Size 12 Is Not Fat

Starred review from October 3, 2005
Bag the tiara and get out the gun: Heather Wells, former teen idol, turns detective in the cute debut of a new mystery series from bestseller Cabot (The Princess Project
and other titles in her Princess Diaries series). After the 20-something Heather's rocker boyfriend dumps her, and her mother and manager flee with her earnings, she becomes an assistant director of an undergraduate residence hall at Manhattan's New York College (read: NYU) in hopes of free tuition. When students start to die mysteriously while "elevator surfing" in the building, weight-conscious, romance-obsessed Heather goes on a crazed hunt to uncover the truth—with an unwavering sense of style. As Magda, Heather's dorm cashier friend, says: "Even if the rest of your life is going down the toilet... at least your toes can still look pretty." Cabot delivers Heather's amateur sleuthing adventures in a rapid-fire narrative that may leave some readers begging for time-outs to control sudden laughing fits. 6-city author tour.

Starred review from December 1, 2005
Heather Wells was a rock star, a teen sensation by her freshman year of high school. A few years later, she loses her recording contract by insisting on using her own lyrics. A break with her philandering rocker boyfriend, Jordan Cartwright, soon follows. Alone, a has-been, and broke (her mother stole her money and left the country), Heather is offered a room by Jordan's older brother, hunky private investigator Cooper Cartwright, in exchange for doing his billings. And for income, and the possibility of free classes, Heather lands a job as one of New York College's assistant residence hall directors. When two students are murdered under circumstances that the police deem accidental, Heather, suspicious, investigates. Unfortunately, her decision to become an amateur sleuth looks as though it might be the last one she makes. Cabot ("The Princess Diaries") has written another book that's sure to delight readers. With its spunky heroine, witty dialog, unforgettable characters, great plot, and outrageously funny situations, this hilarious first installment of Cabot's new mystery series is the perfect book for those patrons looking for something to read while waiting for Janet Evanovich's next Stephanie Plum novel. Cabot lives in New York City and Key West, FL." -Shelley Mosley, Glendale Community Coll. Lib. Media Ctr., AZ"

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2005
At 28, former teen-pop-star Heather Wells feels as though she has lost everything: her family and fortune (her mom fled the country with Heather's earnings), her recording contract, her slender waistline, and her fiance, Jordan, a philandering, boy-band singer. Then Jordan's brother, Cooper, a dreamy private investigator and family black sheep, offers Heather room and board in exchange for clerical work, and she finds an additional job as a residence-hall director at a nearby Greenwich Village university. After several female students turn up dead at the dorm, Heather takes on her own stealthy investigation and finds herself the target of the killer. In the first title in her Heather Wells series, Cabot combines a fairly straightforward mystery with a single-girl-in-the-city plot in which Heather triumphs over cheating guys, bad luck, and a fattist society. Most of the characters are two-dimensional, but Heather's strong, amusing voice, the plot twists, and the possibility of romance will draw mystery and chick-lit readers alike.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)