Fit to Die

Supper Club Mysteries, Book 2

By: Ellery Adams

Narrated by: Karen White

James Henry, a lovable librarian, has gotten used to being back home in Quincy's Gap, a tiny town in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. He has a job he adores, a group of close friends and fellow dieters who call themselves the "Flab Five", and is actually thinking about starting an exercise regimen.

Six months after starting a low-carb diet, however, James and the Flab Five have fallen off the diet wagon. A new ice cream shop has opened in town, but so has the Witness to Fitness weight loss center, run by the zealous Veronica Levitt. Maybe Veronica's fanatical approach is just what the group needs.

But when James and his fellow dieters poke around in an arson case that turns into a murder investigation, the Flab Five discover that they may have bitten off more than they can chew. It isn't long before James wonders if he can handle cardio classes, a budding romance, his cranky father, and a duplicitous killer without binging on too ice cream.

©2013 J. B. Stanley (P)2017 Tantor

Sweet

Very cute!! Love the characters. Real authentic characters. Love that they are hopeful weight loss buddies. If you wants something easy to listen to this is it

A new diet and new case

The Flab Five Supper Club has met for six months now, and everyone is starting to slip and gain back the weight they lost at first as Fit to Die by Ellery Adams opens. So when Veronica Levitt opens the Witness to Fitness weight loss center, the group decides to sign up, despite its hefty cost. But a few doors down from Witness to Fitness, a man opens The Polar Pagoda, a specialty ice cream shop, and "Ronnie" takes every chance to attack the shop. The Saturday after the group signs up, they attend the fire department stew dinner, the annual major fundraiser for the fire department. But then the alarms go off, and the fire trucks race to the Polar Pagoda, which has burned to the ground. But worse, Pete, the surly former high school janitor who has just gotten a new start on life by getting hired by Willie, the owner of the Polar Pagoda, is found dead inside.

Almost everyone writes off the death as a suicide, especially when the analysts find valium in the Jack Daniels bottle found in the debris. But Pete's friends know that he never drank Jack Daniels. Further, Pete never smoked either, being hooked on chewing tobacco, but the investigators found cigarette residue next to the body. So they assume that the fire was set by the cigarettes' lighting the whiskey that Pete supposedly spilled on the ground. These questions and a personal understanding of the character of Pete inspire the Flab Five team to do their own investigating.

In the meantime, life continues. The group endures the repetitive, cardboard- like food and grueling workouts while trying, sometimes successfully and other times not so successfully, to stay away from junk food. The Shenandoah Valley County Library, run by James Henry, holds a Spring Fling, complete with pig races and ladies' hat competitions. And James advances his romantic life in addition to rekindling his relationship with his father. But the murder still lingers amid all of them.

This book began a little slow, but it sped up as the book continued. The plot focused less on mystery than most cozy mysteries and books by Adams, but I found myself gripped by the book due to the lives and adventures of the characters. The conclusion to the mystery surprised me, but it seemed perfectly reasonable once I learned the solution. I got a clear image of the bad food that the dieters have been forced to eat and the tempting food that lures them. And then I really identified with the struggles of the Supper Club members as they try to exert all their willpower to restrain their appetites and the guilt they experience when they give in to temptation.

I particularly enjoyed the characters in this book, especially the identical twins, Francis and Scott Fitzgerald, who work at the library and plan the Spring Fling. I laughed when they explained to a woman wanting to find girls for these creative men that they were looking for identical twin girls who love sci-fi and Star Trek and the Discovery Channel. All the characters, however, came across memorably.

Karen White does a notable job in performing the audio edition of this book. She does an effective job of pacing and expressing herself as she articulates the book. She really does make this book all the more effective as I listen to it.

Overall, though Fit to Die begins rather slowly, I had a good time listening to the book. It was a lot of fun, and the idea of the supper club was very unique and creative. I can't think of any series with even a remotely similar theme. I give the book four stars.

A good read

The story is interesting and intriguing. It will keep you engaged and entertained. And the ending has a nice subtle twist.

Good book!

Love this series!!
An going to get the 3rd right now. I really like the audible books.

Great series

Fit to Die is another example of Adam's excellent writing. The well developed characters and realistic plot are entertaining and humorous. I loved the part about the pig race and hat competition at the library fundraiser. The writing is so descriptive that I could practically see it all in my mind. I can't wait for the next one to be available on audible.

Cute story

Cute story to listen to and nice friendly characters
A man seems to be the main character and then his group of friends. At first thought it odd that one of these stories had a man instead of a woman as the lead character. But it’s different and entertaining story.

Really enjoyed this book

Book 2 in the Supper Club series. I'm glad that this series is being released in audio. I started the series previously, but am not able to read printed books or to even easily read ebooks, so audio books are my primary way to "read". In the second entry in this series, the main characters are developed even further, and are becoming more familiar - like new friends that you are getting to know better. I was glad to see that James and his father are forging a better relationship, and that James and Lucy eventually cleared up misunderstandings. While the mystery is well developed, the characters personal lives are as important to the plot as the solving of the mystery. The fact that all of the "Flab Five" have ups and down in their battle to lose weight makes them more real and it is easier for the reader to identify with their struggles. This is a good book in a good series and I look forward to future releases.

The Flab 5 is in the case!

I really love this series & book 2 is even better than the last! We get to know the “Flab 5” on a more personal level & see many relationships develop.
What sets this series apart from other cozies is that the lead is a man & the love interest (often the hero) is a female. It flips the typical dynamic in a great way that freshens up the genre!

Low Cal Plates. Lifting Weights and Deadly Fates

When Witness to Fitness opens in town and the Flab Five join the program, James Henry is the only one who has a strong dislike for the owner, Veronica Levitt . . . but her "too perky" and "too pushy" attitude is TOO MUCH for James . . . However, he goes along with the rest of the supper club, hoping to lose some weight . . . then he overhears a heated confrontation between Veronica and Chilly Willy Ice Cream Shop employee, Pete. The next day Pete is found dead, burned alive in the new ice cream shop. Everyone thinks its suicide, but James isn't so sure. This is the second in the Supper Club Mysteries, and I am liking them more and more. Set in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, the small town flavor is just right. The townsfolk stick together and yet have their quirks, that make me laugh. The old biddies having a fit over Chilly Willy's tee shirts cracked me up. I love the Fitzgerald twins who work in the town library with "Professor" James Henry (former professor at William and Mary), and the ingenious fundraisers they are always coming up with for the library. My favorite this time was the pig races. As the Flab Five work through the clues in the crime scenes, romantic sparks are flying between James and Lucy . . . looking forward to book three in the series . . .

Fine

It was not a bad followup. The gang is trying to get their act together.