Murder Has No Calories

Sawyer's fifth outing for her elderly Southern California sleuths Angela Benbow and Caledonia Wingate, seen last in The Peanut Butter Murders, strains to emphasize the eccentricities of the previously more likable twosome as they track a killer at a posh spa. The owner of the Time-Out Inn, a fashionable fat farm where a staff member has just been poached to death in the sauna, begs Angela to visit and investigate. Grumbling all the way, overweight Cal agrees to join her friend undercover. Cal ducks the exercise classes in order to confer with her old friend, San Diego County Police Lt. Martinez, while Angela uses the physical activity sessions as a cover for questioning the guests. The killer, however, strikes again and clearly is not taken in by the detecting team's pretenses. Cal is locked into a walk-in refrigerator; after her rescue, she and Angela cooperate in a ploy to flush out the culprit, which only succeeds after the killer goes after Cal again. Angela's blathering and the duo's extended speculation about each guest's possible motives are likely to tire Sawyer's most ardent fans. (Oct.)