Book Review: Carbs and Cadavers by J. B. Stanley (Supper Club Mysteries #1)

Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Characters you love to spend time with

Cons: The uneven pacing to the plot

The Bottom Line:

Plotting needs some work

But love the main characters

They pull you through book

Meet the Flab Five

The food trend in mysteries seems to show no signs of slowing down. Carbs and Cadavers is the first in a series that focuses on a group of dieters.

James Henry's life has brought him many changes in the last few months. Right after his divorce, his mother died and he moved home to care for his dad. He's taken the job of head librarian for the Quincy Gap branch. Of course, since this is such a small Virginia town, the job is much more prestigious then it sounds.

James has had a hard time making friends since he moved back, so that's why he decides to become the fifth member in a local supper club. The entire group could stand to lose weight, so they decided to count carbs together. Dubbing themselves the "Flab Five," they set out to reach their own weight goals.

The club has barely gotten off the ground when the local trouble maker dies in the bakery. Lucy, one of the supper club members, decides this unusual event is the perfect time to prove she can be a real cop instead of just their dispatcher. The victim had made lots of enemies in his short life, so finding suspects is easy. But working together, these five new friends just might find the killer.

This is the first book in a new series that by a new author. It could use a little polish, both in writing and pacing. But the end result is still entertaining.

The biggest draw is the characters. While James is our main character, each of the "Flab Five" contributes to the story in their own way. They are a quirky and charming bunch I look forward to getting to know better in later books. In fact, some of my favorite scenes were just of this group talking. Adding to the fun are James' two employees, twins Francis and Scott Fitzgerald. James' father annoyed me for most of the book, yet he is a realistic character trying to deal with the loss of his wife. Yet the end gave us a glimpse of hope for him as well.

As I said earlier, the plot was a bit uneven at times. The story starts slowly. While I enjoyed some of the group conversations, they didn't always do much toward advancing the story. Still, there were several red herrings and real clues, and I was definitely hooked for the climax.

Now, just because this series focuses on carb counters, don't think you'll get away from mouth watering descriptions of food. We are treated to every temptation the main characters face. The chapter titles are all foods, and we even get a nutritional supplement guide to each one of them. As is tradition in this genre, we are treated to two low carb recipes.

Despite the uneven plot, I've completely fallen for these characters making my reaction to Carbs and Cadavers decidedly mixed.