Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
Biggie and the Fricasseed Fat Man
Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Nancy Bell
Class/Genre: Mystery Amateur Sleuth
Series: Biggie # 3
St. Martin's, Nov 1998, $20.95, 211 pp.
Biggie Weatherford takes her grandson J.R. to the opening of Job's Crossing, Texas' newest eatery, The Fresh-as-a-Daisy Restaurant. However, instead of enjoying a meal, the amateur detective duo discover the restaurant's owner, Firman Birdsong, has been murdered and stuffed like a chicken to be roasted.
Biggie personally believes that it is her divine right to investigate the murder. She and J.R. soon find several suspects with motives. However, before she can complete her inquiries, the maternal grandparents of J.R. arrive to take the lad back with them. Feeling that his beloved Biggie is obsessed with sleuthing, an unwanted J.R. runs away, leaving Biggie with two cases to ponder.
If anyone has read the two previous Biggie tales (see BIGGIE AND THE MANGLED MORTICIAN and BIGGIE AND THE POISONED POLITICAN), they might initially feel that their third novel is a repeat. In many ways, it is. However, the story line is freshened up by the crack in the relationship between J.R. and Biggie, and the appearance of the other grandparents. The mystery is well written and built around hoe-down humor and cardiac-giving (but delicious) food. With BIGGIE AND THE FRICASSEED FAT MAN, Biggie remains a big player in the regional amateur sleuth sub-genre.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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