Dying
to Be Thin
A Fat City Mystery
with Kate Gallagher
Kathryn Lilley
Signet (Mass market paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-451-22240-7 (0451222407)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22040-4 (9780451222404)
Publication Date: October 2007
List Price: $6.99
Synopsis (from the publisher): In just a week, plus-sized TV producer Kate Gallagher has been laid off because of her weight and dumped by her boyfriend. So she enrolls in a weight loss clinic in Durham, North Carolina. Soon, Kate's ready to sell her soul for some sweets. But when a diet guru turns up dead with fondue forks where his eyes were, Kate loses her appetite-and has a breaking story on her hands ...
Review:
Overweight Boston television
producer Kate Gallagher, laid off by her station and jilted by her
boyfriend, heads to Durham North Carolina, the "Diet Capital
of the World", in Kathryn Lilley's debut mystery in this series, Dying to Be Thin.
Kate has been promised a job at Durham's Channel 12 as a news
specialist, reporting on a weight loss program and her success in it.
Assuming, that is, she succeeds. The spa she chooses is run by Dr.
Victor Hoffman who promotes fresh fruit and exercise as part of his
diet regimen. On her second day there, she and another dieter are off
for a brisk early morning walk when they come across the dead body of
Dr. Hoffman, a fondue fork jammed into each eye. Her new boss at the
station immediately knows a good story when he hears one, and asks Kate to act as an on-the-scene investigative reporter. When
Hoffman's personal assistant is found dead shortly thereafter, Kate
discovers that the more learns about the spa, the bigger target she is
to the killer.
There is so much going on in Dying
to Be Thin that it's easy to forget that this is a murder
mystery. The obligatory love interest is (no surprise) the detective
investigating the murder, Lt. Reed, who advises Kate to (no
surprise) leave police work to the professionals. There's also the
distinguished, older gentlemen, the spa's attorney Lou Bettinger, who
takes a personal interest in her. It's a bit disingenuous, however, to
initially portray Kate as an overweight outcast yet have her appear
almost svelte in comparison to the "obese" women at the spa.
Dying to Be Thin
is a pleasant enough mystery, though there is little in the way of
originality or excitement. The guidelines on eating habits that open
each chapter, on the other hand, are well worth taking note of.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Dying to Be Thin and to Breakthrough Promotions for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
Dying to Be Thin
Signet (Mass market paperback), October 2007
ISBN-10: 0-451-22240-7 (0451222407)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22040-4 (9780451222404)
Omnimystery keywords for Dying to Be Thin ...
Location(s) referenced: Durham, North Carolina.