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ncrabb's review against another edition
4.0
I've always enjoyed this series. Savannah is easily among the most unpretentious book characters you'll ever meet anywhere. She's not the skinny rich girl who so often makes up the ranks of female private detectives. Instead, she's a plus-sized former cop who loves those around her and loves herself for who she is. She doesn't constantly diet, and she doesn't go about wistfully seeking the approval of those who wish she weighed less. The inspiration of her life is her beloved grandma, a woman who raised her and gave her all the down-to-earth knowledge Savannah would need to thrive in a sometimes-superficial world.
She is surrounded in this series by a lovable cast of characters. Her close friend and confident, Dirk, is on the local police force where Savannah used to work. They aren't partners anymore, but Dirk still prefers her association to anyone's on the force. As a result, many of the cases she solves were originally his.
She is assisted in her work by two homosexual former FBI guys who enliven the books in a good way. Their sexual orientation doesn't keep poor Savannah from wistfully dreaming of a relationship with at least one of them. Finally, there's Tammy, the youthful, skinny assistant whose innocence and charm Savannah puts to good use rather often.
As this book opens, a woman is dead, and she is probably dead because she borrowed clothing from her employer; and, from a distance, she resembles that employer. The employer is a movie star who, after packing on the pounds, insisted on gastric bypass surgery. As a result, the movie star has been ill ever since, and she has, alas, taken her frustrations out on her staff, including the woman who it dead.
Dirk brings Savannah in on the case, and soon the entire detective agency is at work trying to protect the star while finding out who killed the look-alike.
The dialogue here is sometimes profane and always snappy and funny. You can't help but love Savannah, the southern girl turned California transplant. Indeed, when her utterly dysfunctional sister shows up with her new husband in tow, Savannah has all she can do to help them get their lives back together and out of her house. There aren't any sexual descriptions in this particular book in the series. If you've not read this series or become acquainted with this character, it's time. Savannah is a woman who firmly believes that chocolate solves far more problems than it creates, and she's really quite good at solving mysteries in her own right. These characters are well developed, and the plots are imaginative and well written.
She is surrounded in this series by a lovable cast of characters. Her close friend and confident, Dirk, is on the local police force where Savannah used to work. They aren't partners anymore, but Dirk still prefers her association to anyone's on the force. As a result, many of the cases she solves were originally his.
She is assisted in her work by two homosexual former FBI guys who enliven the books in a good way. Their sexual orientation doesn't keep poor Savannah from wistfully dreaming of a relationship with at least one of them. Finally, there's Tammy, the youthful, skinny assistant whose innocence and charm Savannah puts to good use rather often.
As this book opens, a woman is dead, and she is probably dead because she borrowed clothing from her employer; and, from a distance, she resembles that employer. The employer is a movie star who, after packing on the pounds, insisted on gastric bypass surgery. As a result, the movie star has been ill ever since, and she has, alas, taken her frustrations out on her staff, including the woman who it dead.
Dirk brings Savannah in on the case, and soon the entire detective agency is at work trying to protect the star while finding out who killed the look-alike.
The dialogue here is sometimes profane and always snappy and funny. You can't help but love Savannah, the southern girl turned California transplant. Indeed, when her utterly dysfunctional sister shows up with her new husband in tow, Savannah has all she can do to help them get their lives back together and out of her house. There aren't any sexual descriptions in this particular book in the series. If you've not read this series or become acquainted with this character, it's time. Savannah is a woman who firmly believes that chocolate solves far more problems than it creates, and she's really quite good at solving mysteries in her own right. These characters are well developed, and the plots are imaginative and well written.
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