Size 12 Is Not Fat: A Heather Wells Mystery (Heather Wells Mysteries, 1)

Once upon a time, twenty-eight year old Heather Wells was a celebrated rock star. Then she grew up, put on a little weight and had the audacity to want to write her own songs, so, her record label dropped her like a hot potato. Adding to that, her mother ran into the Argentina sunset with all of her money AND her manager. Oh! And if that didn't add insult to injury, her ex-fiancé - Easy Street boy band member Jordan Cartwright - cheated and then proposed to the NEW hot teen pop star Tania Trace. However, things are looking up at last! Heather is finally starting over, and getting her life back to normal while working as an assistant RHD (residence hall director) for New York College. At the same time, she dreams of her devastatingly handsome landlord-slash-detective-slash-friend Cooper Cartwright - Jordan's estranged brother - to see her as more than just a best bud. But that fantasy has to be put on hold for just a moment, since the body of a young freshman girl is found dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft of one of the dorms - I mean residence halls. Unlike the rest of the students and staff members, Heather thinks this isn't just an accident. Especially when more bodies turn up, so she decides to do some probing of her own. Unfortunately, as soon as she stumbles upon exactly who the killer is, she gets stuck in the uncompromising position of trying to save her own life. SIZE 12 IS NOT FAT was such a fun cozy mystery. I liken it right up there with Kyra Davis' SEX, MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE. It was a hilarious, fun and exciting read that I am sure will make for a superb series! Heather is a loveable heroine that all readers will be rooting for. The other characters also add much amusement and pizzazz. I also can't wait to see where Heather and Cooper's relationship go from here! Cabot's second installment, SIZE 14 IS NOT FAT EITHER, can't come soon enough!

Right now I'm wondering why this book only has four stars. I personally found it one of Ms. Cabot's best works. It has everything that a good book needs: A little mystery, a main character who is likable and who has some faults, and romance. Okay, and there's two really hot guys in here too. But give me a break. Guys are one of my few weaknesses. Along with chocolate. Anyway, I really enjoyed this story. I usually read Christian based novels, but this one didn't have anything too bad in it. Basically, if you want a quick summary of this book, its about a woman in her late twenties that used to be a singer but gained some weight and now works in a college dorm. She lives with her ex-fiances brother, Cooper, rent free, and has a doggie, whose name I have forgotten. Some mysterious things start to happen around the dorm and two young girls die "elevator surfing." Our heroine does not for a second believe this and investigates things with the help of Cooper, who does that kind of thing for a living. That's really about it. I don't want to give away what happens, so I won't. But I will say that in order to find out how everything ends, we will all have to read the sequel, which comes out sometime late this year. I can hardly wait. I hope you enjoy this story. If anything, you will enjoy Cooper. You can't not enjoy Cooper. He's just too hot for words.

I enjoyed this book. I think it was interesting to see a mystery aspect to Meg Cabot's work. I won't give away the books details, but Size 12 is Not Fat is an excellent start to Meg Cabot's new series, and I would highly reccommend to any Meg Cabot fans! (side note: i would recommend this book for girls that are 15+, not for the younger Meg Cabot fans)

Heather Wells was once a teen singing sensation. But after a string of bad luck events (her mother ran off with Heather's money and her manager, her recording contract was canceled, and she discovered her fiancé, Jordan, with another woman), she has taken a job as assistant dorm manager at a New York City college. At Fischer Hall, she's responsible for a variety of jobs, such as helping when the soda machine malfunctions and taking drunk students to the hospital. Heather lives close to the college, in the top floor apartment of a building owned by her ex-fiancé's hunky detective brother, Cooper. Jordan is still after Heather to get back together, which is never going to happen. Probably. In fact, Heather nurses a secret passion for nice guy Cooper, who unfortunately doesn't appear to consider Heather to be girlfriend material in any way. Elizabeth Kellogg, a freshman who dies in Fischer Hall, is found at the bottom of the elevator shaft. Heather is troubled. Sure, students have been known to indulge in the deadly game of elevator surfing --- but only the (usually drunk) males. And only in packs. If the dead girl wasn't alone when she was supposedly elevator surfing, where were her friends? Elizabeth was a preppie; as a group, preppies aren't likely to elevator surf. The more Heather thinks about Elizabeth's death, the less it adds up. In fact, Heather can't help but wonder (although she tries not to) if Elizabeth was pushed. Is Fischer Hall an unsafe place, with a murderer running rampant? Or, just as disturbing, did someone see the girl fall and not report it? Then, incredibly, another dead female freshman is found at the bottom of the elevator shaft. When Heather discovers that the desk elevator key is missing, she contacts Cooper and insists he help her solve the mystery. Cooper though believes that Heather is pursuing the mystery angle because she misses the adrenaline rush of her singing career. That ticks Heather off because it's so untrue. Or is it? The already fast-paced plot quickens when Heather discovers that the two dead girls had things in common: they were both virgins and had interfering mothers, according to the dorm records. It's not too long before she stumbles across a certain individual, but she seems to be the only one who suspects this person. Next thing she knows, her life is in danger. Or is it? Anyone who has read Meg Cabot's teen books knows that the author dishes out one delightful read after another --- and she doesn't disappoint with SIZE 12 IS NOT FAT. As always, her characters are real and truly hilarious, the plot is lively, and the romance plays well. Heather is an endearing sleuth with believable motivations. This book is pure entertainment, laugh-out-loud fun with an intriguing mystery woven through --- perfect for a long winter's read in front of a roaring fire. My only complaint: WHY must we wait until January 2007 for the next Heather Wells book? I can't wait that long! --- Reviewed by Terry Miller

Twenty-eight-year-old Heather Wells rocked out when she was a teen, as a pop star that toured local malls with the boy band Easy Street. But once she stopped being a teenager, started packing on the pounds, and decided she wanted to write her own songs, Heather lost it all. Her recording contract was promptly taken away, her mother took off with her manager and all of her money to Argentina, and her boyfriend, Easy Street member, Jordan Cartwright, dumped her for the newest hot pop star, Tania Trace. But Heather is finally getting her life back on track. She's the Assistant Residence Hall Director at New York College, and she's even shacking up with one of the hottest guys on earth - okay, just as friends - Cooper Cartwright, Jordan's estranged, private eye brother. But when the body of a female co-ed from Heather's residence hall is discovered at the bottom of an elevator shaft, and everyone claims it's just an accident, Heather knows better, because she knows girls, and girls don't elevator surf. Then another body appears, and Heather knows that two accidents in two weeks is utterly impossible. So she begins investigating. The only problem, by the time she finds out who the killer is, it may be too late...for her. Meg Cabot is one of the most colorful writers on the market right now. She can take any genre, and turn it into something marvelous. SIZE 12 IS NOT FAT is no exception. Meg takes three very unlikely subjects: pop stars, dorm directors, and detectives, and mixes them into one very intriguing book that is utterly impossible to put down. Heather Wells, like Meg's previous characters, is charming, with a witty sense of humor, and various complaints about her imperfections, that make her an easy character to relate to. A highly enjoyable, laugh-out-loud funny look into the life of an ex-pop star, that must be read while eating a Dove Bar. With just one book, Cabot has taken the mystery world by storm, and proves that there's a lot more Heather Wells where this came from. And I can't wait to get my hands on it. Erika Sorocco Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper