Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | FICTION CLA | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
"One of the most talented story tellers around."
--Associated Press
"Clark has perfected the suspense novel...in classic Christie fashion."
--Booklist
New York Times bestseller Mary Jane Clark introduced readers to professional wedding cake decorator and amateur sleuth Piper Donavan in her acclaimed mystery novel To Have and To Kill. Piper's back in The Look of Love, on cake creating assignment at a West Coast luxury spa for the wealthy and famous--where nip and tuck and murder are offered in equal measures. Clark really hits her stride with The Look of Love, providing a winning recipe for delectable mystery that combines chills, twists, humor and often very romantic suspense in the bestselling vein of Mary Higgins Clark, Carol Higgins Clark, Faye Kellerman, Elizabeth Lowell, and Jayne Ann Krentz. She even includes scrumptious pastry recipes and fabulous cake design tips.
Author Notes
Mary Jane Clark spent three decades at CBS News' New York City headquarters where she began her career as a desk assistant after graduating with degrees in journalism and political science from the University of Rhode Island. She worked her way through the ranks to become a producer and writer. she is the author of the successful series: Key News and Piper Donovan.
Her novels include: Do You Want to Know a Secret? Do You Promise Not to Tell? Let Me Whisper in Your Ear, Close to You, Nobody Knows, Nowhere to Run, Hide Yourself Away, Dancing in the Dark, Lights Out Tonight, When Day Breaks, It Only Takes a Moment, Dying for Mercy, To Have and to Kill, The Look of Love and Footprints in the Sand. (Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
At the start of Clark's diverting second Piper Donovan cozy (after 2011's To Have and to Kill), Piper, a New York City cake decorator and aspiring actress, receives an invitation to stay, all-expenses-paid, at Elysium, one of L.A.'s most exclusive spas, in exchange for making the wedding cake for the owner's daughter, the beautiful Jillian Abernathy. Alas, Jillian's pending nuptials have not gone well. First, someone disfigures Jillian's maid, mistaking her for her employer. And before the ailing maid can identify her assailant, she's murdered. These unfortunate events, once leaked to the press, tarnish the spa's reputation and reveal the grit behind the glitter. As Jillian's wedding grows near, the attacks continue, drawing closer to the bride. While Piper may make an unlikely detective, she has personality, which is more than can be said of the supporting cast of familiar types (vengeful stepmother, doting oblivious father, etc.). (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
To Have and to Kill, 2010, etc.) to construct the perfect wedding cake. Abandoning her patient swain, FBI agent Jack Lombardi, to fly to L.A. for her all-expenses-paid week at Elysium, Piper is quickly drawn to Jillian. "I feel sorry for her. Talk about bad karma," she says after a second attack leaves unmourned Esperanza dead. Many people, Piper soon realizes, have it in for her client. There's Hudson Sherwood, the former Elysium director who's now toiling as a lowly hotel clerk. And George Ellis, whose daughter Wendy lost most of her nose to a botched surgery by Jillian's father, plastic surgeon Vernon Abernathy. And Kyle Quigley, the paramedical esthetician whose "sleep therapy" includes services his clients know nothing about. Undercover reporter Anastasia Fernands quickly enlists Piper to help get the goods on Kyle. But another Elysium guest will die before Piper finally realizes who the killer is--just in time to get attacked herself. In a manner strikingly reminiscent of the author's famous ex-mother-in-law, everything turns out in time for the diminished wedding party to enjoy a cake made from "the best pumpkin bread they have ever tasted."]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Jillian Abernathy, director of her plastic-surgeon father's exclusive spa, is spooked because someone threw acid in her maid's face, and authorities believe it was meant for her. When Jillian decides it is time to go through with her wedding, which was postponed after the attack, she contacts Piper Donovan, daughter of the owner of the Icing on the Cupcake bakery, who heads to Los Angeles to make the wedding cake. An aspiring actress, Piper also hopes to go out on a few auditions while in L.A. At the spa, Piper meets a reporter who is investigating a spa employee and Wendy, a young woman whose surgery was botched by Dr. Abernathy. When two women are murdered, and Jillian's cabin is set on fire, Piper gets involved. There is no shortage of suspects, from a disgruntled former employee to Wendy's father. Clark fans will enjoy the short chapters, interconnected plotlines, and multiple points of view, all of which keep the pages turning.--O'Brien, Sue Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
In this second installment of Clark's series (after To Have and To Kill), aspiring actress, professional cake decorator, and amateur sleuth Piper flies to Los Angeles to decorate a cake for Jillian Abernathy, the rich, beautiful daughter of the founder of Elysium Spa. Piper's agent has also managed to arrange an audition for her. The spa's exquisite surroundings seem to harbor ugly secrets, however, and Piper is soon embroiled in murder, deceit, and a host of unsavory events. Short chapters with shifting points of view help the story's pace while fragmenting the plot enough so that the reader can't be certain who has the best motive for murder until close to the end. Touches of humor keep the mystery light, the baking subplot keeps it cozy, and there is enough going on with family and Piper's newly developing relationship to keep it real. VERDICT Clark's fans and readers who enjoy mysteries in the vein of Mary Higgins Clark may want to check this out. [See Prepub Alert, 7/25/11.]-Pamela O'Sullivan, Coll. at Brockport Lib., SUNY (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
