Book Review: A Body to Die For | Kate White | Bailey Weggins #2

Welcome to my Kate White book review series! I am a huge fan of Kate White, and because I read many of her previous books before I started my blog, I decided to feature a series of my reviews of her work on my blog. She has a new book coming out this year (I already pre-ordered it!) and Kate White’s books are my go-to books to pull me out of a reading slump. I find them fun, witty, intriguing, and completely satisfying every time. I’m never disappointed by Kate White. As the former editor of Cosmopolitan magazine and current mystery writer, Kate White is the perfect mix of Nancy Drew meets Sex and the City—perfect for me!

This is my second post in the Kate White series, and it features the second book in her Bailey Weggins novels, A Body to Die For. If you missed it, go back and see my review of the first Bailey Weggins mystery If Looks Could Kill.

Bailey is a journalist and an amateur sleuth, and she is taking a much needed restful weekend at a spa retreat owned by an old family friend. But when Bailey stumbles across a body in one of the treatment rooms, she finds herself in the middle of another murder case! I loved this book, and I’m so excited to share my review today!

About the Book | A Body to Die For

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-19th-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 judgment, she can’t seem to keep her own hands off the sexy homicide detective assigned to the case.

Desperate to help her mother’s friend, the owner of the spa, Bailey finds 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.

Review | A Body to Die For

There’s only so many times I can gush about the fun Bailey Weggins series, but I suppose if I’m reviewing, its as good a place to gush as any! Bailey Weggins is a fictional true crime writer in New York City, who routinely finds herself in the middle of a murder scene, and uses her keen journalistic skills and brain to help solve the mystery.

The spa setting was so much fun to read about! Its quite a place and it has some fascinating characters (mostly employees, but of course, the guests as well). I think the settings for her mysteries are an area Kate White truly excels in. She chooses places that are so easy to imagine myself in, partially because she is excellent at descriptive language. When I read this book, I could vividly envision where the entrances were, where the locker room was, where the body was found–all of those details! The reason I find this so important, is that it helped me envision the space so I could solve the case right along side Bailey. And that is half the fun of a mystery–being able to see the clues and try to piece them together!

As I reflect back, I’d almost place the Bailey Weggins books in the cozy mystery category! They are more urban fashionista than kitschy, but they have many of the same elements that I love from cozies. An amateur sleuth, great settings, and a lighter take on murder without the gruesome descriptions. I love these books!

I didn’t remotely come close to guessing the person behind the murders in this book. There were several people I considered at various times, and when I got to the reveal I was stunned! I loved the heart-pounding moments. I read this well over a year ago and I can still remember a few particularly impactful scenes from this book.

I hope readers enjoy this mystery with a side of sassy chick lit! I know I did! I have to say I am having SO much fun revisiting these books. I bought the hardcovers because it is a series I know I want to save and revisit.

I also want to note that aside from some changes to Bailey’s personal life (who she’s dating, where she works, etc), you can really read these books in any order. There are no spoilers for the main mysteries at all, so jump in on any book you come across! I obviously haven’t read the one publishing this year yet, but if it is anything like her others, feel free to jump into the series there!