Customer Reviews

Over Her Dead Body

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kate White's deliciously titillating new novel, "Over Her Dead Body," is about the murder of Mona Hodges, the dictatorial editor of "Buzz," a weekly celebrity gossip magazine. White's heroine, Bailey Weggins, has just joined the "Buzz" staff. Since her beat is celebrity crime, Bailey is assigned to cover this sensational story. Not content merely to report the facts, she decides to do some sleuthing on her own. Much to her chagrin, Bailey finds that the list of people who might have killed Mona could easily fill a small telephone book. Mona insulted almost everyone she knew, and many individuals would have profited from her death.

White is the editor in chief of "Cosmopolitan," and her insider's take on the celebrity gossip business is hilariously satirical. She depicts "Buzz" as a trashy publication whose writers cover such stories as the shocking secrets of the rich and famous, freaky beauty rituals, and the "binges, breakups, and botched plastic surgeries of the stars." The "Buzz" office is a very nasty place to work. It is filled with backstabbing employees who are eager to get ahead, even at one another's expense.

Who hated Mona Hodges? One of the victim's many enemies is a portly singer named Kimberly Chance, whom Mona dubbed "Fat Chance" in the pages of her magazine. Bailey's friend, Robby Hart, is also a prime suspect, since Mona unceremoniously fired him shortly before she was killed. Other people who may have resented Mona are a publicist named Kiki Bodden, Tom Dicker, the pompous owner of "Buzz," and Nash Nolan, the magazine's ambitious number two man. The possibilities are dizzying. When Bailey persists in her quest to find Mona's killer, she herself becomes a target for death.

White captures the breezy vernacular of the hip urban professional in her cute, but not cutesy, dialogue, and her characters are both varied and well-drawn. Bailey is savvy and sophisticated; yet, she displays a touching sweetness and vulnerability when an appealing new man named Beau Regan comes into her life. "Over Her Dead Body" is suspenseful, engrossing, and well-crafted, and I liked White's restrained and fairly realistic ending. Kate White tells it like it is; she describes the lurid world of gossip magazines with humor, style, and flair, and this mystery is an amusing and entertaining romp.

I'm hooked on the Bailey Weggins novels. She is easy to relate to, but in a job that I could only dream of having.

In Over Her Dead Body, Bailey gets a job at Buzz Magazine...a gossip rag. Almost immediately, her boss, Mona, is killed and Bailey is on the case. The author presents so much information as to why various people would have or could have killed Mona. Your mind just races trying to get to the end of the book to actually figure out who done it.

This is a great series and all of the books have been page turners.

I have really enjoyed Kate White's books in the past, but this one just didn't measure up to the others. I found myself putting the book down and finding other things to do when I normally devour her books from start to finish. I still enjoy the main character (Bailey Weggins) and find the setting of Manhattan quite fun, but the story line just didn't hold my interest. The biggest complaint I have is that it seemed to repeat itself over and over. I would read 50 pages and feel like nothing had really happened other than the main character talked with some people. Another 50 pages, and she talked with some more people. Another 50 pages, and she talked with some more people. Not really up to Kate White's other work. If you would like to read it because you are a fan of the series, I would recommend checking it out from the library. Not really worth buying.

From the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine comes a deliciously gossipy story of the cutthroat world of gossip magazines. Bailet Weggins is a freelance crime journalist who switches from Gloss magazine when the editor wants to shift the focus of the magazine. Bailey lands a job at Buzz magazine with a notoriously difficult editor- Mona Hodges.

Six weeks into the gig, during a party at another magazine in the building, Mona is killed- brutally hit over the head, and barely alive when Bailey finds her. The only witness is a Russian cleaning woman. From there on, out, everyone in the office is a suspect, as it seems that everyone had a reason for wanting to kill Mona. There's a hot singer who has a major secret- could it have been the singer's handler? Was it the owner of Buzz magazine, who, upon learning that Mona was considering a job offer elsewhere, killed her?

Bailey becomes embroiled in the investigation when she is asked to write about the murder. A staff writer named Ryan is asked to write a profile about Mona- her life, work, etc. The competition gets fierce when Ryan thinks hes discovered a huge new lead- which ends in tragic circumstances. True to murder mystery form, Bailey finds her life "on the line" when she is attacked on a deserted street, and then locked in a sauna room at a Buzz staff picnic. A friend tells her at one point in the story about a optical confusion he once witnessed- and a similar kind of optical confusion occurs in this case. Things aren't what they seem at first.

No chick lit book can be complete without the love interest. Still getting over her divorce, Bailey is only looking for a summer fling. She finds it in Beau Regan, a television producer. Will she find love? One of the reasons why I liked this book so much was because of the love interest. Beau Regan probably isn't the type of guy most women would date in real life, but the way their romance plays out is very realistic.

This is more of a who done it Weggins adventure then her previous adventures which had a bit more action as the killer was usually trying to kill her or at least warn her off for the majority of those books as well. There are a few pages of that in here but nothing like in a Body to Die For or If Looks Could Kill. This is probably the most realistic of the adventures though, especially the ending with how the murderer is discovered although some fans of White's may have prefered a more unrealistic one. You do not need to have read other books in this great series to either understand or enjoy this novel to its full extent.

Bailey Weggins is back for another adventure and this time life isn't looking to great for her career wise. She has been let go from her contract with the magazine Gloss and with the book of her crime stories not yet finished she knows it will bomb without the endorsement of the national magazine. Her friend Robby lets her in on the secret of a new celebrity crime column about to be launched at his tabloid magazine Buzz and that they're looking for a writer. Buzz isn't exactly the type of magazine Bailey is into but she does need an endorsement for her book's publicity so decides she'll give it a go for six months. Only thing is the editor Mona, is a well known itch with a capital B, who seems to enjoy humiliating and bullying her workers. At least Bailey doesn't have to answer directly to her. It is not long before no one has to anymore as one night Bailey stumbles upon her convulsing in the last throws of life along with the cleaning lady who both have head injuries in her office.

Bailey only was there to get a document for Robby who was fired earlier that day and is of course the prime suspect. Bailey of course has to investigate to clear her friend's name plus since Mona was a bit of a celebrity Bailey also has to write the article on the crime for Buzz. Only thing is pretty much everyone at Buzz had encounters with Mona, they all hated her, they all have a motive as do a number of celebrities Buzz has humiliated and cost endorsement contracts.

Kate White introduces us to the world of tabloid reporting in a sassy titillating crime novel--Over Her Dead Body.

I could feel the slime drip off the characters that were responsible for keeping the Buzz and its rag competitors in production. While the mention of 'current' celebrities will date this book, Kate's spellbinding storytelling definitely has
staying power.

Over Her Dead Body is a fast-paced novel about the murder of the Mona Hodges, Editor in Chief of the Buzz, who had a long list of hostages in her wake, each one having good reason to hate her or perhaps kill her-with a sprinkling of romance for levity.

Even though the main character, Bailey Weggins, a celebrity crime writer, gets discombobulated many times throughout the investigation, she is clever enough to pull together the pieces of the mystery to its conclusion.

Right to the end Kate White keeps the reader guessing on who did this horrible crime.

I am looking forward to reading more Bailey Weggins' mysteries. Don't keep us waiting, Kate!

Armchair Interviews says: Sounds like another good summer read.

In a Greenwich Village café, Gloss magazine editor Cat Jones informs her human interest-crimes contributor Bailey Weggins that they no longer want her services as the publication is going to concentrate on bliss not buzz. Desperate, Bailey asks her friend Robby Hart, senior editor at Buzz magazine, if he has any leads for a job. To her amazement he hires hire to provide articles on celebrity crime.

Bailey is taken aback at Buzz when she first encounters the big boss Mona Hodges, who yells, curses and demeans her staff before eating her chicken salad sandwich and then goes back to yell, curse and demean her staff again. Not long after Bailey starts, Mona stunningly fires Robby. Soon after that, Bailey finds Mona's battered corpse late at night in the office. The police suspect Robby killed Mona in a fit of unemployment rage. Bailey knows her friend could not harm anyone, so using her journalistic investigative skills; she begins her own inquiries into who killed the she devil boss.

OVER HER DEAD BODY is an entertaining journalistic investigative tale starring a likable heroine (see 'TIL DEATH DO US PART, A BODY TO DIE FOR and IF LOOKS COULD KILL). The story line is fast-paced at first in a breezy manner but quickly turns into a dangerous sleuthing endeavor for the intrepid reporter. Mona is a stereotype of the "queen of mean" so that everyone within her circle of ugliness wants her dead. Thus Bailey efforts to prove someone other than Robby committed homicide seems overwhelming for her, but not for series fans who will enjoy Kate White's latest tale refreshed by a new magazine cover.

Harriet Klausner

Kate White is an excellent author. I have read all four of her "Bailey Weggins" mysteries and highly rate them for a fun, suspenseful read with some romance to boot! She is one of the only authors whose books I will buy as soon as they are published, hardbacks and all!
*Bonnie Elliott*

www.youravon.com/belliott

There are many possible suspects in the murder of Mona Hodges, the notorious editor of Buzz magazine. Bailey Weggins, recently hired by Mona, is assigned by her replacement, Nash Nolan, to write the story of her murder investigation for Buzz magazine. Who does she trust? Mona's death is front page news. Bailey was the one to discover her body along with the cleaning woman. It is an intriguing look at what might go on behind the scenes of a trendy magazine. Bailey needs company after her boyfriend Jack left her at the beginning of the year. She meets up with Beau Regan and causes a few jealous heads to turn. Many suspicious things happen to Bailey to put her on edge. Following her instincts she manages to figure out who was the killer. A first-rate mystery, that keeps you guessing until the end.

Absolutely could not put this book down. White does an amazing job of keeping the pace at break-neck speed. Never lets you know exactly where its going. Bailey Weggins is fantastic: super witty and intelligent. Im a guy's guy but I can't help loving her. I'm really loooking forward to reading all the rest of her sleuthing adventures! highly recommended murder mystery!