Gillian Linscott
	A Healthy Body

Published in 1984 by Macmillan London Ltd.

Gillian Linscott's first novel is a murder mystery. Most of the action takes place in and around a French naturist centre, "Village Zoe", which seems to be based on Montalivet. The hero is 'Birdie' Linnet, a divorced ex-copper trying to maintain contact with his teenage daughter, Olivia. Discovering that Olivia, his ex-wife and her new partner are booked into Village Zoe for a holiday, Birdie has the bright idea of accidentally-on-purpose ending up at the same place - without realising that it is a naturist resort.

Some of the story's components are staples of crime fiction - violent disagreements, a corpse, shady characters who could well be something other than they claim to be, a starlet. Others come from a more general pool of literature's ingredients - the dogged hero, the beautiful and resourceful young woman (who has a secret - or does she?), wives who don't understand their husbands (or who understand them only too well), fading forty-somethings grabbing what may be a last chance of romance. Added to all this Linscott paints a convincing portrait of Village Zoe and its naturists.

As in The Cool Cottontail, the naturism in A Healthy Body is well-written - it is certainly not there as gratuitous nudity, since some of the interactions and emotions raised by encountering social nudity are intrinsic to the plot's development. There are some nice touches, for example Brit naturists exchanging comments on Village Zoe's 8 am aerobics: "A bit better than that beach in Essex" "Well, actually, it's a bit late for us. At home we have our exercise session at six.". You can sample some more in the extracts.

Even if some elements of the plot are a little dubious, or stretch credulity, they do so no more than in many (most?) stories of crime and criminals. If anything, this book is more rooted in reality than is normal in British TV crime dramas. Part of that reality is the convincing portrayal of Village Zoe. I enjoyed this book, and recommend it. If you like it, there are two more Birdie Linnet stories in Linscott's two dozen or so books.

Ratings:

Nudity	Naturist nudity	A good read?

Last updated 2003 November 23.
 
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