Saturday, April 4, 2009

Review : The Battered Body by J.B. Stanley



Wedding bells are about to ring in Quincy's Gap, but when the bride's celebrity sister arrives in town, her t.v. fans find out she not quite as sweet as the famous cakes she bakes. Paulette, aka, the Diva of Dough, raises quite a stir in the small Virginia town with her acerbic tongue and demeaning manner. More than one person would like to see her dead. So, when her body is discovered in the kitchen covered in batter, it's no surprise and there is no shortage of suspects.

James, head of the county library, and his four friends that make up the supper club, aka the flab five, once again find themselves in the midst of a murder investigation. Since the bride is James' soon to be step-mama, he really takes this case to heart. If this isn't enough to cope with, his ex is writing a mystery book that depicts the flab five in some humiliating ways. Between trying to sort out his love life and considering some other life style changes, James and the gang get very involved in the investigation. It is only with the discovery of a second body, that they come up with a more detailed plan to flush out the killer.

This is the fifth cozy in the supper club mystery series. This latest has a lot more character development in the story. James is more settled having discovered a new totally unexpected love in his life. Along with the requisite murders, a few more romantic story lines have been more fully developed with the main characters along with some of the peripheral ones. As for the plot, I did not see the second murder coming nor had any idea who the killer was. Stanley does a great job of building up motives and gives the reader characters to love and hate at the same time. A very enjoyable cozy. 4****

This could be a stand along mystery, but if you are considering reading the series, I would recommend starting from the beginning. The first book tells how the supper club evolved and with each book from there adds more depth to the lives of the five friends. As usual, J.B. Stanley has included delicious sounding recipes to go with the theme of the book. The authors web site can be found here.


About the book:

Paperback: 312 pages
Publisher: MIDNIGHT INK; 1 edition (March 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0738714720
ISBN-13: 978-0738714721


7 comments:

  1. I'll have to put this series on my list, now that I'm getting into the cozy books : ) Nice review, Kaye.

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  2. This sounds like a cute series Kaye...thanks for the review.

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  3. sometimes a 'cozy' is just the perfect book. this sounds like a fun series.

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  4. Your teaser was so great that it sent me straight back to your review. I love the plot of this book. I must find it and put it in the must-read pile.

    BTW - I love your Easter decorations. Your blog is so fun.

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  5. Oh gosh, I'm so behind with my comments! But I do read your blog every single day, more than once a day usually, and I read all of your posts. You find the best "cozies" (and they have great covers) and they all sound so good! Can't wait to read this one too.

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  6. I used to read Diane Mott Davidson a few years back and really liked the main character..Goldie..I think that was her name. I love mysteries that have food themes running through them. Sounds like a good series!!

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  7. I have the first in the series that I've been meaning to get to for awhile...maybe this is the push I need!

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