Copy writer Jaine Austen's friend Lance decides to repay her
for saving his life by treating her to a week at a
Californian health spa known as The Haven. Jaine packs up
her cat Prozac (after being assured that her Pro will
receive only the best The Haven has to offer), and looks
forward to a week of being pampered, massaged, and fed
heavenly meals. Heck, she may even have time to work on
that novel she's been intending to crank out!
However, when she gets there, she's surprised to see that
The Haven isn't exactly what she thought it was going to be.
First, Olga, the owner serves as the receptionist and the
bellhop. Jaine had rather expected that a spa with a
reputation like The Haven's would have a bustling staff, not
a multi-tasking owner! But she takes it in stride as she
gets settled in. She's then shocked as Olga begins making
comments about Prozac's weight and starts bringing in toys
encouraging exercise for Prozac.
Jaine is in for quite the surprise as she figures out that
The Haven is actually a weight loss boot camp. Each of the
three meals are limited to 300 calories and each guest is
forced to undergo weigh-ins (complete with body fat
measurements), aerobic classes, and housework/gardening
disguised as "workouts." But at least she's not suffering
alone - her fellow inmates include Mallory, a B-list actor
(who thinks she's list an A-lister) and her entourage
(Kendra, her sister/personal assistant, and her friend
Harvy, who owns a hair salon); Clint, a former co-star of
said actor; and Cathy, a star-struck grocery store worker
who's been saving money to come to The Haven for AGES!
But things go awry when Mallory ends up dead. There are
many suspects as Mallory was as good at making enemies as
Jaine had become at sneaking snacks while doing her time at
The Haven. Mallory had started an affair with the male half
of the married couple who staffed the spa. She was also
blackmailing Clint. Everyone there heard her threaten to
ruin Olga's business. And that's not even the entire list!
This book was full of humor, but it was also a bit
frustrating. Although it was clearly a murder mystery, it
was fully halfway into the book before a murder occurred.
It also became frustrating that, Jaine is clearly a
resourceful woman (she went to great lengths to sneak food
while at the spa) but it took her several days before
deciding to just leave; why? One of the great things was
that the mystery itself played out really well.
I also loved the subplot of Jaine's father running for
president of his neighborhood association. This story was
told through emails that Jaine received from her mother and
father while she was at the spa. These emails were both
funny and touching, and added to the overall character of Jaine.
Jaine Austen is looking forward to an indulgent spa getaway—
until she learns it’s more about deprivation than
relaxation. Between miniscule meals and a deadly brush with
fame, surviving this vacation will be no piece of cake...
When Jaine’s friend Lance surprises her with a trip to The
Haven, an über-luxe health spa on the California coast, she
and her feline pal Prozac are eager to hit the road and
bask in a week of pampering and pedicures. But upon their
arrival, she discovers that this oasis in the hills is
merely a fat farm in disguise, complete with celery-juice
cocktails, humiliating weigh-ins, and a zero-tolerance
position on carbs. And as she gets to know her fellow
inmates, she realizes 300-calorie dinners aren’t the
craziest thing she’ll be dealing with.
Among her bulge-battling companions is Mallory Francis, a B-
list movie star with a knack for making frenemies with
everyone she meets. When she’s found strangled during a
seaweed wrap gone awry, Jaine is hard-pressed to think of
anyone who couldn’t have done it. Perhaps it was Kendra,
Mallory’s bitter sister-slash-personal assistant. Or maybe
Clint, a macho former co-star whose dirtiest secret is in
danger of being undressed in the drama queen’s upcoming
memoir. Or was it The Havens’ pretty young masseuse, driven
to commit a crime of passion when Mallory seduced her
aerobics instructor husband Sven?
With the suspects mounting faster than her hunger pangs,
Jaine doesn’t know who to believe. And when her search for
truth, justice and contraband calories leads her straight
to the cold-blooded killer, it seems murder may be on the
menu once again...
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