Under My Skin (First Edition)

In Under My Skin, private eye Hannah Wolfe checks into the sumptuous health spa Castle Dean - for work reasons, of course. While being plucked, crimped, steamed, and oiled, she also investigates sabotage. Fish in the jacuzzi and steel nails in the massage heads are not the kind of gimmicks to appeal to the clinic's wealthy clients. But sabotage is just the beginning.
The owner of the spa, the dazzling Olivia Marchant, has also got problems with her marriage: someone is threatening her husband Maurice, one of London's leading cosmetic surgeons and a man responsible for reconstructing many of the world's rich and famous.
In a culture where no one wants to grow old and where everyone believes in the power of the knife, Hannah is an alien visitor. Her investigation takes her into casinos, the backstage world of rock stars, the living room of an artist who specializes in overweight women, and into Maurice's consulting room itself.
Hannah discovers a world in which people will do almost anything in the name of beauty - perhaps even commit murder.

At Castle Dean health spa in Berkshire, someone is out for revenge. Carp have been boiled in the spa's Jacuzzi, maggots mixed into the yogurt and acid blended into the massage cream. Initially reluctant to take the case, British PI Hannah Wolfe (last seen in Fatlands) steels herself to #200-a-day beauty treatments while she searches for both saboteur and motive. Hannah's quick resolution of the case convinces spa owner Olivia Marchant that Hannah should look into a series of threatening notes received by her husband, a renowned "aesthetic surgeon." While cross-checking Castle Dean clients with Dr. Marchant's patient list, Hannah is introduced to a world where body parts are enlarged, reduced and sculpted and self-image is created on the surgeon's table. But this pursuit of the ideal often leads to disappointment, which in turn, inspires lawsuits, suicide and, finally, murder. Hannah, with a self-described "attitude problem," is a witty, and competent PI, a little like Kinsey Milhone, but very much her own woman.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The promise of Dunant's superb Fatlands is not, unfortunately, borne out by her new Hannah Wolfe mystery. Not to say that the third entry in the series is a bad book. It just never quite reaches the pinnacle of excellence that Fatlands achieved. Dunant's trademarks--polished style, satirical social commentary, and creative plotting--are evident, but the story takes a while to gather speed, and impatient readers may give up early on. The setting is a high-priced spa where someone has put maggots in the breakfast yogurt, rotting fish in the Jacuzzi, and acid on the face polishers. Distraught spa owner Olivia Marchant hires Hannah to discover who wants to destroy the spa and why. Disguised as a guest, Hannah sweats, starves, and suffers, but just when she's got it figured out and is ready to begin eating well again, things take an unexpected--and murderous--turn. A keep-'em-guessing plot, dry wit, and a revealing look at society's expectations about beauty and youth make this one an entertaining--and educational--read. Emily Melton