A Diet to Die For:
A Skinny Mystery
Brand New Series
Cozy Mystery
Pocket Books (June 25, 2013)
A Division of Simon & Schuster
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1451684681
E-Book File Size: 964 KB
ASIN: B008J4ROWQ
Does this murder make my butt look big?
Meet Jen Stevens—a hungry New York City event planner who’s 31 years old, 30 pounds overweight, and flirting with disaster when it comes to sticking to her diet. Working for the food-centric Yummy Channel, it’s hard to resist temptation. But when there’s a crime for Jen to solve, it’s easy as pie. . . .
Baker extraordinaire Bess Brantwood is one of the Yummy Channel’s brightest stars—and biggest divas. Despite the off-camera drama, Jen has to admit that Bess’s chocolate buttercream cupcakes drizzled with caramel are simply to die for—and kill for, as it turns out—when Bess’s body, like a baked good gone bad, is discovered . . . in a Dumpster.
Who iced the cupcake queen? Jen is determined to find out. With the help of her BFFs—fab foodblogger Gabby and lively life coach Elizabeth—she starts sifting for clues. She’s got all the ingredients to solve the perfect crime, including one delectable detective, one divalicious diary, and enough industry rivals for a battle of the network stars. But is Jen prepared to risk her life as well as her waistline? No matter how you slice it, revenge is sweet—and loaded with carbs.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
A girl after my own heart. Yes, I love the foods that are bad for me, and have walked the same path as Jen, but I have never ended up in the middle of a murder investigation.
Steding has created extraordinary characters and let readers get to know them while leaving plenty of room for growth. I love Jen. The true friendship she has Gabby and Elizabeth just shines, even a bump or two in the road. My favorite character was “Officer Hazel Eyes”. He just kept popping up everywhere Jen went and hopefully that will continue in the next installment.
She also created a great whodunit. It was easy to identify the method of murder but the suspects all had motive and opportunity for icing the Yummy Channel diva. The killer could have been any one of them.
The story is a very entertaining read, definitely written by someone who has to have lived through the diet cycle a time or two. She is able to tell give us a clever mystery, sprinkled liberally with humor and just a touch of romantic tension.
I am looking forward to the next Skinny Mystery!
About the Author
Sarah Steding has cut carbs, calories, white foods, yellow foods, packaged foods, and fatty foods (not all at the same time, or any for more than a few well-intentioned days). She’s tried grapefruit, cayenne-spiced lemonade, macrobiotics, and even gummy bears. While crusading against thunder thighs, she has developed quite a sense of humor about the whole ordeal. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with three little boys and a husband who has learned to say she looks quite slender in those jeans.
A DIET TO DIE FOR
Low-carb Chocolate Mousse
2 tbsp cold water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
4 tbsp boiling water
1 cup granulated zero-calorie sugar substitute-try Truvia
1/2 cup unsweetened powdered cocoa
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp whipped cream
Servings: 4
Total carbs for serving: 7.3 grams
Thanks to the people at Pocket Books
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”