill turns up as a frozen corpse with a bullet in his skull, Bill's mother hires Savannah to prove Clarissa killed her son or hired someone to do it. Savannah suspects Clarissa offed her hubby, but she and Dirk discover a few other potential culprits, notably Clarissa's twin, very fat sister, who posed for Clarissa's fake “before” pictures in ads promoting her fitness and diet plan. McKevett (the pseudonym of Sonja Massie) delivers another amusing tart-tongued cozy that goes down like a yummy guilt-free dessert. (Jan.)