Survival of the Fittest (Charmed)

Taken bodies were found unchanged, but their minds are under control. Release all thoughts of this new craze; find the demon that plagues their souls.

Alien abduction fever has gripped San Francisco. People everywhere are reporting loved ones missing...only to have them show up at home with no recollection of having been gone. The Charmed Ones can't help but become involved, especially when Phoebe receives a letter to her advice column from a woman who's convinced her sister was "taken." The victim says she was just out, but since she's returned, she's developed an almost demonic devotion to a new workout program.

The workout program in question, created by Meg Winship, has become incredibly popular in the Bay Area. Even Piper, after seeing an infomercial, suddenly finds herself jogging to the "Winship Way." Luckily there's a rally being held in San Francisco in the next few days. Meg Winship herself will appear to further inspire and thank her new disciples. If there's something supernatural involved, as the sisters suspect, the fitness fiesta is their best bet to figure out who -- or what -- is in charge of the chaos.

Customer reviews:

A Great Improvement!, 2005-06-15
Actually this book would only have gotten 3 stars if not for the fact Jeff wrote another book 'Mirror Image', and this one exceeded the previous by a very wide margin. The demon is frightening enough and the plot is thick enough. Jeff learnt to plant little deaths throughout the story and hence increased the intrigue. A problem is that Piper's powers were not used much here, and hence it lacks the punch that it could have if all powers were utilised here. The exercise-based storyline is also a bit, weird. I feel that it was tacky. An amendment could be that Meg Winship was a talk show host (like Opran Winfrey) and her show was a conduit of some sort. The viewers get hooked and they finally chant the spell to open the portal, rather than DANCE it open. Still, big improvement.

Exercise, Exorcisms, and Extraterrestrials, 2004-11-01
San Francisco has become host to a rash of UFO sightings. The Charmed ones might be needed to help an abductee but two of them can't take the problem seriously. Abductees seem to come back unharmed and with a new attitude towards exercising (they just can't stop).

Maybe something is up after all. But before the trio can marshal their powers, Piper becomes an exercise nut as well. Will the power of three be broken? What is really behind the health craze? What horrors might be released into our world? All these questions and more will be answered before the book is done.

This one was not too bad but the author has a little trouble with scale and setting. Why rent out the Presidio for a "secret" seminar when the city is full of meeting rooms more than big enough? Can you really be a national sensation with only about a thousand followers? Other details also seem to defy reality and logic. But it is still a fairly entertaining story and one of the better Charmed book plots.