# The Thin Woman

By Dorothy Cannell · Ellie Haskell, book 1

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/the-thin-woman-6875b505/

Ellie Simons hires Ben Haskell to play her boyfriend at a family reunion. By the end of the visit, she has promoted him to fiancé. When Uncle Merlin later dies, his will offers the pair a country-house inheritance with awkward conditions, a hidden treasure to find and relatives who would prefer them to fail.

## What makes it funny?

A boyfriend hired for one weekend becomes a partner in a six-month project. Ellie must lose weight, while Ben has to produce a novel without a single swear word. Her attempt to give the family a convincing success story has left both of them with some very literal homework.

### The comedy at work

The will turns other people’s ideas of how Ellie ought to improve herself into rules with a fortune attached. Her invented engagement is suddenly difficult to abandon. An observant, self-deprecating narrator has to navigate that arrangement while her disappointed relations add their own complications.

### Try this if…

For readers who enjoy English country-house mysteries, eccentric wills, hidden treasure and a romance developing amid family interference. Ellie’s dry commentary and hopes for a different life are substantial pleasures alongside the puzzle.

### Good to know

The inheritance depends on weight loss, and Ellie’s relatives and self-image link her size with her chances of marriage. That pressure is central to the story.

## What to expect

- Genre: Mystery · Romance
- On the shelf: Cozy mystery
- Kind of humor: Dry wit · Situational comedy
- Format: Novel
- Length: 242 pages
- Audiobook: Available
- Published: 1984

## A few distinguishing details

- A rented boyfriend becomes an inconvenient fiancé
- A country-house inheritance requires an unusually clean novel

## Sources & further reading

- Review: [Nancy Eady review](https://writerswhokill.blogspot.com/2023/10/bibliophilic-friday-thin-woman-by.html)
- Review: [Critical overview](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/cannell-dorothy-reddish-1943)
- Library catalog: [Library catalog](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL3181899M/The_thin_woman)
- Publisher: [Publisher](https://joffebooks.com/dorothy-cannell)
- Reader discussion: [Reader report](https://facebook.com/groups/211610599638106/permalink/1673069233492228)
- Author commentary: [Author interview](https://mainecrimewriters.com/2013/08/17/an-interview-with-dorothy-cannell)