Poisoned Tarts

Savannah Reid, Book 13

By: G. A. McKevett

Narrated by: Dina Pearlman

Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

What happens when too rich and too thin becomes too deadly? Voluptuous P.I. Savannah Reid is about to find out as she delves into the disappearance of a celebrity hanger - on that soon leads to something more sinister. As Halloween draws near, Savannah will have to learn a killer's deadly 'tricks' before someone else is 'treated' to murder.... Halloween in Southern California just doesn't have the frosty bite Savannah's used to, although her latest job promises chills aplenty. The Skeleton Key Three, a celebutante clique so named by the media because of their super-skinny figures and fat trust funds, are in the spotlight again - but this time, it's for something more than partying. It seems the one member of the Three who was neither wealthy nor particularly svelte hasn't been heard from in days.

The missing girl's name is Daisy O'Neil, and by all accounts, she had little in common with her so-called friends Tiffy, Kiki, and Bunny. Chubby, smart, and less-than-privileged, Daisy's role in the Three seems to have been primarily to be the victim of their vicious jibes and pranks. When Savannah learns that Tiffy's acting aspirations were threatened by Daisy's genuine talent, the poor little rich girl begins to look big-time guilty. But just when Savannah thinks she has it all figured out - except where the body is stashed - the vibe surrounding the Skeleton Key Three changes from vacuous and suspicious to downright murderous. As preparations are being made for a monster Halloween party, to be held on the Dante compound, the patriarch himself is spotted dressed as Dracula, laid out in his coffin, complete with a real stake through his no-longer-beating heart.

Now, with the party seriously pooped and the tabloids on a tear, Savannah will have to put her Halloween candy on the shelf until she's deserving of a reward. And that means finding a killer - fast - before more Hollywood money becomes buried treasure....

©2008 G.A. McKevett and Kensington Publishing Corporation (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

One of the best in the series!

I've listened to all the Savannah Reid series thus far, and have enjoyed each book. They are nice cozy mysteries with mostly a PG story line and fairly good morals for a book set in L.A. I've been very pleased with the subtle tones of this series. I haven't felt like the author has tried to indoctrinate me!

In previous issues, although very enjoyable, I found myself yelling at the characters because they failed to recognize what was right before their faces. It was obvious to me but the "detectives" fail to put it together! However, this installment is a bit better. I actually had a different culprit in mind.. and was very surprised at the ending. Consequently, I found this book to be the best so far!

The narrator is very good. I don't have a problem distinguishing which character is speaking. And, in this book.. she nails the accent of the snooty L.A. society teen perfectly!

Yes, I'd recommend this series to anyone that likes a good mystery with fairly decent morals.

Comfortingly predictable

if you've made it this far in the series you know what to expect. These are my go to when I need a nice easy read that I can count on to be uplifting without being mind numbing. Love me some Savannah girl especially with a little Gran thrown in the mix.

Great series

I really like each of the characters in this series. Each has unique but admirable qualities. It was nice to see Dirk be a little more considerate and human.

Poisoned tarts

I always enjoy the savannah books , this one was great, one of the best , awesome

OK addition to an excellent series

I typically only review the first book in a series unless there's something really specific that needs to be said. In this case I'm reviewing this book because the only other rating (with no review to explain why) was one person who gave the book 1 star.

I rated all the other books in this series with 4-5 stars overall, though I admit this story didn't grab me like most of the others so it only got 3. I don't really enjoy "mean girl" themes though, which is why this wasn't one of my favorites.

Still, there was a complex enough plot to be interesting with a bit of a surprise ending so it's worth listening to if you enjoy other books in the series as I do. As always, I enjoy getting to know Savannah and the others better and I think the narrator did an outstanding job of bringing the characters to life without overdoing the GA accent.

I certainly wouldn't recommend listening to this if you don't already know the characters via the previous books. This late in the series you need to have some background on people, personalities, etc.

Also, as I mentioned in my review of the first book, the titles are a bit confusing. Though they tie into the plot of each book, they initially led me to expect more of a cozy series like Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen mysteries (which I also enjoy). This is much more like a less dark Sue Grafton mystery. I was also shocked to realize a few books in, that at least some of these books are Harlequin, which I typically associate with sappy romance books. Though there is a reasonable amount of romance in the series, it's much more real and often touching and funny. It's not the sappy, teenage-angst ridden stuff that usually prompts me to avoid Harlequin books.

I've now listened to all the books in this series and without giving anything away, I'll just say that though I really hated to see it end, the last book was the very best and there was an extremely satisfying end to the story. While this particular book wasn't my favorite, this series has become a favorite of mine, which is why I felt it was important to balance the other reader's 1 star rating with a full review. This series has interesting characters, humor, strong story lines and it progresses nicely from book to book. It's interesting without getting too dark or serious overall and I highly recommend it for some fairly light mystery reading.