This book is a mix of mystery, romance, drama with a splash of humour. I read it quickly as it was easy to read as well as entertaining.

Agatha (Aggie) Mundeen, the protagonist, is single and pushing forty. She has recently left a stressful banking job in Chicago to follow her friend Sam to San Antonio. Sam Vanderhoven who moved from Chicago to San Antonio is a detective with the SAPD. He moved there after losing his wife and child in a terrible accident. Aggie was close to the family. She made a lot of money cashing in her bank stock so does not really need to work. She writes an advice column, Stay Young With Aggie", part-time and decides she better shape up before anybody discovers she writes the column. She seems just a little obsessed with aging and has actually gone to Graduate School and is taking a course on aging. She has also signed up to start exercising at Fit and Firm. On her first day at the club, she stumbles upon a young woman who is unconscious in the pool and with the help of Sarah, an employee, they revive her. Everyone thinks it is an accident, but Aggie is suspicious. Rusty at flirting and mechanically inept, she irritates not only several of the male exercisers, but a group of the women as well. Aggie begins her own investigation, but suddenly becomes a target herself. When she finds out another investigation is going on a little too close to home, she becomes upset with Sam.

Aggie Mundeen is a very engaging character who has had some heartache in her life as well as a secret. A secret that is trying to desperately keep from her friend Sam, who she hopes will become more than just a friend. As the story unfolds, we find out what that secret is. The author has a great sense of humour and I enjoyed that aspect of the story. Aggie’s interactions with the people at the gym are hilarious as she learns to use the equipment and deal with all the aches and pains that go with beginning an exercise program. Blended with the humour are fantastic clues that help solve the mystery with some very interesting twists. I love to try to figure out who the murderer is, but had no idea with this one, I was quite far off the mark. I like that the ending was very plausible yet a surprise at the same time. I hope to find out more about the column that Aggie writes, it plays a large role in the story, but is not well explained. The characters are fun and enjoyable which always gets me to pick up the next book in the series. I would recommend this book to cozy mystery lovers who also like a little romance and humour that is not over the top. ( )

I liked Fit to be Dead, the first book in the Aggie Mundeen Mystery series. Author Nancy G. West has created some interesting, quirky characters, and she puts them through one hilarious situation after another. The main characters are Aggie Mundeen herself (I'll bet you knew that), her friend Meredith Laughlin, and attractive detective Sam Vanderhoven.

The only weakness in Fit to be Dead is the implausibility of Aggie's reasons for sleuthing. Aggie thinks that she, an untrained civilian, can detect better than the SAPD. I thought this shows that she has a lack of respect for law enforcement officers, which is surprising since she has secret romantic notions about Sam. Because of this, I deducted one star from my rating.

I look forward to reading the second Aggie Mundeen Mystery book, Dang Near Dead, which will be re-released by Henery Press on 9/30/14. I am betting that Aggie's grounds for sleuthing are more logical this time. But will she let Sam know how she feels about him???

Fit to be Dead is an enjoyable cozy mystery, with appealing, engaging characters. The health club setting will amuse anyone who has ever felt awkward or inept as a "newbie" to fitness equipment. I liked it, and I think you will like it too!



[Fascinating Side Note: As I was reading Fit to be Dead, several times I noticed brief references to past events involving Aggie with Meredith and/or Sam. Because of this, I felt like I was missing something.

I did a little detecting of my own, and discovered that I was missing something. Fit to be Dead is not the first book that Aggie, Meredith, and Sam have appeared in. They first appeared in Nine Days to Evil, a suspense novel in which Meredith is the main character.

Author Nancy G. West says that, while she was writing Nine Days to Evil,

That's when whimsical Aggie Mundeen cut through the suspense, popped into my head and demanded her own series. The Aggie Mundeen mystery capers were born.

I immediately put Nine Days to Evil on my TBR. I look forward to reading it, so I can learn their back-stories.]



Note: I received a complimentary review copy of Fit to be Dead from the publisher, with no expectation of a positive review.

Originally published on my blog at www.JaneReads2.blogspot.com ( )

I liked Fit to be Dead,the first book in the Aggie Mundeen Mystery series. Author Nancy G. West has created some interesting, quirky characters, and she puts them through one hilarious situation after another. The main characters are Aggie Mundeen herself (I'll bet you knew that), her friend Meredith Laughlin, and attractive detective Sam Vanderhoven.

The only weakness in Fit to be Dead is the implausibility of Aggie's reasons for sleuthing. Aggie thinks that she, an untrained civilian, can detect better than the SAPD. I thought this shows that she has a lack of respect for law enforcement officers, which is surprising since she has secret romantic notions about Sam. Because of this, I deducted one star from my rating.

I look forward to reading the second Aggie Mundeen Mystery book, Dang Near Dead, which will be re-released by Henery Press on 9/30/14. I am betting that Aggie's grounds for sleuthing are more logical this time. But will she let Sam know how she feels about him???

Fit to be Dead is an enjoyable cozy mystery, with appealing, engaging characters. The health club setting will amuse anyone who has ever felt awkward or inept as a "newbie" to fitness equipment. I liked it, and I think you will like it too!

Note: I received a complimentary review copy of Fit to be Dead from the publisher, with no expectation of a positive review.

{Originally published on my blog at www.JaneReads2.blogspot.com} ( )

3 1/2 STARS

Fit to Be Dead is an entertaining story. It keeps up the suspense of who the murder is till revealed. Some points of the plots seem weak. Has humor. the characters are likeable and would love to see more. Also clean read.

Aggie Mundeen is single and almost 40. She is back in college. She also writes a newspaper column Stay Young with Aggie. She wants to solve a murder to impress a detective.

Aggie goes to Fit and Firm Health Club to try and get in shape. She has a eventful first day. She meets a lot of guys who flirt with her. She also finds and help save a life Holly.

Weak part for me was that she thinks she might have been poisoned at a health club so she takes some containers of different things and takes to lab for testing. She does not tell her cop friend and warn people about products. Also she goes through a lot of steps to lose the cop watching her house to keep her safe.

Holly Holmgreen someone caused her to be almost killed in the swimming pool. If Aggie had not gone over to meet her and realized that she was not breathing and got her help so fast.
Aggie has lots of suspects for who she has offended lately.

The setting of the story is San Antonio, Texas. A lot of the story also happens to be the gym.

I would read another Aggie Mundeen mystery in the future.

I was given this ebook to read and in return agreed to give honest review of it by Net Galley and Henery Press ( )

I marched to the door, walking as straight as I could. It was hard to appear serious wearing a Garfield shirt and lime green warm-ups, barefoot, with wet hair drooping on one side, but I was.

After reading mysteries with a super serious main character, Aggie Mundeen is a breath of fresh air. This is the first book in the Aggie Mundeen Mysteries series and it follows Aggie who is a thirty-something woman who write a column Dear Aggie which gives out advice on how to stay fit. The only problem is that Aggie isn't giving advice based on personal experience but on research that she has done. So now Aggie has decided to work on herself and she joins a local fitness club, Fit and Firm. Aggie works out at Fit and Firm and ends up stumbling upon a mystery which leads to murder. Aggie then tries her best to solve it before her friend and police detective, Sam, can.

I really enjoyed following Aggie; she was funny, yet also clearly still had some vulnerability in regards to her past. The only thing that irked me a bit about her was her insane determination to find out who had committed the murder. She kept being attacked herself but she wouldn't stop. I also liked her friendship with Meredith and Sam. There was so much backstory in regards to Aggie and Sam that it kind of felt like I had started the series on book two instead of the first book in the series. I still understand what had happened but it was a lot to take in. I don't understand why Aggie is so frightened that Sam will be mad at her if she shares her secret with him. I think that Sam will be supportive and I think that he might even know about it already.

I did not see the twist at the end coming. When the murderer was revealed at the end I actually high-fived my kindle. That was definitely a great ending to the book and I look forward to reading more of this series. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the galley. ( )