‘A Diet to Die For’ by Joan Hess is the fifth book in her Claire Malloy series, which comprises a total of 20 books. Claire isn’t just the widowed owner of a small bookstore, no sirree! She’s an amateur sleuth who pokes her nose into any mystery that comes her way and ‘meddles in official police business’, much to the exasperation of her amiable detective boyfriend. The bit in quotes sounding familiar? Yes, the author does refer to Claire as the local Miss Marple!

Narrated in the first person by Claire, the book sails along easily on an even keel, pace never faltering, taking us on a light-hearted, engaging adventure involving the two aforementioned protagonists as well as Claire’s ostensibly-dieting teenage daughter, a pushy neighbour, a fat woman and her lean husband, and a new health clinic. The first half of the book pleasantly builds up the story to a scene of destruction involving a dead body. Her deductive nose twitching, Claire slides her sleuthing skills into top gear and sets about secretly trying to solve the case.

What I enjoyed most in this book was the author’s decidedly witty writing style, laden with tongue-in-cheek humour and rib-tickling hyperbole. I don’t normally laugh out loud while reading (PG Wodehouse being a rare exception) but this book elicited a couple of very audible chuckles from me and I was grinning pretty much throughout.

A must-read if comic mysteries appeal to you.

(Pic source: Internet)