28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Satisfy Your Appetite With This Supper Club Mystery!, March 24, 2008
This review is from: Chili Con Corpses (The Supper Club Mysteries) (Paperback)
J.B. Stanley once again teases our taste buds and sates our appetites with Chili Con Corpses, the third installment in her utterly delicious Supper Club Mystery series. On this occasion, we bump into two supper club members, James and Bennett, working hard at the gym when Murphy Alistair, the editor of The Shenandoah Star Ledger, walks into the Y, accompanied by two drop-dead gorgeous strangers - twins Parker and Kinsley Willis. Later, while James and Bennett are rewarding their hard work at the gym with a treat from the Custard Cottage, Murphy and the twins show up again, and introductions are made. Parker is a vet who attended Virginia Tech with Murphy, and Kinsley is her quirky twin sister from New York.
The supper club members, a.k.a. The Flab Five, are five Quincy's Gap, VA residents with very different backgrounds and interests, who get together on a regular basis for friendship and moral support in their quest to lose weight and improve their health. Since they have all made great strides toward their goals but are getting a bit tired of constantly dieting, Lindy suggests they try something new - so the club members all sign up for 10 Saturday cooking classes at Fix `n Freeze - to have fun and allow themselves to splurge on Mexican cuisine once a week.
James Henry, local librarian and supper club member, figures prominently in this particular supper club mystery. He's having some health issues, is having some problems in his romantic relationship with fellow supper clubber, Lucy, is worried about his father, is trying to resolve a dilemma dealing with a lottery ticket left at the library, and is unfortunate enough to stumble upon a very dead body while serving as a chaperone at Lindy's behest on a school field trip. When things start to look really bad for Lindy, the supper club members decide to do some sleuthing on their own. They are actually downright clever and come up with several ingenious ways to ferret out information about the possible suspects, although it isn't until all five of the club members are involved and working together that things really start to heat to boiling.
This is a thoroughly delightful cozy mystery, with a wonderful cast of realistic main characters, any of whom this reader would enjoy meeting in person, enough suspense and action to keep the story moving right along, and, as if that weren't enough, there are also several scrumptious Mexican recipes included! All in all, Chili Con Corpses is a very satisfying read, and I'll be waiting anxiously for J.B. Stanley's fourth Supper Club Mystery!
Carol Ann Hopkins 3/24/2008
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
JB makes me feel good again, September 6, 2009
I love JB's books. And I'm not saying this because I've met her and she was nice to me.
This story was up to caliber with the others I've read of hers. The main characters are facinating. I love having to deal with James' problems, because they feel like my own. I can relate to him, which for me is a very good read.
I loved the concept, but for me doing this particular setting was just average.
The plot was well structured, and I didn't find lots of loose ends or things that didn't seem to match the story. That makes me very happy.
I like the recipes in the book, and would try them if it wasn't for my DH being a vegetarian.
If you like a fast read with "normal" problems that everyone might deal with instead of the "out there" issues, this is a mandatory read.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
YUMMY!, November 6, 2011
I have not read any of the other books in this series, but we have a group of folks who love to eat. When a new "member" of their group ends up murdered, they band together to find out who dun it. There is a hodge-podge of romantic interests, which keeps you guessing, as well, as the mystery. The big surprise, though, are the recipes scattered throughout the book. I can hardly wait to try them, and assuming the rest of the series are along the same lines, will have to read them, as well, for the mysteries, but also for the recipes.
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