If Looks Could Kill (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "CAT JONES WAS the kind of woman who not only got everything in the world that she wanted-in her case a fabulous job as editor..." (more)
Key Phrases: poison mushrooms, steno pad, green towels, New York, Tucker Bobb, Cat Jones (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bridget Jones meets Nancy Drew in Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief White's impressive debut novel, which provides plenty of New York glamour and glitz, besides a smart, sexy heroine and a cleverly constructed murder mystery. When Cat Jones, editor of Gloss magazine, calls, employees jump. And when she calls freelancer Bailey Weggins on a Sunday morning with a frantic plea for assistance in a personal matter, Bailey responds quickly. Cat has found her live-in nanny, Heidi, dead. When it turns out that Heidi was poisoned, Cat freaks out and insists that Bailey, whose specialty is true-crime reporting, help her discover who's done it. Though Heidi was the victim, Cat may well have been the intended victim. Either way, there are plenty of suspects among the guests who attended Cat's party the night before. The Gloss media world offers plenty of sex, greed, money and cutthroat maneuvering and few reliable friendships. Bailey navigates this universe with pluck, luck and savvy, and emerges as a viable candidate for rookie sleuth of the year. Bailey not only plays detective but also manages to juggle her freelance assignments and her rocky romantic entanglements in entertaining fashion. Best of all, on top of the dead-on depiction of the media world she knows so well, White keeps both sleuth and reader guessing until she's ready to rip away the blinders and reveal the clues hidden among the school of (red) herring.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

When her young nanny dies of poisoned chocolates meant for her, magazine editor Cat Jones enlists the help of freelance crime writer Bailey Weggins. Bailey's not really an investigator, but she knows the procedure: scope out the crime scene, interrogate possible suspects (including Cat's attractive photographer husband), reconstruct the victim's last hours, consult with pals, etc. Bailey's attention soon turns toward Cat's conniving colleagues at the magazine and farther afield. A down-to-earth heroine, a sturdy story line, and breezy prose make this debut novel by the editor in chief of Cosmopolitan magazine a pleasure.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Vision (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044661257X
• ISBN-13: 978-0446612579
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (107 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #133,543 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 1 in The Bailey Weggins Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars KELLY RIPA PICKS A WINNER, May 13, 2002

By	Nancy Martin (Pennsylvania (orig. NY)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If Looks Could Kill (Hardcover)

I'd be the first to admit that I truly enjoy reading books along with a group. When Oprah announced the possible end of her six-year book club, it was a sad day for me. The sadness, however, was replaced with joy as other TV shows and newspapers jumped on the bandwagon and started their own book clubs. While Regis jokes that Kelly's book club could be better known as "beach trash reading," this statement couldn't be further from the truth with Ripa's first pick. Prior to this, I had never heard of Kate White and this is one of the reasons I love book groups....you get introduced to authors whose books you might not have picked out on your own. I'm happy to report that White's book is informative, enjoyable and an overall excellent "who done it." I read about fifty books in the mystery/thriller genre each year and I must admit that she had me guessing until the very end.

IF LOOKS COULD KILL is set in Manhattan where the main characters work together at "Gloss Magazine." The author gives the reader a great inside look at both the magazine as well as the fashion industry. Her characters navigate different parts of the city from Greenwich Village to Tribeca to Chelsea to Central Park West in search of their stories and photo shoots. I particularly loved her descriptions not only of the locales but of the outfits worn by her characters as well. It was like being in a Sex And The City episode but, instead of following Carrie Bradshaw around, we get to tag along with Bailey Weggins, the crime story journalist for "Gloss. Since she writes about crime, her boss Cat Jones thinks she'll be perfect for trying to solve the mystery of "who killed Cat's nanny" and remove some of Cat's fears that she, herself, was really the intended victim. In order to get to the bottom of this fiasco, Bailey will travel out of Manhattan into beautiful Bucks County, PA, which, coincidentally, is the home of this reviewer. Imagine my surprise as Bailey drove into my hometown on a picture perfect day. Unfortunately, her trip wasn't as enjoyable as it might have been but you'll have to read the book to find out what happens.

So, all in all, I give this book a solid 5 stars in comparison to other books in this genre. I understand the author is working on another book with Bailey Weggins as the main character and I look forward to its release. It was nice for a change not to be reading about the male, alcoholic, divorced, bad-tempered, wisecracking private eye that so many authors are relying on nowadays to sell their books. Instead, we are given a female, who is a loser at love, dresses well, has an exciting job and thinks about things that we readers can associate with on a daily basis.

Kudos to you Kelly Ripa for a fine first pick and congratulations to Kate White for being the beneficiary of this notoriety....and well deservedly so, I might add.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, April 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: If Looks Could Kill (Hardcover)

This book is a terrific mystery, with a totally captivating heroine. Bailey Weggins is smart, sexy, very funny, and the reader gets to solve the murder along with her!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bridget Jones meets Sue Grafton with nice results, May 24, 2002

By	Gregory Baird (Morristown, NJ) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: If Looks Could Kill (Hardcover)

I was sort of hesitant to read this one but I couldn't help my curiosity. I'm glad that I read it because it is a nice guilty pleasure. I've been a fan of Janet Evanovich and Sue Grafton for a while now and what I really like about this book is that it combines the best of those two lead characters (Stephanie Plum and Kinsy Millhone respectively) into the fun but serious Bailey Weggins. She is easy to like and her life is not so outrageous as to be unbelievable. It would be very easy to follow her exploits further, so I hope that the fact that the cover advertises If Looks Could Kill as 'a Bailey Weggins mystery' means that there is more to come. As for the writing Kate White does a masterful job plotting out her mystery, leading you in many directions without confusing you and throwing in just the right amount of twists. My one complaint would be that the ending seems to happen pretty quickly, but that hardly takes away from the book and actually leaves you interested in what happens next. All in all this was a thoroughly enjoyable read.