Cereal Killer (Savannah Reid Mysteries) [Hardcover]

G.A. McKevett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2004 | Series: Savannah Reid Mysteries

In a world where stick-thin women adorn fashion magazines and silver screens, plus-sized private eye Savannah Reid is grateful for the wild success-and fabulous fashion tips-of full-figured model Cait Connor. When Cait is found dead after months of extreme dieting, when everyone assumes a risky regimen did her in. But then a second full-figured model meets an untimely end, and it's time to weigh the facts...and search for suspects. At first it seems that Cait's death is a clear case of dieting run amok. As the new spokesperson for Wentworth's Slenda Flakes, Cait needed to lose thirty pounds in sixty days and apparently died trying. Now her grieving husband wants to sue Wentworth Cereal for that fatal clause in her contract. Considering how much shredded wheat and puffed rice Wentworth has on the market, Kevin Connor could receive a lot of dough. It all seems cut and dry until Kameeka Wills, another plus model working-and starving-for Wentworth, is killed by a hit-and-run driver while jogging at four a.m. Now Savannah's really suspicious, and determined to avenge her curvaceous sisters...even if it means going under cover for the camera. There are more models on the Slenda Flakes campaign who could be at risk, and enough suspects to keep Savannah hopping. There's Kevin Connor and his high-state lawsuits; Charles Wentworthiii, whose secretly struggling company can't afford a weigh-loss cereal that packs on the pound; and Jerrod Beekman, a desperate ad executive whose agency's fate is aligned with Wentworth's. Top that off with a slimy stalker and a womanising photographer, and Savannah's bowl is more than full. But she's determined to satisfy her craving for justice-before a cunning killer strikes again...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Warm, winsome and weight-bedeviled Savannah Reid, proprietor of the Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency in coastal San Carmelita, Calif., goes undercover as a plus-size fashion model in McKevett's winning ninth outing, a step up from last year's family-angst-laden Death by Chocolate. When full-figured model Cait Connor turns up dead in her bathroom, stifled in a "vapor-impermeable suit," her bereaved husband blames an overly rigorous exercise routine and the manufacturer of Slenda Flakes, the cereal Cait had been hired to promote - if she could lose 30 pounds in 60 days. But after the death of another plus-size model working for the same cereal company, struck by a hit-and-run driver while she's on an early morning jog, it's clear murder's afoot. Posing as a model, Savannah gets on the killer's trail, aided by police detective Dirk Coulter and the computer expertise of her bright young assistant, Tammy Hart. The arrival from Georgia of a demanding sister of Savannah's, who suddenly moves in to follow up an Internet romance, complicates the sleuthing without slowing the plot. Food lore, a good puzzle, an exciting climax and cats with their therapeutic purring all add to the fun.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"A luscious heroine, humor, and down-home characters."

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Books (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758204582
• ISBN-13: 978-0758204585
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,541,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Since publication of her first novel in 1986, Sonja Massie has authored over fifty published works, including the highly popular and critically acclaimed SAVANNAH REID MYSTERIES under the pseudonym G. A. McKevett.

Sonja's novels range from Irish historicals to contemporary thrillers. Her earthy humor and fast-paced plots delight her fans, while critics applaud her offbeat characterizations and incisive observations on human nature.

Irish by ancestry, Sonja has authored two non-fiction books on the history of Ireland: THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO IRISH HISTORY AND CULTURE and IRISH PRIDE: 101 REASONS TO BE PROUD YOU'RE IRISH. Both books impart detailed knowledge of the complex and controversial Irish story with a light hand and plenty of humor. Her Irish novels include: DREAM CARVER, CAROUSEL, DAUGHTER OF IRELAND and the bestselling FAR AND AWAY - the novelization of the Ron Howard movie starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

On nationwide tours, Sonja lectures to published and "pre-published" authors in her workshop, "The Novel Approach," a seminar which covers such topics as: story structure, characterization, plotting, pacing, and marketing manuscripts.

Sonja has taught numerous courses at university and adult continuing education facilities including: general fiction, historical research, and mystery writing. She was managing editor at "Single Living" magazine and has functioned as a manuscript doctor and storyline editor for major publishers. Earlier in her career, she was a prolific ghostwriter, authoring both fictional and non-fictional books for celebrities and professionals.

Having lived in Los Angeles, Toronto, and County Kerry, Ireland, she now resides in New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars exciting hard to put down earthy private investigative tale, December 31, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cereal Killer (Savannah Reid Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Although she left Georgia to put some distance between her and her family, Savannah Reid is the quintessential Steel Magnolia, a true daughter of the south. After working for the San Carmelita Police Department for a few years and butting heads with her political superiors, she quits, operating her own Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency.

Her friend and former partner are having lunch in the park one day when he gets called to investigate a homicide that just occurred. Savannah tags alone when she realizes the victim is Caitlin Connor, a plus size model who is world renown. Not long after that, , another plus size model, is also found murdered and left on the side of the road to make it look as if she was run over by a car while jogging. Both Caitlin and Kameeka were working for the same advertising agency starring in a cereal commercial so there is a connection between the two models. When a third model is kidnapped, the agent who is represented all three woman hires Savannah to find the perpetrator and try to find the third victim before she is found dead as well. Savannah, her police friend Dirk, and some other allies work the case before another death occurs.

A full figured woman, Savannah Reid is comfortable in her own skin and doesn't let other people's opinions of her weight bother her. She can be tough, sympathetic and bullheaded, all at the same time but readers will love her because she cares about her family, friends and people in general. CEREAL KILLER is an exciting hard to put down earthy private investigative tale.

Harriet Klausner

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My first Savannah Reid mystery, and I will be reading more, April 26, 2004

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cereal Killer (Savannah Reid Mysteries) (Hardcover)

One of the benefits of mass transit and noontime workouts is that I get lots of reading time. In the last couple of days, I finished Cereal Killer by G. A. McKevett. This is part of a series (a Savannah Reid mystery), and I can see myself going back and getting caught up with this author. A fun read...

Savannah is a private detective who used to be a cop. Her former partner (Dirk) is still in the force, and they often collaborate on cases. She's a southern belle who packs a few extra pounds and enjoys her food. Dirk is a grump who shares her love of food and is always looking for a free meal. In this episode, Dirk is called to investigate the death of a plus-size model who Savannah has admired. It looks to be a case of heat stroke from too little food and unhealthy attempts at weight loss. This is because she signed a contract to lose weight eating a particular breakfast cereal, and she's not where she needs to be. Things then get a little suspious when another plus-size model with the same contract also dies in a hit-and-run accident that isn't what it seems. Savannah goes undercover as a model to try and help Dirk crack the case. And to add some subplot and color, Savannah's loud and man-crazy sister shows up from Georgia to meet a man she met over the internet, and then goes to pieces when the guy dumps her after the first night.

I'll admit a fondness for the female detective genre, but I was plesantly surprised with this one. The characters are colorful, and all of the main players have flaws that make them less than perfect but oh so real. I loved the interplay between Savannah and her sister, where southern speech patterns and sayings all come to the surface. The story line strings you along and doesn't reveal the killers until the end. The author also does a good job in examining some of the preconceptions about the size of a person and how it often is connected to their feelings of self-worth.

A light, enjoyable story , and extra special if you're just discovering this author. Expect a few more reviews on her titles in the very near future.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Getting better, April 25, 2006

By 

D. P. Birkett (Suffern, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Cereal Killer (Savannah Reid Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

The early McKevetts were clumsy affairs. The dialog lacked authenticity; the jokes were weak, the exposition clumsy, the sentimentality cloying, and the plots threadbare.

They were only sustained by a set of characters headed by Savannah Reid, the ex-cop (fired for obesity) private eye, with her sexually ambiguous relationships in California with Dirk the slob, Tammy the skinny blonde, and Ryan and John the gays, and with her family back home in Georgia, and two enigmatic cats.

McKevett seems to have been learning on the job. The plotting is quite ingenious in this one, which centers on the murders of full-figured models, and carries a commendable crusading message against anti-fat discrimination.

The quality of writing has improved in an amazing way. I loved the area so derelict that "even the graffiti were out-of-date, with references to Watergate and Vietnam". A magnificent phrase that stuck in my memory was "walking along the edge of the road where the scrub brush, sage , and marguerites surrendered to asphalt."

I think I'm two behind catching up with the series (publication date for this was 2004). I'll hurry.