Lethally Blond
A Bailey Weggins Mystery
Kate White
Review: Spunky, intelligent, 30-something celebrity crime reporter for Buzz magazine Bailey Weggins shares the spotlight with the glamorous stars of television in Lethally Blond, the fifth mystery by Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief Kate White.
Bailey is asked by a former lover, Chris, to help find his friend Tom who has disappeared. Chris and Tom have both landed roles in a new prime time series, Morgue. A few weeks before the show is to air, however, Tom drops out of sight. Although no one on the staff or in the crew thinks anything about it, Chris thinks Tom was too excited about getting his part that he would not just leave without telling someone. As Bailey starts her investigation into Tom’s disappearance, she renews her love affair with Chris. Delving into the lives of each cast member, she finds that Tom has an ongoing love affair with the show’s principle star, who is engaged to the producer. Tom also had affairs with some other women in the cast, a few of whom did not want it to end. He was owed a large sum of money by a fellow actor and was pressing for payment. He had a family home in Andes in the Catskills which no one seemed to know anything about. Bailey, between her job at Buzz and trying to spend every spare minute rekindling her love for Chris, finds time to go to Andes and search for Tom’s home. There she finds a body burned beyond recognition. Is it Tom? If so, who else knew about his home? And if it isn’t, who is it?
Though Lethally Blond doesn't have a substantial mystery plot, the book will attract readers who enjoy the exploits of media stars with a couple of murders thrown in. White, with her insider knowledge of the industry, does a fine job of portraying the characters in her book as they seem to appear in the public eye. Whether this is accurate or not is irrelevant; perception is reality in the world of show business.
Bailey Weggins is an appealing amateur sleuth who uses her charm to get intimate with the people she has put on her suspect list. Though repeatedly threatened during her investigation, she forges ahead with incredible determination until she solves the mystery.
Lethally Blond is light and fun and the perfect companion for a summer vacation.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Lethally Blond.
Acknowledgment: Precedent Media Unlimited provided a copy of Lethally Blond for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Selected reviews of other mysteries by this author …
Hush
Harper (Hardcover), March 2010
ISBN-13: 9780061576614; ISBN-10: 0061576611
Location(s) referenced in Lethally Blond: New York City, The Catskills, New York State
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Lethally Blond by Kate White
Publisher: Grand Central
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-10: 0-446-57795-2
ISBN-13: 978-0-446-57795-3
Publication Date: May 2007
List Price: $24.99
Synopsis (from the publisher): Whenever a celebrity throws a phone, crashes a car, or kills a spouse, celebrity journalist Bailey Weggins is there to cover it for the gossip magazine Buzz. Now, the new television show Morgue is the talk of the town, and just as Bailey starts reminiscing about her brief summer fling with the show's gorgeous star, Chris Wickersham, he calls. But Chris isn't thinking about rekindling their old flame. His friend and fellow actor on the show has gone missing, and while nobody else seems to be alarmed, Chris can't believe his friend would just run off while on the brink of stardom. When Bailey starts to investigate as a favor for Chris, she soon realizes there is much more to the disappearance than meets the eye, and unless she can unearth the truth, she could become the inspiration for Morgue's next episode.
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