Book review:True-crime writer and sometime-sleuth Bailey Weggins took the media and mystery worlds by storm in Kate White’s sexy and suspenseful debut novel, If Looks Could Kill, a New York Times bestseller and a Reading With Ripa Book Club selection. In Bailey’s latest outing, she takes the plunge into a world of designer wedding dresses, domestic divas, and deadly nuptial doings.When she gets a call from Ashley Hanes on a frigid January night, Bailey’s ready to tell her she’s not pulling any of her Gloss magazine strings to get Ashley into a designer sample sale. But the Connecticut trust-fund baby isn’t looking for fashion favors; she wants to rehash the Cross/Slavin wedding. It turns out that Peyton Cross—the Vera Wang-attired bride and Martha Stewart wannabe—is once again the talk of the town. Two of her bridesmaids have recently died in freak accidents, and Ashley’s terrified she’ll be next.Bailey’s interest is definitely piqued—she was Peyton’s college roommate and a bridesmaid in her wedding as well. Leaving her latest boyfriend behind in Manhattan, Bailey bundles up for the cold, scenic drive to Ivy Hill Farm in Greenwich, Connecticut, home of Peyton’s burgeoning catering and gourmet-food business. She’s barely begun asking questions when Ashley becomes Bridesmaid Casualty #3.After Bailey is attacked by an assailant in a cashmere coat, she realizes she’s been targeted by a well-heeled killer who knows how to dress for the weather—which narrows the list of suspects to most of the population of Greenwich, including Peyton’s employees and intimate friends. Before Bailey knows it, she is following a dangerous trail of clues that will take her from the elegant suburbs of Connecticut to New York’s trendy Lower East Side to a fabulous oceanfront hotel room in Miami.With the clock ticking and a well-concealed murderer vowing to get her out of the picture, Bailey could become the headline of the next true-crime story: “Four Funerals and a Wedding.
Lorsque ma belle-soeur m’a proposé de me prêter ce livre, elle m’a dit « Tu sais, c’est la même auteur que le livre que tu m’avais prêté : « Hush, ce que vous ne dites pas peut vous tuer« , c’est aussi un policier mais tu verras, c’est pas pareil« .Et effectivement, ce n’est pas du tout pareil. Hush, c’est un « vrai » polar comme je les aime, du suspens à fond, tellement à fond qu’on a limite envie de lire le livre d’une seule traite. « Si la mort nous sépare », c’est différent, il y a bien du suspens et de l’enquête avec des meurtres mais le style m’a plus fait penser à un livre de fille (chick-lit comme ils disent sur Livraddict) du style de Bridget Jones ou l’accro du shopping.J’aime bien ce genre de livre mais quand je décide d’en lire et là, j’étais plus partie sur un polar donc j’ai été un peu déçue. Le style de l’auteur est tellement différent par rapport à l’autre ouvrage que j’avais lu d’elle que j’ai eu peine à croire que c’était la même personne qui l’avait écrit.Globalement, le livre est agréable, sans prise de tête, le suspens est là et j’avoue que je n’avais pas vu venir le dénouement, ce qui est un bon point.Par contre, les personnages sont un peu trop caricaturés à mon goût et l’héroïne m’a parfois agacée (et d’ailleurs, en regardant un peu dans la partie Bibliomania de Livraddict, j’ai vu que Kate White avait déjà écrit un livre avec la même héroïne).Bref : un bon moment, mais c’est pas non plus le livre du siècle.Je ne vous le conseille pas vraiment (par contre, si vous croisez Hush chez votre libraire, jetez-vous dessus).
Do You like book 'Til Death Do Us Part (2005)?
Listened to this audio book on my travels to and from work last week. Good book. Main character, Bailey Weggins is a crime writer for a magazine. She gets a call from a friend who was a bridesmaid with her in a wedding of a mutual friend held the previous summer. 2 of the bridesmaids have died under mysterious circumstances and her friend Ashley is scared she is next. Bailey decides to investigate and in no time Ashley is the third dead bridesmaid. The police don't think the previous deaths are murders, just unfortunate accidents so Bailey has to do all the work to discover why the bridesmaid are being murdered before the killer gets to her. Good read.
—Deborah Robb
Another wonderfully weaved Bailey Weggins story, with Kate White's talent for twisting and turning at the very end to keep the reader enthralled and in the dark. I do love that not only do we, as readers, get a glimpse of Bailey's life as a writer and New York resident, but every tale seems to take us to a new and interesting place. 'Til Death Do Us Part takes us to Greenwich, Connecticut and into the realm of Peyton Cross, a Rachael Ray and Martha Stewart domestic goddess. It's always interesting to look at the eclectic group of friends and acquaintances that Bailey has, and Ms. Cross does not disappoint.
—Meg Hicks
I had a really hard time with trying to decide whether to give this 3 or 4 stars. In the end, I went with 4, because I felt it was closer to 4 stars than 3. I thought this was a good mystery in that it made you suspect many different people, but something about the end was very anticlimatic for me, and I just felt like the story ended very abruptly. Kind of like the author just got sick of writing the book and said, "the end." But it was a decent book and I would definitely read other novels by the author.
—Kim
