Review: Big Boned by Meg Cabot

Title: Big Boned
Series: Heather Wells #3
Author: Meg Cabot
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Release Date: November 20, 2007
Format: Audiobook
Pages: 280
Source: Public Library
Date Read: April 7 - 12, 2023

Life is reasonably rosy for plus-size ex-pop star turned Assistant Dormitory Director and sometime sleuth Heather Wells. Her freeloading ex-con dad is finally moving out. She still yearns for her hot landlord, Cooper Cartwright, but her relationship with "rebound beau," vigorous vegan math professor Tad Tocco, is more than satisfactory. Best of all, nobody has died lately in "Death Dorm," the aptly nicknamed student residence that Heather assistant-directs. Of course every silver lining ultimately has some black cloud attached. And when the latest murdered corpse to clutter up her jurisdiction turns out to be her exceedingly unlovable boss, Heather finds herself on the shortlist of prime suspects—along with the rabble-rousing boyfriend of her high-strung student assistant and an indecently handsome young campus minister who's been accused of taking liberties with certain girls' choir members.

With fame beckoning her back into show business (as the star of a new kids' show!) it's a really bad time to get wrapped up in another homicide. Plus Tad's been working himself up to ask her a Big Question, which Heather's not sure she has an answer for . . .

Review

Meg Cabot is hit or miss for me. Some of her stuff is fun, but also leaves me so full of disbelief, I can’t even. The Heather Wells series, however, is a hit for me.

Heather was once a teen pop star, a la Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson, but after being dropped by her label for wanting to take her music in a less bubblegum direction, her boyfriend (a fellow pop superstar and son of her now former label head) dumps her, her mother runs off with her manager (and Heather’s fortune) leaving Heather alone and penniless, and now she finds herself working for New York College as an assistant residence hall director. (It’s her plan to get free tuition for a college education.)

The problem is, her residence hall is known as Death Dorm due to the number of, well, deaths that have occurred there during her time as assistant residence hall director.

In book 3, we’re greeted with yet another death. This time it’s the interim residence hall director. Heather comes into work as normal, only to find him at his desk with a bullet through his head. Great. Just what Heather needs. Another death in Death Dorm.

After being scolded multiple times in the previous books in this series for trying to solve a murder instead of leaving it to the police, Heather is determined to stay out of it. She has too much to deal with anyway, between her new boyfriend (who happens to be her remedial math processor) and the student workers who are protesting for benefits and better wages on campus. Nope, she’s leaving this one to the police! Until she accidentally gets involved.

This is a fun series (yes, even with all the death.) It does get annoying how much Heather fixates on her weight (she’s totally fine with being a bigger girl) but it’s kind of thrown in our faces all the time. She has an unhealthy relationship with food IMO. I mean, with the titles of the books in this series though, it’s not a big surprise. I just think that Gen X will not appreciate this series. As a Millennial, I can look past the annoying and (potentially) problematic things and enjoy it for what it is.

So, if you’re looking for a light-hearted, funny, murder mystery with plenty of romantic elements, this could be the series for you.

Now, don’t mind me, I’ll just be over here anxiously awaiting book 4 to come through on my library holds!