If Looks Could Kill

Rating:
Summary: An entertaining novel.
Review: "If Looks Could Kill" is about Bailey Weggins, a true crime writer for Gloss magazine who lives in Manhattan. One morning, she receives a frantic call from her boss, the editor-in-chief of Gloss, Cat Jones. Cat needs Bailey's help because she's afraid something has happened to her nanny. Bailey arrives at Cat's lavish home, only to find Heidi, the nanny, dead. What killed her? Poisoned Godiva chocolates that were meant for Cat. But, the better question is, who intended to murder Cat Jones? Bailey goes on a quest to solve this crime before somebody is killed again.

Am I the only one who thoroughly enjoyed this book? I thought it was well written, the characters were interesting and so was the plot. It has many twists and turns and it has you guessing right up until the end. As for the people who said it was silly and had no meaning, what did they expect? This is a murder mystery that's supposed to be fun, not groundbreaking. Give this book a try.

Rating:
Summary: This is a fun book
Review: Bailey Weggins is a single girl in NYC who makes her living as a freelance journalist specialising in crime stories. Early one Sunday she gets a call from her friend Cat Jones who is also editor of Gloss magazine and thus indirectly her boss. It turns out that Cat's very attractive nanny (Heidi) is dead. When it turns out that Heidi was poisoned, and then that Cat herself may have been the target, Bailey steps in as amateur detective. Many of her friends and colleagues are suspects - but who will have committed the crime, and can Bailey catch them before she herself becomes a victim?

This is a fun book, with plenty of twists and red herrings to keep you guessing and a Sex in the City style sub-plot which I also enjoyed. Kate White works for Cosmopolitan and that shows in her knowledge of the magazine industry. It's genuinely suspenseful in parts but never gory or really scary. I've recommended this book to several of my friends and those who have read it have also really enjoyed it.

Rating:
Summary: Fun Amateur Sleuth Mystery
Review: Bailey Weggins is in bed with her so-called lover, when her boss, Cat Jones, from Gloss magazine, the magazine in which Bailey freelances about paranormal and mysterious happenings, calls with a frantic tone to her voice. Bailey rushes to Cat's aid, and the two of them soon find the body of Cat's nanny, dead in Cat's Upper East Side town house. Bailey begins doing some investigative research, and soon realizes that Cat was the intended victim of the murder. Now Bailey is searching high and low from Manhattan to Connecticut in search of the true murderer, when she realizes that the killer is now after her. Bailey now needs to stop the killer before she's the next victim of this vicious killing spree.

White has created a fantastic character in Bailey Weggins. She's lovable, enticing, and oh-so interesting. Her boss, Cat, is also someone who fans of IF LOOKS COULD KILL will learn to love, and viciously hate at the same time. A fun amateur sleuth mystery that every woman should keep on her bookshelf.

Erika Sorocco

Rating:
Summary: Glamour and passion were always the fashion
Review: Cat Jones, editor-in-chief of the Cosmo-esque Gloss magazine, goes to confront her nanny early one Sunday morning, and when she doesn't get a response to the live in apartment, who does she call? No, not the police, or her husband. Cat calls Bailey Weggins, friend and freelance crime journalist at Gloss magazine.

When Bailey enters the nanny's apartment, she finds the 22-year old nanny dead. And Cat, always the editor-in-chief, assigns Baily to mirror the police investigation and determine what is going on.

When I read the pre-releases for IF LOOKS COULD KILL ("Bridget Jones Meets Nancy Drew") I thought it sounded like a fun book. I've enjoyed good mysteries (such as THE ALPHABET MYSTERY SERIES by Sue Grafton) and I liked THE NANNY DIARIES, so I thought a marriage between the two would be fun.

Unfortunately, we get a fairly standard mystery, and somewhat pedestrian plotting.

Bailey Weggins is supposed to be observant, beseeched by her friend Cat to involve herself in this mystery because of her unique way of looking at things. Mostly, Bailey looks at clothes. Every character is first described by what they're wearing.

Bailey is also into good food. Each chapter has her hankering after a good penne putenesca or a fine rissoto. I almost expect for the recipes and restaurant reviews to be included as an appendix.

Also, the motivations of the main characters here are somewhat forced. Why does Cat choose Bailey, of all people, to help her out with this? When Bailey senses herself in danger, why doesn't she just beg off somehow?

All in all, this was a disappointing entry into what will probably turn out to be a fairly average mystery series. If you like mysteries in general, or if you are really in to behind the scenes glimpses of glamour magazines, then this book is for you.

Otherwise, take a look at some of the other beach reading out there.

Kilroy's Rating System:
5 stars - Loved it, and kept it on my bookshelf.

4 stars - Liked it, and gave it to a friend.
3 stars - OK, finished it and gave it to the library.
2 stars - Not good, finished it, but felt guilty and/or cheated by it.
1 star - I want my hour back! Didn't finish the book.

Rating:
Summary: A pedestrian mystery
Review: LOOKS COULD KILL by Kate White

Warner Books, 2002 $22.95 0-446-53023-9

This debut novel by COSMOPOLITAN editor in chief Kate White arrived in the bookstores with much advance buzz. I was afraid that the buzz would be based on who the author is rather than the actual merits of the book. Given the plethora of superb mystery novels being published by authors who are themselves not celebrities, as well as, the fact that this novel is merely ordinary, my fears are well realized.

Bailey Wiggins is a true crime writer who works for "Gloss" magazine one of the major woman's magazines. She is called one Sunday morning to Cat Jones' NYC apartment. Cat is the editor and chief of "Gloss". The problem is that Cat has gotten no response from her child's live in nanny, Heidi, who appears to be at home in her apartment but is not answering her phone or door. Bailey is asked to come over and investigate. Heidi is soon discovered dead-poisoned, apparently, by chocolates intended for Cat. The murder might be similar to the recent death of an editor at another magazine. Could there be a connection? Cat asks Bailey to investigate.

When a celebrity decides to write a mystery the question must arise as to why?

Perhaps it could be to attempt to explain what their life is like or to give an insider's view into a certain industry be it entertainment, politics, warfare, law etc. They might have a favorite agenda to push such as environmental or medical concerns. The hope is the individual will succeed in, not only pushing their agenda, but, in writing a solid and entertaining mystery. Kate White has managed to put together a competent book. Actually, it is quite good considering that writing fiction is not what she does for a living. Her mystery is relatively routine and offers nothing unique to the habitual mystery reader. Characters range from highly stereotypic to the somewhat interesting. In reading this book, there is little to be learned about the world of the glamour glossy magazines. Kate White simply did not adequately use her background as one would expect given that Cat is very much based on herself. However, Ms. White's prose flows quite smoothly through the pages and the story is entertaining enough. However, the mystery aficionados will probably not be fully satisfied.