What do you think?
Rate this book
Bernstein/Miller Mystery #1
Throw Darts at a Cheesecake
At the weekly Weight Winners meeting, losing is winning. Group leader Ellie Bernstein has shed 55 pounds and a cheating husband, and now the thin woman within is free and fabulous. Until she discovers that losing weight is not only murder, it’s downright lethal.
One by one the diet club’s Big Losers are being systematically murdered. Is some jealous member of the Friday meetings a secret killer? Could this be a closet psycho’s demented weight-loss technique: eliminate the competition? Motive aside, Ellie has to watch her back as well as her calories before she finds herself on the most permanent diet of all—death.
One by one the diet club’s Big Losers are being systematically murdered. Is some jealous member of the Friday meetings a secret killer? Could this be a closet psycho’s demented weight-loss technique: eliminate the competition? Motive aside, Ellie has to watch her back as well as her calories before she finds herself on the most permanent diet of all—death.
- GenresCozy MysteryMystery
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 1999
3 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Denise Dietz
27 books11 followersWhen Denise [Deni] Dietz was in the third grade, she wrote her first story, The Pencil Who Grew Up to Be a Stub. Although the assignment was to write a one-page story, using an ink pen, Deni wrote a five-page story, first-person...and she used a pencil (the narrator of her story). Whereupon, she received a failing grade for not following orders. Like Hitchcock the Dog in Footprints in the Butter, Deni doesn't follow orders unless they make sense.
Years later, after Deni had enjoyed a short-lived singing career and acting career, she sat at her typewriter, flexed her fingers, and pounded out her first culinary mystery: Throw Darts at a Chessecake, inspired by her part-time job as a Weight Watchers lecturer. In Cheesecake diet club members are getting killed off at goal weight and eating as if their lives depended on it. Switching to a computer, Deni hit the bestseller list with Footprints in the Butter - an Ingrid Beaumont Mystery co-starring Hitchcock the Dog. She followed that success with her stand-alone, Fifty Cents for Your Soul, her "reluctant witch mystery," Eye of Newt and three more diet club mysteries.
Married to Aussie/Canadian author, Gordon Aalborg (AKA Victoria Gordon), whom she met on-line through a writers loop, Deni moved to Vancouver Island, where she is owned by a chocolate Lab named Magic.
Years later, after Deni had enjoyed a short-lived singing career and acting career, she sat at her typewriter, flexed her fingers, and pounded out her first culinary mystery: Throw Darts at a Chessecake, inspired by her part-time job as a Weight Watchers lecturer. In Cheesecake diet club members are getting killed off at goal weight and eating as if their lives depended on it. Switching to a computer, Deni hit the bestseller list with Footprints in the Butter - an Ingrid Beaumont Mystery co-starring Hitchcock the Dog. She followed that success with her stand-alone, Fifty Cents for Your Soul, her "reluctant witch mystery," Eye of Newt and three more diet club mysteries.
Married to Aussie/Canadian author, Gordon Aalborg (AKA Victoria Gordon), whom she met on-line through a writers loop, Deni moved to Vancouver Island, where she is owned by a chocolate Lab named Magic.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 11, 2013
I think I grabbed this before I went out of town sometime. I just 'refound' it buried on my nightstand. The positive of the book is that it didn't take long to read, and I did finish it to find out if I was right about whodunnit. And that's about all for positives....
So, who knew that the singer from Fleetwood Mac was Stevie Nix? And that John Denver's birth name was John Dusseldorf? Here I was, blithely thinking that they are Stevie Nicks and John Deutschendorf. The latter is especially egregious since the book is set in Colorado Springs, about 70 miles from where he used to live.
Yes, and the author thanks her editor in the acknowledgements.
Story? A Weight-Watchers-type program is a breeding ground for murders. There are only so many people in a group who could know when members are approaching their goal weight. Whoever the murderer is kills people off as they approach or achieve the ultimate weight loss.
The concept is ok, not stellar, The execution was scattershot and ... well, I won't be reading any more of Dietz.
So, who knew that the singer from Fleetwood Mac was Stevie Nix? And that John Denver's birth name was John Dusseldorf? Here I was, blithely thinking that they are Stevie Nicks and John Deutschendorf. The latter is especially egregious since the book is set in Colorado Springs, about 70 miles from where he used to live.
Yes, and the author thanks her editor in the acknowledgements.
Story? A Weight-Watchers-type program is a breeding ground for murders. There are only so many people in a group who could know when members are approaching their goal weight. Whoever the murderer is kills people off as they approach or achieve the ultimate weight loss.
The concept is ok, not stellar, The execution was scattershot and ... well, I won't be reading any more of Dietz.
October 14, 2008
At a weight watchers group in Colorado Springs, members who are close to meeting their goals start dying in strange "accidents" like drowning in a bathtub while clothed.
September 19, 2009
A cozy mystery about a murderer loose among a group of dieters. The author is a longtime member of Weight Watchers and she's used her experience as a group leader to craft a fun, light, cozy read!
September 27, 2017
good book. probably will read more in the series if I can find them
July 23, 2018
I liked how Ellie kept trying to solve the murders and step in the way or get info out of Peter the cop on the cases. This was a quick read and took my mind off of other things.
December 21, 2019
Did not really like the characters and a lot of creepiness in the characters. But I had to read to the end to find out who was the killer.
October 17, 2021
This was a fun read! The mysteries were well crafted and revealed at just the right time.
September 24, 2023
Everyone in this book was strange, and it was kind of badly written, but for some reason I think I might read the next one. I was entertained at least.
May 20, 2009
UGH!! I gave up on this book about half way through, and then eventually decided to just go back and finish it. My opinion did not change...I really didn't like it.
One reason could be that it was written a while ago (copywright 1992). It really felt dated, technology-wise and regarding the "Weight Winners" program. As a proud WW Lifetimer here, I shutter at the book's "old school" meeting/program portrayal. It's so much better now :)
The other major problem I had with the book is that, well, most (all?)of the characters seem to act strange for no reason. What's with all the random singing of nursery rhymes and stuff?? It bugged me.
Basically, by the end of the book I did not care who the killer was, I just thrilled to be done with it (but, by the way, the culprit's identity was UBER obvious).
I have book 2 in the series sitting on my IRL bookshelf, but will probably pass on it. Instead, I may track down book 4 (out this month?) and try reading that. At least it will be more "up to date".
One reason could be that it was written a while ago (copywright 1992). It really felt dated, technology-wise and regarding the "Weight Winners" program. As a proud WW Lifetimer here, I shutter at the book's "old school" meeting/program portrayal. It's so much better now :)
The other major problem I had with the book is that, well, most (all?)of the characters seem to act strange for no reason. What's with all the random singing of nursery rhymes and stuff?? It bugged me.
Basically, by the end of the book I did not care who the killer was, I just thrilled to be done with it (but, by the way, the culprit's identity was UBER obvious).
I have book 2 in the series sitting on my IRL bookshelf, but will probably pass on it. Instead, I may track down book 4 (out this month?) and try reading that. At least it will be more "up to date".
February 14, 2015
Desperately needs revision and editing
The premise of this book sounded like fun. And the sad thing is that this really could have been a nifty little mystery.
Unfortunately, the work was not done to get it to that good place. The characterization is weak to non-existent. I didn't care about the characters enough to dislike them. The whole thing reads like a first draft from a high school creative writing class. I did enjoy all the pop culture references - Elvis, the TV show M*A*S*H, the Corvette named Vetty Grable, and many others. It ticks me off that such a promising-sounding book was treated so lazily by the person who should be giving it the most love - the author.
There is enough promise in this work that I'm act going to give this series another chance. Hopefully, editing and revision will have been utilized.
The premise of this book sounded like fun. And the sad thing is that this really could have been a nifty little mystery.
Unfortunately, the work was not done to get it to that good place. The characterization is weak to non-existent. I didn't care about the characters enough to dislike them. The whole thing reads like a first draft from a high school creative writing class. I did enjoy all the pop culture references - Elvis, the TV show M*A*S*H, the Corvette named Vetty Grable, and many others. It ticks me off that such a promising-sounding book was treated so lazily by the person who should be giving it the most love - the author.
There is enough promise in this work that I'm act going to give this series another chance. Hopefully, editing and revision will have been utilized.
October 11, 2013
Although I loved the title and the premise, I didn't think the writing or the plotting was tight enough. Some of the situations just didn't flow together the way I thought they should have, and the characters did not engage me, as most often main characters do. Some things just seemed to happen too abruptly without smooth transitions. It was still okay, but perhaps ones later in the series are better. Since this is the first one I have read by this author, I don't have a comparison with others by her.
September 22, 2007
Throw Darts at a Cheesecake by Denise Dietz
RATING: 3.5/C+
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Mystery, 1992, 251 pgs
TIME/PLACE: 1990's, Colorado Springs, CO
CHARACTERS: Ellie Bernstein/diet club leader
COMMENTS: 1st in series. Dated w/ too many references to TV celebrities. The members of the diet club, weight winners, who are near their goals are being killed.
RATING: 3.5/C+
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Mystery, 1992, 251 pgs
TIME/PLACE: 1990's, Colorado Springs, CO
CHARACTERS: Ellie Bernstein/diet club leader
COMMENTS: 1st in series. Dated w/ too many references to TV celebrities. The members of the diet club, weight winners, who are near their goals are being killed.
May 16, 2016
Who knew that going to weight loss meetings could be so dangerous. The ones who lost weight were dying from someone's misplaced idea. 5+ deaths and counting and your boyfriend , the cop, tells you to stay out of his investigation.
Read
December 17, 2008Ah, for some reason I couldn't put it down until I finished. Although it isn't really that fascinating, it kept me reading. Dunno why, but I enjoyed it.
June 6, 2010
This cozy mystery set within a dieting club is OK – just OK, and the romance part made no sense.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews