That Wasn't Chicken

By: Linda Kozar

Narrated by: Michelle Babb

Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

Murder, mystery meat, and morning sickness! Hudson and Lovita are expecting, and she's having trouble keeping food down for the first time in her life. Her best friend, Sue Jan, is busy juggling mommyhood. The Crown of Glory Beauty Salon and Boutique is busier than a one-toothed man in a corn-on-the-cob-eating contest.

Things are great until a handsome law intern disappears after an argument with their top stylist's once-upon-a-time wayward son. So Lovita and Sue Jan put down their forks and pick up the trail to solve the mystery before Jolene's son has to trade in his chef's uniform for prison stripes. But the supersized sleuths soon discover something very unusual about a popular new barbecue restaurant in town. Does everything taste like chicken, or did they risk it eating brisket?

©2014 Linda Kozar (P)2015 Linda Kozar

Book 4

Any additional comments?

The ladies in this series are a group of characters! Each one has their own sense of humor , trouble and danger too. Very entertaining series.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

I love this series!

I received this book in exchange for a honest and unbiased review. I love this series! These ladies in this series are a group of characters! Each one has their own sense of humor , trouble and danger too. Together they are a riot and unstoppable. Lovita is so intelligent and has a real knack for the PI business. Sue Jan, Jolene and the others are just as much trouble and fun. So many funny lines such as a taco in the oven and Boiled as an owl.

The author, Linda Kozar has an amazing ability to write with so much wit & charm for a cozy mystery. I love how this series carries on, as the girls are so much fun, that I hate to see them ever come to an end. The plot is excellent and there are so many twists and turns, it could be mistaken for a highway! The narrator, Michelle Babb does wonderful with all her accents for the characters. She makes the story so much fun and captures the wittiness of all of Lovita's friends and you can hear it in her different voices. Michelle is one talented lady. Kudos to both ladies for such a wonderful series!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

LOVE THE FAT LADIES!

What made the experience of listening to That Wasn't Chicken the most enjoyable?

As always it was a charming cozy mystery!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I was very intrigued!

Which character – as performed by Michelle Babb – was your favorite?

Lovita and Sue-Jan!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I love how Hudson cares for Lovita it is so sweet!

Any additional comments?

** I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **

This series is so cute and this installment was as charming as ever! Lovita is going to be a new mommy and is having morning sickness..and this mystery did not help her nausea...There is a new BBQ place in town and it is serving up some mystery meat! lol Of course it is up to the girls to figure out who, what, when where and why! I loved it!!! The narration was great and I definitely will be wanting to listen to the next one!!

Thanks Michelle!!!

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Crazy in Texas!

cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, humor, texas
Read on September 21, 2016

The characters are fun and the mystery is delightfully twisty! While this is one in a series, each is enjoyable without the others, but why would you want to? These friends seem to attract trouble, but work together to get out of it. Where but in Texas! Publisher's blurb will give some clues, and spoilers are a rotten trick.
I got it in audio again, and I'm so glad that Michelle Babb did this one, too. She makes the listen a real delight.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Loved The Story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would absolutely recommend this to a friend. The story was delightful and was great to listen to while driving. I really like the different voices the narrator uses for the range of characters.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Loved Lavetta. (not sure it I spelled her name correctly) She is a very calm, reasonable person. She is a delightful character.

Which scene was your favorite?

I liked the end when Suzanne's family gets involved. Don't want to say too much because it might spoil the ending for others.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did not have an extreme reaction to the book. However it was very enjoyable.

Any additional comments?

The narrator does such a good job with the voices that it is easy to identify who is talking during each scene. The author writes a very enjoyable book and I really like this series.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I found myself really liking this series

I don't think I gave this series a very good review with the last book. However, I was really quick to listen to this next installment! I admit it now, I really like this series! The two best friends have such a great relationship. They have each others backs but still bicker and judge, just like us real humans. The humor is infectious and actually gets funnier after knowing the characters better. I love that in a series. The narration is spot on! I've not listened to the first two in this series and think I will read them since not narrated by Michelle Babb. She is the voice of these characters now and I know I won't like anyone else reading it.
The mystery this book is based on was okay. Honestly, I usually don't care too much how good the actual mystery is as long as the characters are interesting. In that aspect, this book excels.
I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review. It was a very good gift!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

That Was Better then last book

That Wasn't Chicken: Until the Fat Ladies Sing Cozy Mystery Series, Book 4 is better then Dead As a Doornail. The story felt "tighter" and i did like the plot line better. There something about Linda Kozar that i really like, and here in this books it feels like it comes better in play. There are maybe more mystery in this book then the last, and that shows in a way i really enjoy. Linda Kozar is growing on me, and i really enjoy that feeling in a book.

Michelle Babb does a brilliant job as always. She reads this as a champion! 6 hrs and 27 mins never feels boring, 6 hrs and 27 mins never feels bad ether! There is something about Michelle Babbm, and i really think more books should be read like this! Michelle Babb is the standard, and that standard is HIGH!

I got this book for a honest review, and that is what you see here!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

So, so good.

Oh, man. I didn't think this book would be better than Dead As A Doornail, but it really was. The mystery was so much more fun than a simple murder and I did not see the "secret ingredient" coming. The humor is much more evident in this book and the, not-so-small-anymore, town of Wachita has so much more character than the previous book.

I listened to the audio version and Michelle Babb is wonderful. Her characterization of Sue Jan and Lovita is en pointe. She has great comedic timing and really seems to connect to the story.

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fun Series!

I had the pleasure of taking another trip to Wachita, Texas to meet up with my new old friends Lovita and Sue Jan. These two women are so much fun and I think the author does a wonderful job of bringing husbands and children into their friendship. It works beautifully.

This is only the second book I’ve read in this series and I already find myself caring about these two women and their families. I was genuinely happy when both discovered they were going to have babies. It’s nice to see two women work so well together and be able to juggle a family and career. Lovita and Sue Jan are successful at all of it. Not to mention that they make excellent private investigators. So, they are actually juggling two careers and families.

The mystery is intriguing although there were a couple of parts I found a bit disgusting. I don’t want to give anything away so I won’t go into further detail about that, but it didn’t stop me from enjoying the mystery. The story moves along at a nice pace.

This is a great series to listen on audio. The narrator is very easy to listen to. Michelle Babb is made for the role of Lovita. She, also, does the other characters very well. She brings them to life and gives us a wonderful audio production. I wish there were more books for me to listen to.


FTC Disclosure: The author provided me with a copy of this book to review. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Southern, sweet, & sassy

3.5 stars...

Enjoyed the fourth installment in the "Fat ladies" southern cozy series! Sue Jan & Lovita are knee deep in a mystery as usual with a dash of motherhood on the side. In Texas, BBQ reigns supreme, but is it really what they think it is? Lots of humor as the gals figure out the clues and ultimately solve the mystery. I love the friendship aspects of this series. A lot of emphasis is put on relationships and how we help/hurt each other.

The narrator was awesome and made the book come alive with her true-to-life Texan accents. She gives listeners a great performance with unique voices for each character. I highly recommend the audio version narrated by Michelle Babb.

Recommended for "cozy" readers, those who like humorous mysteries, and lovers of southern fiction with levity:)

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fabulous

Made my day loved loved loved this book x Enjoyed this audio from start to finish hopefully more books to come well written too

A Menu of A Mystery

Lavita and her husband Hudson prove a great team at solving mysteries. This mystery is of a culinary nature just as Lavita's appetite is thrown into disaray through pregnancy. This is a modern crime novel but harking back to gentler times. The writing is wonderful with excellent characterisation and plots. Narration could not be more sympathetic and adds to the overall enjoyment.

You and I ain't bunnies!

Whist Sue-Jan and Lovita have been on a veggie diet to become the not-quite-so-fat-ladies, their little town of Wachita has been growing bigger. Now happily married, Sue-Jan has twins and Lovita is expecting in a few months. Their beauty parlour is thriving, Sharla has proved to be an excellent recent employee and her boyfriend, Zane, son of their other employee and friend, Jolene, has finally found a job. But when they decide to go for a celebratory lunch, their cozy world is interrupted: time for the ladies to come off the diet and tuck into another mystery.

This is a gorgeously character filled, funny series, with wonderfully mundane conversation which sparkles in it's ordinariness. Their town might be growing fast but still boasts the wonderful Work of Ages Chinese restaurant and their own Crown of Glory hairdressers. It really is like sitting with a group of friends (from Texas) listening to the gossip, misunderstandings and opinions, not always complementary, of the folks from the town. All this, and an interesting mystery, too.

Of course, the whole thing is complimented by the excellent Michelle Babb, whose reading of the story and, above all, voicing of these delightfully extraordinary folks is superb. Each character is accentuated by Ms.Babb's performance and her gorgeous Texan accent is a pleasure to hear. The book wouldn't be the same without her.

Linda Cozar's Fat Lady series is simple delight, a sort of modern Jane Austen gossip set in a small town Texas hairdressers. It's funny and the characters are 'real' and, yes, I have very much enjoyed each one. That Wasn't Chicken has a slightly more serious tone with a harder mystery line, but it is still a book to bring smiles. I loved it.

A good cozy mystery.

Any additional comments?

I listened to Dead as a Door Nail book 3 (until the fat lady sing cozy mystery series) and I found that it is different from this book. I found the previous book to be more funny and had less of a mystery since we sort of knew who did it. It was a matter of finding out why and how.
About two years passes after what happens in book 3 before we get to book 4. Since then there has been many changes in the town and to some extent the characters as well. We get to meet some of the other characters from the previous book in this one too.
This is not as funny as the previous book, however it has more of a mystery. I had to guess a few times in who did it and we do get a twist that I was not expecting. Also I would not recommend you listen to this whilst you are eating your food. There are parts in this book that would put anybody of their food especially the hunting lodge dinner part.

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.