While she has never felt the need to change her figure, Mrs Pargeter is happy enough to accompany her friend Kim to a health farm. Until, in the night, she sees a body being wheeled out. What Mrs Pargeter doesn’t realise is that this suspicious death will set her on a trail of detection which will bring her into direct conflict with her late husband’s business associates.
March 29, 1993
The late Mr. Pargeter left his widow pots of money and his address book, ``a compendium of contacts which could procure a surprising range of unconventional services.'' When a young friend wants a slimmer self with which to welcome her husband (a former employee of the late Mr. Pargeter) home from jail, Mrs. P. uses her new sources not only to get them a free sojourn at a health spa, but also to assist in her investigation of some peculiar corpses she encounters there. Brett makes the most of the milieu, serving up delicious descriptions of ``Dead Sea Mud Bath'' treatments and ``Mind Over Fatty Matter'' products. There's even an attempted murder using a passive exercise machine. Although Brett's Charles Paris mysteries offer superior characterization, this third to feature Mrs. Pargeter (after Mrs. Presumed Dead ) is consistently witty and convincing. Readers will gobble it up, especially its six happy resolutions.