A Body to Die For [Hardcover]

Bailey Weggins, the heroine of Cosmo editor-in-chief White's bestselling debut, If Looks Could Kill (2002), proves that her sleuthing ability was no fluke in this solid follow-up. Depressed by her nonexistent love life, Bailey, a freelance true-crime writer for Gloss magazine, leaves Manhattan for some R&R at the Cedar Inn and Spa in Warren, Mass., owned and run by an old friend of her mother's. Her first night there, however, she stumbles on the corpse of one of the inn's female therapists-wrapped in silver Mylar paper. Anna Cole's murder, on top of the accidental death of a male client months earlier, could spell doom for the inn, unless Bailey can get to the bottom of things. Meanwhile, Jack Herlihy, the smooth shrink from her prior outing, surfaces with a plausible excuse for his earlier disappearing act, while "dashing" Jeffrey Beck, the local detective who's looking into Anna's murder, also attracts, despite his cool professional demeanor. Bailey bravely deals with threats (a dead mouse wrapped in Mylar in the mail), deftly pumps people for information (a scene with a local waitress is a gem) and comes to a startling conclusion after the murder of a second therapist just before the heart-stopping, heroine-in-peril climax. Though the glamorous New York magazine world has only a small role here, fans will find Bailey's sassy wit as engaging as ever and are sure to admire the skill with which White pulls together all the threads.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Bailey Weggins, the smart-mouthed true-crime writer for Gloss magazine, returns in a book equally as entertaining as its predecessor, If Looks Could Kill [BKL My 1 02]. Last time Manhattan was the backdrop for murder; now the scene shifts to the country, as Bailey tries to help an old friend figure out why the guests at her inn/spa are turning up murdered. And murdered in particularly nasty ways--the first is packaged like a leftover sandwich in the shiny mylar paper used for herbal wraps. White, editor-in-chief of cosmopolitan, cleverly offers her readers a whole tray full of tasty red herrings to nibble on. Almost everyone in the story is a suspect, but the fun lies not only in trying to guess whodunit but also in watching Bailey evolve as a woman (with two sexy guys after her) and a detective, who follows where the case leads. Kelly Ripa, of Live with Regis and Kelly, chose Looks as her first book-club selection, so this follow-up is sure to have a ready-made audience. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Bailey Weggins is in desperate need of a little R&R after solving the murder of her boss' nanny. A trip to the Cedar Inn Spa seems like the perfect remedy. But when Bailey goes to the massage room to retrieve her lost watch and finds a dead body getting a seaweed wrap, her detective instincts are unable to go on hiatus. As Bailey uncovers the victim's mysterious past, she finds herself becoming infatuated with Jeffrey Beck, a detective working on the case. Meanwhile, another horrifying murder is committed at the inn-and Bailey finds herself the killer's next target.

In addition to being a book author, Kate White is the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, the largest-selling women's magazine in the world. Under her editorship, guaranteed circulation has increased by over 500,000 and Cosmo now sells on average two million copies a month on newsstands alone. Kate began her career in the magazine business by winning Glamour Magazine's Top Ten College Women contest and appearing on the cover. She was an editorial assistant at Glamour and later became a feature writer and columnist for the magazine. She went on to hold key jobs at several national magazines, including Mademoiselle. She eventually was named editor-in-chief of Child and then later Working Woman and McCall's. Before joining Cosmo, she served as editor-in-chief of Redbook for four years. White became editor-in-chief of Cosmo in 1998. She recently received the Matrix award, which honors "extraordinary achievements of outstanding women in the communications field."

This clever and compelling mystery, set in rural Massachusetts, is splendidly narrated by Jen Taylor. Listeners feel privy to the persona of sweet amateur sleuth Bailey Weggins, editor of Gloss magazine, who has escaped Manhattan to visit an old family friend, the owner of a spa. When a series of baffling murders occurs in the spa, Bailey must come to the aid of her friend by identifying the killer, all the while entertaining a number of love interests. Taylor skillfully re-creates a wide range of emotions in this lively story while maintaining a perfect pace. An interview with a man suffering from a terrible head cold is humorous and memorable. On another level, the narrator demonstrates raw emotion that is truly moving. The production reaches surprising heights due to Taylor's excellent delivery. S.G.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.