Books I've read this week - Peaches and Screams

Peaches and Screams © 2002 by G. A. McKevett

ISBN: 1-57566-727-4
Kensington Publishing Corp.

About the book: Plus-sized private eye Savannah Reid is about to discover the answer to that age-old question: What could be worse than going back home to the Deep South in the height of August humidity? It’s going home to a wedding – not your own – without a ring on your finger or a date on your arm. But a hideous bridesmaid’s dress is the least of Savannah’s problems after her kid brother is arrested for murder….

As the oldest of nine siblings, Savannah has attended her share of family weddings south of the Mason-Dixon line…several of which have featured her sister Marietta as the bride. But before the fickle Southern belle can traipse down the aisle with her latest Mr. Right, the youngest of the Reid brood is thrown into the slammer. At first, Savannah wonders if unruly Macon really is responsible for killing the Honorable Judge Patterson. But when she learns that the ornery old geezer had more enemies than Marietta’s had husbands, Savannah is convinces that her brother’s been framed.

Shaking the Patterson family tree nets Savannah an assortment of embittered ex-wives, spurned mistresses, and illegitimate offspring – but no real leads. Now, with hapless Macon stewing in a steamy cell and Marietta pouting about her postponed nuptials, it’s time for Big Sis Savannah to turn up the heat and show a cleverly concealed killer that this is one Georgia peach who ain’t just whistlin’ Dixie….

G. A. McKevett is the author of several novels featuring the plus-sized P.I. Savannah Reid. The titles all feature food in some way – Just Desserts, Killer Calories, Cooked Goose, etc. Food also featured somewhat prominently in this book as the entire dysfunctional Reid family was always sitting down to a fantastic southern meal. I guess you would say this was a chick-lit mystery and it was full of humor along with the whodunit story line. Savannah was once a cop and now has a private investigation business in California. She goes back home for her sister’s third wedding only to find out her baby brother has been arrested for murder. The town’s deputy is her old flame Tommy Stafford who broke her heart years ago when he wouldn’t commit to a relationship. Now she has to try and get him to help her clear her brother. More bodies turn up before the case is solved. It was a fun, quick read.

I purchased this book at the Des Moines flea market.