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: 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: 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.
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: Nancy Drew for Grown-up Girls
Review: IF LOOKS COULD KILL is a marvelous froth of a mystery, with a heroine who is the Nancy Drew of chick lit. A true crime writer at an important women's magazine headquartered in New York City, she is drawn into sleuthing when someone delivers a box of tainted chocolate truffles to her Editor-in-Chief. Author Kate White brings a genuine city sensibility to this novel. At the same time, she offers an insider's peek into what life is like for those on the loftier positions of the masthead at a top magazine--no coincidence, since White, herself, is the Editor-in-Chief of COSMOPOLITAN. IF LOOKS COULD KILL is good right up to the last page, and I look forward subsequent books in this series.
Rating:
Summary: If You Must, Get if from the Library
Review: If this is an example of a book from Kelly Ripka's list, I'm glad I've never thought to check it out. If Looks Could Kill started out okay, but by about Chapter 8 I had to start skimming to get to the end. The main character just couldn't carry the book and I hated having to read through every single thought process. Then there was the part with Bailey and her current boyfriend who she finds is cheating on her towards the end -- this added nothing to the story and seems like it was just thrown in for padding.
Rating:
Summary: A First Rate Buy!
Review: A librarian: I really liked the character of Bailey Weggins. She's funny, tough, brave and vulnerable in the way that most of us girls are. She finds it hard to say no to friends and gets tied up with dastardly men, yet there's a toughness there that shines through. She's also pretty darn funny. Also recommended: THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez
Rating: 
Summary: I have nothing nice to say
Review: I wasn't going to write a review until I read what the others had written. But, I have to say that this book was SO boring. The end was so lame that I was mad when I read it. This is one of those books where you can skip entire chapters and only miss what she had for breakfast. I am thinking of throwing this book away to save the next unsuspecting victim. This book had to much drivel and not enough meat, which is too bad. The initial concept reeled me in.
Rating:
Summary: Keeps you guessing...
Review: Kate White's novel mixes sex, surprise, and mystery skillfully, but not with out a few mishaps along the way. The story follows an Amateur Investigation by a magazine reporter, Bailey Weggins, a 33 year old divorcee who is more then eager to help out her boss and semi-friend Cat Jones, magazine head honcho, check out the facts after Cat's 22 year old nanny Heidi dies. There are a number of colorful characters throughout the novel, but I found at times both Kate White and Bailey were trying to hard to place them into labelled boxes, while the theories Bailey developed opened them up for far too much discussion. Read: The characters were a bit cliched at times, but for the most part enjoyable enough. Although Bailey's life is relatively interesting, you are only given glimpses of it as she forges through with her case. The story itself is a very very detailed look at what a person goes through to get to the heart of the truth. In this case, Bailey has amazing skills and should really just be a detective, because even when she discusses other articles she is actually working on, you see the amount of detail and questioning she is up to. While some of the clues and details Bailey stumbles on are a bit far-fetched, and a lot of the leads end up dead (in a metaphorical sense only) the book is very intriguing and kept me wanting to read, mainly just to get it out of the way! Whether or not the killer is obvious, right under your nose, or if you are looking for hidden clues within the book, you'll have a good time reading it. The book does end somewhat abruptly in my opinion, and wraps up the conclusion extremely fast, but leaves the reader relatively satisifed in what the purpose of the book is: To see how BAILEY handles the case, not the police. I reccommend it as a good book to curl up with on a rainy day.
Rating:
Summary: Blahhhh...
Review: I can only say blahh for this book. I was on chapter 6 and was so not inot this book but i had to find out who was the candy person gone bad... and so I skipped to chapter 22 and read till the end. The end was the fun part of the book but thats not what makes a good book. Hope this author can do better.. she might wanna stick to her magazine, before runing to the bank on being a book author.
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