One of the savviest single urbanites ever to take up sleuthing and still look great, Bailey Weggins made her smashing debut in Kate White's If Looks Could Kill, a dishy and delectable New York Times bestseller and the first "Reading with Ripa" Book Club selection. Now the Gloss magazine true crime writer returns in a story of high style and low murder that goes behind the salons and saunas of a ritzy country spa to uncover... A Body to Die For
After her last adventure, Bailey Weggins is one tired reporter in need of R & R. So when an old family friend invites her for a free weekend at the Cedar Inn in rural Massachusetts, she jumps at the chance to leave Manhattan for some major pampering.
At the elegant mid-nineteenth-century hideaway, with its Asian-inspired spa, Bailey is soon luxuriating to the hypnotic sound of water spilling over stones and the soothing scent of green-tea candles. Yet mayhem is mere steps away, as Bailey discovers when she literally stumbles across a corpse wrapped mummy-style in a treatment room. Suddenly, her time-out is transformed into a full-tilt murder investigation. Bailey hadn't expected to meet anyone other than socialites slathering their cellulite with shea butter, but now she's dealing with a list of suspects dirtier than a mud bath: a spurned lover, a shady husband, and a group of employees who seem to be hiding something. And against her better judgement, she can't seem to keep her own hands off the sexy homicide detective assigned to the case.
Desparate to help her mother's friend, the owner of the spa, Bailey will find herself chasing clues across state lines just as another death sweeps her into the sights of a vicious killer. And this time, the body in the mud wrap could be her own.
From Publishers Weekly
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.
Description:
One of the savviest single urbanites ever to take up sleuthing and still look great, Bailey Weggins made her smashing debut in Kate White's If Looks Could Kill, a dishy and delectable New York Times bestseller and the first "Reading with Ripa" Book Club selection. Now the Gloss magazine true crime writer returns in a story of high style and low murder that goes behind the salons and saunas of a ritzy country spa to uncover... A Body to Die For
After her last adventure, Bailey Weggins is one tired reporter in need of R & R. So when an old family friend invites her for a free weekend at the Cedar Inn in rural Massachusetts, she jumps at the chance to leave Manhattan for some major pampering.
At the elegant mid-nineteenth-century hideaway, with its Asian-inspired spa, Bailey is soon luxuriating to the hypnotic sound of water spilling over stones and the soothing scent of green-tea candles. Yet mayhem is mere steps away, as Bailey discovers when she literally stumbles across a corpse wrapped mummy-style in a treatment room. Suddenly, her time-out is transformed into a full-tilt murder investigation. Bailey hadn't expected to meet anyone other than socialites slathering their cellulite with shea butter, but now she's dealing with a list of suspects dirtier than a mud bath: a spurned lover, a shady husband, and a group of employees who seem to be hiding something. And against her better judgement, she can't seem to keep her own hands off the sexy homicide detective assigned to the case.
Desparate to help her mother's friend, the owner of the spa, Bailey will find herself chasing clues across state lines just as another death sweeps her into the sights of a vicious killer. And this time, the body in the mud wrap could be her own.
From Publishers Weekly
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.
From Booklist
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
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