~ Death for Dessert~

by Dawn Richard

      Heroine:  plump

       After thirty five years of marriage to her surgeon husband Ted, May Bell List finds herself traded in for a series of silicone sylphs. So after a brief but satisfying vendetta, she sets out across country in Ted's "STUD DOC" '68 Camaro convertible and winds up taking an apartment in a California Active Seniors center.

       And wasn't she sorry that she signed that lease?

       As soon as she moves in, May Bell finds herself surrounded by odd neighbors: inedible-cookie-baking-queen Ida, owl-eyed-walker-wielding Fanny, Mr. and Mrs. "loud-Mariachi-music-in-the-pre-dawn-hours" and their little yapper of a dog Paco, "I've got Viagra" Grady, and senile part-time nudist "Bob 'What What?!'".  Not to mention Mrs. Berkowitz, a scary fruitcake of an old hag who seems to have an eerie hold on the other members of the living complex.  She stares at May Bell as if she knows all her deepest, darkest secrets; then begins to taunt her with them, naming the unknowable aloud. 

       Is Mrs. Berkowitz psychic, psychotic, or both?  It's up to May Bell to find out!

What worked for me:

      I gobbled up "Death for Dessert" in one sitting.   It was the funniest thing I've read in a while!

      If nothing else, the messages I took away from this book were a) I'd rather be living alone with 23 cats in my blue-hair days than move into a retirement village and risk having neighbors like Mrs. Berkowitz and Bob What-What, and b) I should invest in Oil of Olay, stock and product.

      Size-wise May Bell was plump, but lost a bit of weight worrying over her life.

        What didn't work for me:    

       I've still got images of Bob What-What wearing some of his most revealing attire floating before my eyes.

Overall:

       Engaging characters, clever prose, and fun surprises make "Death for Dessert" a do-not-miss for fans of quirky cozy mysteries!

      Warning: there is some weight loss in this book.

      If you liked "Death for Dessert" you might also enjoy the Odelia Grey mystery series, "The Southern Sisters" mystery series or "The Gumshoe Girls".

Have you read this book and have a comment to make on it? Join a discussion about the book at the Dangerous Curves forum or submit a review to this website.