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If Looks Could Kill

If Looks Could Kill

List Price: $6.99
Your Price: $6.29
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Light, yet simplistic
Review: Bailey Weggins, a thirty-something freelance writer becomes involved in solving a murder when she discovers the body of her boss's nanny. The story unfolds like a usual mystery - the suspects are considered one by one, and Bailey follows a number of false leads before suddenly discovering the real killer at the end of the novel.

"If Looks Could Kill" was a quick, easy read. I loved that it was set in New York City, and it was very sexy at times. It was obvious to me that White had inside knowledge of the Fashion Industry herself - every character's outfit was described in lengthy detail, and that helped me form a detailed picture of each character in my mind's eye.

Unfortunately, I felt that the story dragged in places. Bailey followed one lead after another, but without any real depth or insight. Just one task after another, as if I was watching someone go through their daily routine - and it stirred up about that same level of excitement. The writing style was very simple. It was meant to be edgy at times, using slang and words someone young might utter, and I suppose it fit in with the New York theme. The entire tone of the novel was very light, even while it tackled such a heavy topic as murder.

As far as the characters go, I liked Landon best out of all of them, and I wish he had been given more depth as a character. Unfortunately, he only appeared in a couple of scenes. The same was true of Jack, who I also instantly liked. Oddly enough, I didn't quite take to any of the women, including Bailey herself. They all seemed aloof, whiny, and just slightly out of my grasp and understanding.

Bottom line: a light, entertaining read, but simplistic and predictable in the end.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent Book!
Review: I really loved this book. I will be honest, this is my first mystery book to read...EVER! And I couldn't have read a better first book then this one! I'm now an avid fan of both mystery books and Kate White! If you're not sure about buying this book, don't bother being worried about it, just buy it; you'll love it!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Nancy Drew? Maybe because of the 3rd grade reading level?
Review: I was intrigued by the hype--Bridget Jones/Sex and the City/Nancy Drew and figured this would be a good summer read. I assumed the heroine would be smart, tough and funny (a la Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum but without the unfortunate fashion sense). Sadly, the plot was predictabe and simplistic; White tries to throw in twists to keep the reader guessing, but the whiny characters that never get past two-dimensions leave the reader not really caring who did it or why and just wishing they could off the rest of the cast. Bailey has more panic attacks than your average Paxil user and never rises to the occasion of spunk and toughness that great female detectives reach. Boring boring boring.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Summer Read
Review: Kate White spins a tale that is a quick, fun summer read. The main character in this book truely leaves no stone unturned as she tries to help her boss find out who murdered the Nanny. Everyone is a suspect. Set in the world of Fashion magazines the book mixes Sex and the City single life with Mary Higgins Clark. The story did get a little lengthy but this did not detract from the novel. Overall it's a great beach read.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Mystery Lite
Review: I picked up Kate White's If Looks Could Kill during an impulse purchase at Kennedy Airport's bookshop. Glad I did! If Looks Could Kill is an entertaining -- albeit light -- mystery that kept me turning the pages throughout the gruesome six-hour flight to the UK.

The novel introduces the reader to Bailey Weggins -- a single, thirty-something-year-old Manhattanite and true crime reporter for Gloss magazine. With an enjoyable career and new romantic prospect, Bailey's life couldn't better. That is until Cat Jones, the editor-in-chief at Gloss, makes the phone call that turns Bailey's life upside down...

At the risk of using a cliche, If Looks Could Kill is Bridget Jones and Nancy Drew rolled into one. White mixes whodunit suspense with single-girl-living-in-Manhattan exploits. The results make quite a chic mystery. This novel isn't meant to provoke one's intellect, but for sheer summer escapism it can't be beaten. I recommend this novel for an afternoon on the beach or for light entertainment during a rather long flight...

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Predictable and simple...
Review: I was interested in something along the lines of Johnathan Kellerman. What I found instead was a simply told and predictable story. It had no twists or turns. It was written on a level that would hold a teenager's interest. That could be due to the fact that the writer is an editor for Cosmo mag (correct me if I am wrong). I like books that are fun to read, but I expected this to be spooky and mysterious. It wasn't. The few attempts at plot changes and twists turn out to be false. Usually when I finish a book, I am almost sad that I am done. I finished this one, put it down, and washed dishes.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Blahh.. Dull...
Review: God, the book starts out good. It gets old and tiresome in the middle with a bunch of stuff you could skip and go to the last chapter and never knew you missed anytrhing. Thats what I did, when I got to page 180 and jumped to chapter 22 and finished it from there. I have to say the last chapter was the best of the whole book... too bad the rest wasn't like it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A Page Turner It Wasn't
Review: I was looking for a new mystery writer, having read all of Patricia Cornwell, many Dean Koontz books, recently Harlan Coban and the standby Richard North Patterson. Kate White took forever to stretch this book out, often repeating the same descriptive phrases and recounting the same details. I really can't say I even enjoyed it and it was a chore to finish.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Looks Can Kill
Review: I had heard and read mixed reviews about this novel and curiousity got me to borrow it from my library. I just finished it and I have to admit that I did enjoy it. White wrote with a sure direction of where she was going with the story. Her twists and turns made the story continually interesting to read because there were so many ways that the murder could have been committed that I kept reading to find out what happened. Perhaps too many lines were devoted to describing the wardrobe of the characters and a few more lines could have been devoted to exploring the motive of the killer. The discovery of who did it and the confrontation between them and Bailey occurs in the span of one chapter and seemed too quick for such a good build up in the pages before. Overall, this was a great murder mystery that leaves the door open to future capers for our Miss Weggins to solve!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fun diet-mystery
Review: Add me to the list of those who are reading all of Kelly Ripa's book selections. I am a huge fan of Kelly, so anything to tells me to read, most likely I'll read. Her first choice, If Looks Could Kill, was a fun, light beginning to her bookclub.

Bailey Weggins, true crime reporter for Gloss magazine, receives a frantic call from her boss, Cat -- Cat's live-in nanny, Heidi, has not showed up yet nor does she answer her door. Cat begs Bailey to come over and check things out; she's afraid something has happened to Heidi and doesn't want to be alone. Once Bailey enters Heidi's apartment, something is immediately amiss -- if the smell wasn't a dead giveaway, then Heidi's lifeless body is a sure tip-off. Who killed Heidi, and why? Cat asks Bailey to help solve the mystery, and by the novels' end, everyone seems to be a suspect.

Told with a light, easy tone, this mystery is not for die-hard, edge-of-your-seat fans -- this is more for the chick-lit fan who wants something a little different than the norm. Author Kate White did a very good job of keeping me guessing -- I thought the killer was every character at least once throughout the book -- and had me surprised once the killer was revealed in the last few pages. The writing was very easy and flowing, and the New York City setting made it all the more fun, especially since my first trip to NYC was only a few weeks ago. I recommend this book for an entertaining beach read or for anyone wanting a quick, satisfying, light story.


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