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The Look of Love: A Piper Donovan Mystery (Wedding Cake Mystery #2)
The Associated Press calls her "one of the most talented storytellers around." Now, New York Times bestselling author Mary Jane Clark brings readers a delicious new mystery.
The Look of Love
Piper Donovan accepts when the owner of Elysium, an exclusive spa and plastic surgery center, offers her an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles to create a dazzling and unique wedding...more
The Look of Love
Piper Donovan accepts when the owner of Elysium, an exclusive spa and plastic surgery center, offers her an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles to create a dazzling and unique wedding...more
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
January 17th 2012
by William Morrow
(first published December 27th 2011)
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Piper Donovan is a cake maker. Piper receives a phone call from Jillian Abernathy. Jillian is the owner of Elysium, an exclusive spa. Jillian is getting married and wants Piper to make her wedding cake. Both Piper’s father and her good friend, Jack don’t think that Piper should take the job. It could be because someone does not want Jillian to get married. In fact, Jillian’s poor maid was the recipient of a face full of acid that was meant for Jillian. Despite all the warnings, Piper heads to El...more
Piper Donovan is asked to provide a cake for the wedding of a spa owner in California. She’s invited to spend a week at the very luxurious spa while preparing the cake.
Soon after she arrives there is a murder and it appears that Jillian, the bride, is in danger. There are several people who have a reason to harm her or via her, her father, who dotes on her.
Piper gets to know some of the guests and helps one of them to try and uncover possible foul play (maybe unrelated to the murder). Meanwhile...more
Soon after she arrives there is a murder and it appears that Jillian, the bride, is in danger. There are several people who have a reason to harm her or via her, her father, who dotes on her.
Piper gets to know some of the guests and helps one of them to try and uncover possible foul play (maybe unrelated to the murder). Meanwhile...more
A winter storm causing downtown gridlock is a great excuse to stay at work a little later and finish a book. Of course the fact that most of the action in this takes place in sunny Los Angeles rubs salt in the wound of this Clevelander.
Second book in this series and the author remains true to the character who is based on her daughter, an aspiring actress. I appreciate the little touches like updating Facebook or tweeting used by the main character.
Plenty of suspects in this who done it at a fan...more
Second book in this series and the author remains true to the character who is based on her daughter, an aspiring actress. I appreciate the little touches like updating Facebook or tweeting used by the main character.
Plenty of suspects in this who done it at a fan...more
Received from Publisher
Overall Rating 2.75
Story Rating 2.50
Character Rating 3.00
First thought when finished: The story just coasted then bam it was done!
What I Loved: I did find the characters of The Look of Love to be interesting. I did not read the first book in the series so I did not know what to expect. However, I really loved the Abernathy family. I also really loved Piper's family.
What I Liked: I thought the giving of a few different suspects for the murders was very well done. Mary Jane...more
Overall Rating 2.75
Story Rating 2.50
Character Rating 3.00
First thought when finished: The story just coasted then bam it was done!
What I Loved: I did find the characters of The Look of Love to be interesting. I did not read the first book in the series so I did not know what to expect. However, I really loved the Abernathy family. I also really loved Piper's family.
What I Liked: I thought the giving of a few different suspects for the murders was very well done. Mary Jane...more
I read the first in this series and this one is just as good. Piper Donovan is getting closer with Jack, expanding her cake making, still dealing with her mother's health problems and of course she's finding herself smack dab in the middle of another mystery. If you liked the first in the wedding cake series you will like this second installment. If you haven't read the first you don't have to, to come in and understand the characters.
If you like cozy type mysteries you should like this one. I...more
If you like cozy type mysteries you should like this one. I...more
"The Look of Love" is a very fast-paced mystery/suspense novel. This book is the second in the series. You don't need to read the first book to understand this one, and this one didn't spoil the whodunit of the first mystery. However, the under-developed romance of the first book was even sketchier in this novel. If the second novel was all you had to go on, then the guy didn't even come across as desirable.
Like the first novel, Piper is curious about who is murdering people, but she doesn't sno...more
Like the first novel, Piper is curious about who is murdering people, but she doesn't sno...more
Piper Donovan isn't the average wedding cake baker. In fact she's only made one wedding cake before, but what a cake it was. On the basis of that one cake, she has been asked to come to Los Angeles and make a cake for Jillian Abernathy, director of Elysium. A trip to LA, a wedding cake, some acid in the face and a few murders are all ingredients in The Look of Love by Mary Jane Clark.
Piper may not be a traditional wedding cake baker/decorator but she does have excellent skills. These skills are...more
Piper may not be a traditional wedding cake baker/decorator but she does have excellent skills. These skills are...more
In The Look of Love, Piper Donovan is asked to create a wedding cake for Jillian Abernathy, the owner of Elysium, an exclusive spa in Los Angles. Part of the deal states that Piper gets to stay at the spa the entire week before the wedding. Shortly after she arrives, though, one of the guests is murdered. With the wedding just days away, is doesn't look like Jillian is going to be walking down the aisle any time soon.
I really enjoyed this book. It's such an easy read that I breezed through it i...more
I really enjoyed this book. It's such an easy read that I breezed through it i...more
I won this from a Goodreads Giveaway! I actually won it months ago and kept putting it off trying to find a good time to give it a fair chance. I've been looking to find a new fun, easy reading mystery series since the ones I love probably won’t go on forever.
With The Look of Love I definitely found a quick, easy read. The mystery was light and fun. It kept me guessing between characters trying to decide who done it. My only problem was that I felt the characters lacked character. I never reall...more
With The Look of Love I definitely found a quick, easy read. The mystery was light and fun. It kept me guessing between characters trying to decide who done it. My only problem was that I felt the characters lacked character. I never reall...more
I read this (and the first book in the series) because it's set in my town and I get a cheap thrill from reading about my local haunts, only with exciting events in them. That worked for the first book, but this one is set mostly in LA, so that didn't work as well for me.
The characters in this series are great, and you get to know Jack, Piper and her family better here. The downside is that the plot is full of red herrings (I really don't understand why the guilty party wanted to disfigure the b...more
The characters in this series are great, and you get to know Jack, Piper and her family better here. The downside is that the plot is full of red herrings (I really don't understand why the guilty party wanted to disfigure the b...more
It's About: When Piper is offered an all-expense paid trip to Los Angeles to bake a wedding cake for Jillian Abernathy, she's a bit hesitant. After spending New Year's Eve with Jack, the man she's seeing, she thinks it's best to leave Jersey for awhile to think about where their relationship is going.
Her father is not sold on the idea of her going. Jillian's housekeeper was recently attacked⎯an attack meant for Jillian. He warns Piper to be careful and not to get involved with the investigation....more
Her father is not sold on the idea of her going. Jillian's housekeeper was recently attacked⎯an attack meant for Jillian. He warns Piper to be careful and not to get involved with the investigation....more
Piper Donovan is back. And it's time for another wedding, and therefor another wedding cake!
This time Piper heads out to California to make a cake for the daughter of a famous spa owner. Piper is excited about getting to go to Hollywood - as an actress it's very exciting - and she even gets an audition lined up for while she is out there.
Her friends and family are not nearly as excited for her. The bride's maid has been recently attacked with acid. The bride, Jillian, was probably the intended...more
This time Piper heads out to California to make a cake for the daughter of a famous spa owner. Piper is excited about getting to go to Hollywood - as an actress it's very exciting - and she even gets an audition lined up for while she is out there.
Her friends and family are not nearly as excited for her. The bride's maid has been recently attacked with acid. The bride, Jillian, was probably the intended...more
Once again, Piper Donovan, actress and cake baker, is chosen to prepare a wedding cake for an ill fated bride. Jillian is beautiful, engaged to a handsome doctor, and running her father's spa with great efficiency. But she has many enemies, and one has already made an attempt on her life. Piper's family in New Jersey (and her would-be beau, FBI agent Jack, in New York) are reluctant to let her go to California to bake the cake, but the warm weather and possible acting jobs beckon, and soon Piper...more
I've enjoyed reading Clark's books since she began writing the KEY news series and am now enjoying her new wedding cake mystery series. Piper is a struggling actress who is helping with her mom's cake decorating business between jobs. When she is invited to the five-star Elysium resort and spa in California, she finds herself in the midst of a murder scene. Someone seems intent on making sure that Jillian, the beautiful owner of the spa, never reaches the altar. Clark offers a mystery that is pu...more
This book was decent. It was a nice easy mystery to get involved in for a night. It had lots of cliff hangers and foreshadowing that kept me reading.
The one thing I wish is that Mary Jane Clark would have gotten dirty in this book. And by that, I mean actually writing out the dirty parts - i.e. murders & arrests & fights - instead of just ending the chapter right before the murder/arrest/fight and then starting the next chapter out with it all being finished. It becomes a bit unsatisfac...more
The one thing I wish is that Mary Jane Clark would have gotten dirty in this book. And by that, I mean actually writing out the dirty parts - i.e. murders & arrests & fights - instead of just ending the chapter right before the murder/arrest/fight and then starting the next chapter out with it all being finished. It becomes a bit unsatisfac...more
I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
This is a light, fast read. When I say a light read, I mean - a really light read. I enjoyed it and I liked the Piper Donovan character but it skims along pretty quickly, with plenty of red herrings thrown in. Even though I didn't guess who the killer was before it was revealed, I knew who the killer wasn't, and the ending was pretty predictable.
All in all, this isn't the kind of book I'd gush about, but there's nothing really wrong with it, either. I...more
This is a light, fast read. When I say a light read, I mean - a really light read. I enjoyed it and I liked the Piper Donovan character but it skims along pretty quickly, with plenty of red herrings thrown in. Even though I didn't guess who the killer was before it was revealed, I knew who the killer wasn't, and the ending was pretty predictable.
All in all, this isn't the kind of book I'd gush about, but there's nothing really wrong with it, either. I...more
This is a new series about Piper Donovan, a want to be actress and wedding cake designer. She is invited to the Elysium Spa to design the cake for Julie Abernathy the director of the spa. She is also the owner's daughter. Julie's maid is murdered and Piper gets involved in the mystery of finding who did the murder. She also helps in the arrest of a molester who works at the spa. You will guess who the murderer is before the end, but its still a fun read, with likeable characters. I look forward...more
Originally posted at Nose in a Book
I picked this book up for the cover. If I had shame I wouldn’t tell you that. Good for all of you I have no shame. I was in a book slump. Sad but true. You’d think with 300+ books in my waiting to be read queue, I wouldn’t have that problem. Sadly, it happened.
So when I was at the library last week I picked this up.Late one night I decided you know what, lets read it. Then the problem happened I got sucked into this book and the next thing I know it is two am a...more
I picked this book up for the cover. If I had shame I wouldn’t tell you that. Good for all of you I have no shame. I was in a book slump. Sad but true. You’d think with 300+ books in my waiting to be read queue, I wouldn’t have that problem. Sadly, it happened.
So when I was at the library last week I picked this up.Late one night I decided you know what, lets read it. Then the problem happened I got sucked into this book and the next thing I know it is two am a...more
I should have known when the first book, To Have and To Kill, in this series was just an OK read for me. I was hoping for better with The Look of Love, but sadly it was also just OK for me. As with the first book, there were just too many suspects thrown into the pot. Even with the amount of people thrown in, the real culprit came as a surprise for me. I didn't see it coming at all. I didn't feel like there were enough clues to really point to the killer. Also, Piper, again kind of stumbles into...more
Jan 19, 2012
Jerrilynn Atherton
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Someone looking for lighter fare
A light romance and mystery, it only took me one day from start to finish. It was my first Piper Donovan mystery and I wished I had read the previous. There were references in this book I did not understand and were not well explained referring to previous events. There was good suspect development through the book but the ending was felt rushed. There wasn't a lot of detail explaining the resolution. I would still recommend this as light reading, but not without reading the series in order.
After the depressingly dark The Odds, I needed a bit of light fluff. The Look of Love (the 2nd Piper Donovan Mystery) by Mary Jane Clark filled the bill nicely. Piper travels to the ultra-luxurious Elysium in California to make the spa director's wedding cake. Devious characters, a murder, a cover-up murder, and twisted relationships ensue--all neatly and conviently tied up in the end. What will Piper be up to next? The answer is worthy of a request check at the library,
I just finished this book & I must say I found it quite exciting to read. The book took several turns & twists & had me highly anticipating the end. I love reading a good mystery book like this. The main character Piper Donovan has a real personality & I enjoyed reading this book from her point of view. The character's where very interesting, I loved that her father was way to over protective, it reminds me of my dad.
The author does a great job at keeping all the characters orga...more
The author does a great job at keeping all the characters orga...more
Feb 27, 2013
Knight
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Lovers of the crafty/cozy genre
Light and frothy, a quick read. I read it in one day. Nothing telegraphed the identity of the murderer, so that's a good point. With all the many chapters, the book is a bit choppy.
There were parts about the ending that left me unsatisfied. There is dramatic Piper in peril scene and then boom, the story is almost done. I would like to have seen the various characters after the peril scene and how everything played out for them.
I will probably go back and read the first one.
There were parts about the ending that left me unsatisfied. There is dramatic Piper in peril scene and then boom, the story is almost done. I would like to have seen the various characters after the peril scene and how everything played out for them.
I will probably go back and read the first one.
A disappointing read. The many short scenes (sorry, chapters) would have been much more suitable as a video rather than a book. Characters were superficial and the plot seemed to be a list of check-offs.
Nun - check, possibly evil stepmother - check, overly protective and possibly criminal father - check, mysterious death of family member - check, possibly philandering boyfriend - check...
I won't bother with any of these again unless I'm desperate.
Nun - check, possibly evil stepmother - check, overly protective and possibly criminal father - check, mysterious death of family member - check, possibly philandering boyfriend - check...
I won't bother with any of these again unless I'm desperate.
I like Mary Jane Clark. Her short chapters and likeable characters make for a quick and fun read. I even enjoy the recipe at the end of the book. This is the second Piper Donovan book, however, there was no further character development. I feel that with each book, I should learn a little something more about the main characters. In this story the characters were flat. The Look of Love is quick read and enjoyable it its own way.
I won my copy of The Look of Love: A Piper Donovan Mystery by Mary Jane Clark through GoodReads FirstReads and I loved it! What a fun mystery! It starts out with an attack on the wrong person, then Piper the part time actress and one time wedding cake designer being asked to design the wedding cake of Jillian Abernathy, daughter of the owner of the most exclusive spa in California, then mysterious and dangerous happenings abound. Just when I thought I had it figured out and who the attacker-then...more
Enjoyed reading the book, my first read by this author. Story was quite riveting and the illustration of characters was just as much as was needed. The mystery part was not too scary and the guesses were not so difficult to make, the climax did not send any chills down my spine..meaning it quite easily ended. Overall was an enjoyable read, and a perfect pass time!
I picked up this book and couldn't put it down. I love books with short chapters, though I find them harder to put down than ones with long ones - it's so easy to say one more, one more, when they are only two or three pages!
The story was fast paced with many suspects and many reasons for murder. I will be reading more by this author soon.
The story was fast paced with many suspects and many reasons for murder. I will be reading more by this author soon.
A quick and easy read. Very pleasant. The setting of an exclusive spa and cake is a bonus. You don't have to think long and hard about this mystery, but it is not an insult to your brain either. And you do want to go back and read the first book to see how Piper and Jack started out and you do want to see where they go from here.
I love the Piper Donovan character, but the ending on this one left me unsatisfied. We don't get to SEE any of the action at the end, I actually looked at the page numbers in my copy to see if I was missing a few chapters! The ending seemed abrupt and rushed, I would have liked a little more development of that part.
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Mary Jane Clark is the author of thirteen novels, including 12 in the KEY News media thriller series, and one in her new Wedding Cake mystery series. A veteran writer and producer for CBS News, Clark worked for almost three decades at the network’s New York City headquarters. Her books are published in twenty-three languages. She lives in New Jersey and Florida.
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Dec 09, 2011 02:42pm