A Body to Die For

Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable quick read
Review: A Body to Die For is the second entry in what hopefully will be Kate White's long series of mystery novels featuring the likable, sharp-witted writer Bailey Weggins. Though not as good as If Looks Could Kill,the first book featuring Bailey, the plot revolving around a death of a masseuse at a Bed & Brekfast/day spa hums along nicely ,with a lot of interesting characters and intriguing sub-plots. This is a fairly quick read and it can easily be finished in a day or two.It's a fun, enjoyable book.Not great literature obviously but still a guilty pleasure.

Rating:
Summary: Yep, great for the Beach
Review: A Body to Die For is, quite simply, great fun. I had been reading some heavier books, and put them aside to read this. I was a fan of If Looks Could Kill and was hoping that this book would fulfill the promise that White had shown in her first novel. She does. I, for opne, was glad to see Bailey taken out of New York and put in a New England setting ... we know this was only temporary for Bailey is a real New Yorker. White is very good at introducing multiple characters and red herrings and she really keeps you guessing until the end. The most refreshing thing about this book is how everybody at this spa seems to have a secret and nobody is squeaky clean. This book is a fun read, and White's prose is intelligent and cleverly written so you don't have to worry about mediocre writing. A great read while curled up in your chair.

Rating:
Summary: Relax and Read a Good Book
Review: Bailey Wiggins a freelance crime journalist is visiting her good friend Danny who runs the Cedar Inn a couple of hours outside of New York City. Discovering that she left her watch behind after a massage, Bailey discovers the dead body of a beautiful masseuse wrapped mummy style in silver paper. Bailey proceeds to investigate the murder but discovers a lot of things others do not want uncovered, putting herself in extreme danger.

A good story with a great female lead character. The ending however is a little too convenient and it is not real likely the police force would respond in the way they do upon just hearing what they do, which is all that drops this great book from five to four stars. Highly recommend read. I'll definitely check out other novels by Kate White.



Rating:
Summary: Not What I Expected - Disappointig
Review: I really enjoyed Kate White's first Bailey story, "If Looks Could Kill," but this one irritated me more than anything. I like Bailey for the most part, but in most of this book, she was too nice & goody-goody to the manager of the spa. She doesn't really seem to have a rough-around-the-edges side to her. She is your classic New Yorker: always dressed nicely, exotic foods & drinks, just too New York, I guess. I found most the characters annoying. I think if White wanted to include Bailey's sex life in this novel, she should have done so. Her love life seemed very vague to me. I wish she either left that part out all together or included a little more to it. It took me a long time to finish this novel because I was not intrigued or curious. My suggestions to the author: give your characters a few more quirks (especially Bailey) & please don't use anymore cheesey titles. I look forward to reading 'Til Death Do Us Part, but I will keep my fingers crossed that the plot is a little thicker than this one.

Rating:
Summary: fun amateur sleuth
Review: Manhattan Crime reporter Bailey Weggins feels she needs some rest following her last dangerous investigation (see IF LOOKS COULD KILL). So she feels fortunate when she receives an invitation for a free weekend at the Cedar Inn, a posh nineteenth-century Asian-like spa in Warren, Massachusetts. Bailey plans to enjoy forty-eight hours of mud bath pampering.

However, her mellowing ends rather quickly when Bailey finds the murdered corpse of masseuse Anna Cole, wrapped like a mummy. Unable to ignore the homicide especially since the beleaguered owner is a close friend of her mom, Bailey makes inquiries and soon uncovers a laundry list of suspects. Also her continuing to look for clues keeps her within a caress of Detective Supervisor Jeffrey Beck even while psychology professor Dr. Jack Herlihy shows renewed interest in the brave heroine.

Readers will envy the lead protagonist for the melodious serene relaxation especially those heavenly physical massages that she undergoes. However, once the tale goes into investigative mode, it never slows down. The story line works because the audience will like the "pampered" Bailey who is as interested in the men in her life as she is in solving the homicide. Kate White will score once again with her second Bailey book.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Big, scary countryside
Review: Poor Bailey Weggins. Every time she leaves safe, cozy New York city for the big, scary countryside, someone threatens or tries to kill her. This happens in both of the first two books, and I have to admit I found it a little funny.

As someone who grew up in Berkshire County, I'm one of the backwoods "locals" White pokes fun at in this book. I can tell you that you're less likely to find a mullet, a plaid sportsjacket, or a tie "as wide as a lobster bib" in Berkshire County than you are in one of the five boroughs. And New Yorkers come to the Berkshires for our world-class cuisine (check out what Wine Spectator says about Wheatleigh, for example), but poor Bailey can't find anything more sophisticated than pot roast or roast chicken.

The other thing you won't find in the Berkshires is Warren, MA. There is such a town, but it's about 60 miles east of Berkshire County. When I saw that the Cedar Inn was located in Warren, I thought, "Whew! I can enjoy this while being spared the condescending views of some Manhattanite who comes to the Berkshires to spend money but doesn't see a thing." But when Bailey goes back to New York, she starts telling people she'd been/was returning to "The Berkshires." Look at a map, honey. (And while you're looking, check out New York state, too. The NYS Thruway stretches from the eastern border to Buffalo--it doesn't go to NYC.)

OK, these are just the picky objections of someone who doesn't like the way an condescending outsider fails to portray her where she lives. So how's the mystery? It adds two stars to the one-star portrayal of the setting. The Mylar-wrapped body was a nice touch that added interest and originality. While I enjoy Bailey's breezy tone and her determination (and love her neighbor Landon, who's never in the books enough), the mystery does tend to drag on. I don't need to know what Bailey had for each and every meal, nor do I need to know each and every thought that passes through her head. While I enjoy red herrings and deadend clues, the sheer volume of Bailey's thought processes gets a little overwhelming, and I find I can skip ahead and not miss anything. The book would be better if edited down by about a third. As it is, it's as flabby as the thighs of some of the spa's guests.

It also bugged me how the structure more or less followed the first book: Bailey finds a body; is asked by a friend-she-can't-refuse to investigate; gets spooked in the countryside; receives a threatening, wordless warning at her office; worries about her commitment-shy lover; and finally "solves" the mystery by stumbling across the real killer, who intends to harm her. Oh yeah, and somewhere in there she writes an article for a national magazine in about two seconds. Must be that I'm just one of ignorant, rural Massachusetts hicks, but I can't figure out how a freelance writer can afford her own apartment in Greenwich Village, given how little work she does.

Rating:
Summary: Fast-Paced Sequel to 'If Looks Could Kill'
Review: Thirty-three-year-old amateur sleuth and crime journalist, Bailey Weggins, is back, and she's up to her old tricks. When Bailey is invited to stay at her friend, Danny's spa, the Cedar Inn and Spa, in Warren, Massachusetts, she jumps at the chance to leave her fast-paced Manhattan lifestyle behind, along with the drama with her on again, off again lover Jack Herlihy, a thirty-five-year-old professor of Psychology. So she packs up her things and heads for the rural Inn, where she plans on getting a little R&R, and a few good massages. However, when she arrives at Cedar Inn, she is shocked to find a mummy-wrapped corpse in one of the many treatment rooms at the spa. Before she knows it, Bailey's vacation/weekend of rest is out the window, and she is fully immersed in solving the case. Soon she is uncovering all types of secrets about Cedar Inn, such as a shady ring of employees, a spurned lover, and a sleazy husband. However, with a totally good-looking cop, Jeffrey Beck, by her side, she knows that everything will work out for the best. Unless the killer comes after her next...

As I was a HUGE fan of Kate White's IF LOOKS COULD KILL, I eagerly awaited the paperback release of A BODY TO DIE FOR. While the wait was long, it was well worth it. Bailey's quirky personality, is one of the most pleasurable things about White's writing, and is a gift to be able to read again. White is magnificent at describing the fast-paced world of journalism, seeing as how she's the Editor-in-Chief of COSMOPOLITAN magazine, and she is amazing at weaving together an amazing story filled with the strangest twists and turns at every corner. Her ideas are remarkable, and will have even the savviest mystery reader stumped by who the murderer is. A must have book, do not miss it.

Erika Sorocco

Rating:
Summary: Of average interest
Review: This story was only mildly interesting and just barely had enough "oomph" to keep me going until the end. I really enjoyed White's first novel but this one didn't live up to my expectations. By page 200, I had thought I knew who it was that had committed the crime and why, but I was wrong, and I readily admit that; however, by the time I did find out "whodunit", I didn't really care and I thought my hunch would have been a better one anyway. Her relationship issues barely scratched the surface of believability, and it just seemed to be thrown in for the heck of it.

Rating:
Summary: totally unengaging
Review: While I enjoyed "If Looks Could Kill", I also had some problems with it - it definitely felt like a first novel. This book was much better, in my opinion. I cared much more about Bailey this time out, the fashion descriptions were not as evident (therefore making the book more readable in future without getting distracted by clothes descriptions), the twists were not as obvious.

There are still a few problems - if you, like me, are from a small town, you could be offended by the seeming characterization of all "locals" outside of NYC as being hicks and/or stupid. While the twists weren't as obvious, a dedicated mystery reader won't be all that surprised by them.

Still, the story was fast-paced and easy to read. Like the first, it's not great literature, but it's fun - and, to me, was a better effort all-around. If you haven't read the first, and don't mind skipping a book in a semi-series, skip it and read this one. There aren't any spoilers and you don't need the first to understand this one. If you (like me, I admit) prefer to read books in order, don't give up after the first, and read this one, too. It's really much better.