Larger Than Death

St. Martin's Minotaur, 2000. Very Good. A ``person of substance'' is what Alicia Madrone's ad calls for, and a pers on of substance is what she gets: full-figured Josephine Fuller, who's got just the right attitude (and enough of it) to work as an undercover cop fil ing reports on prospective recipients for Mrs. Madrone's feminist philanthr opy. But the real action comes on one of Josephine's rare days off, when sh e arrives for a visit with her old friend, Nina West, of Luna Moth Fashions , to find Nina with her throat horribly cut and a notice posted in blood on the bathroom mirror: ``KILL THE WHALES.'' The manifesto seems to link Nina 's death to the slayings of four previous queen-sized victims, a serial kil ler the Seattle police have dubbed Captain Ahab. But Josephine wonders if t he killer might be a copycat trading on Ahab's notoriety to make a grab for Nina's inheritance--until she finds out that she herself is the principal legatee, along with a mysterioso called William Turnbow Crain. Venturing to enigmatic Crain's alleged home in remote Twila, Washington, at the will's urging, Josephine succeeds only in provoking another murder, even as suspec ts- -ranging from a preacher/pornographer out of Nina's colorful past to th e Viking bachelor in her basement--are multiplying like the pounds insensit ive diet guru Andrew Stack is urging Josephine to check into one of his fra nchises to shed.