To Have and to Kill (Wedding Cake Mystery Series #1)

Spectacular New Series

With 12 "KEY News" media thrillers under her belt, Mary Jane Clark's latest -- and the first in her new "Wedding Cake Mystery" series -- is a spectacular and winning change of scene. In "To Have and To Kill," Piper Donovan, a 28-year-old aspiring actress who has already had a two-year stint on a soap opera seen by millions, stays connected with her legion of fans on Facebook and Twitter, and stays healthy taking yoga and karate classes in between auditions. When acting roles become few and far between, Piper moves back home with her parents in Hillwood, New Jersey, to wait out the slump and help her mother in the family bakery business. When fellow soap opera star Glenna Brooks announces an upcoming Christmas Eve marriage, Piper agrees to create a wedding cake for the occasion, but when someone close to the bride is horribly poisoned, it's not clear if Glenna wasn't the real target. The murderer, smartly hidden in a very believable suspect pool, isn't finished - and after a few more bodies begin to pile up, Piper herself may have been added to a very macabre Christmas "wish list." Clark's new heroine is young, smart and sassy and, with the help of Jack, her FBI agent-cum-sometime-boyfriend, Piper has to add crime detection to her acting and cake decorating skills. Great characters (Piper's mom and dad, and their dog Emmett among them), populate a story told with breakneck speed all the way to an astonishing reveal -- of both the murderer and the splendid, star-studded cake -- but not before Piper goes toe-to-toe with a stop-at-nothing killer. It was impossible to put down!

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

I really enjoyed it.

Piper Donovan, the main character and a struggling actress, decides to move from her Manhattan apartment back to New Jersey with her parents as a temporary measure until she gets her feet planted more securely on the ground after her fiancé breaks the engagement. This is a mystery / suspense loaded with intrigue as her best friend Glenna who is planning her wedding receives an anonymous threatening letter warning her to stay away from her fiancé, Casey or there will be consequences. Mutual friend, Trevor, collapses at a charity function after drinking a drink meant for Glenna. He dies and this is where it becomes tense and the story turns to sleuthing and FBI agent, Jack Lombardi, enters the scene. This is very entertaining and moves along nicely. I really enjoyed it.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is a warm fast-paced cozy

No longer getting acting roles after her two year part in the soap A Little Rain Must fall ends with her character's death, having her romance implode and worried about her mom's heath Piper Donovan crosses the Hudson to return to her hometown of Hillwood, New Jersey. The late twentyish Piper works with her mom at the family owned bakery, Icing on the Cupcake, but uses social networking to stay in touch with her friends and fans.

Her acting friend Glenna Brooks, a star of A Little Rain Must Fall, hires Piper and her bakery to make her wedding cake. However, the homicide death of A Little Rain Must Fall cast member Travis York shakes up everyone associated with the TV drama. Soon more murders occur, so Piper asks her friend FBI Agent Jack for advice on conducting an investigation.

This is a warm fast-paced cozy starring a likable heroine who fears she may be on a sort of soap opera List of Adrian Messenger. The whodunit is lighthearted fun as Piper knows the culprit must be associated with the show but it is her parents, the family dog and Jack who enhance the mystery by providing poignant Icing on the Cupcake.

Harriet Klausner

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great!

Fun, easy read

You should read this if you like mysteries

Easy reading, story line goes quickly but you are not sure until the end who the evil person is. Clark gives reasons why all the characters are guilty. Very enjoyable.

Well Written!

I thought this book was very good. There are a number of suspects that's for sure to keep you going. I enjoyed the characters and will continue with this series. This is definitely a summer reading book.

Excellent Book!

I loved the book! It was a quick read and kept me guessing until the very end. I higjly recommend it!

A fresh new series

Piper Donovan is down on her luck. She was recently written out of her soap opera, A Little Rain Must Fall. Not having any callbacks from her auditions, Piper is forced to give up her Manhattan apartment. She returns home to Jersey to live with her parents. Her father is a former cop and her mother owns The Icing on the Cupcake bakery. It's there that Piper spends most of her days when she's not auditioning.

Piper stayed in touch with the leading actress from A Little Rain Must Fall, Glenna Brooks. When the two friends meet for lunch, Glenna announces she's getting married on Christmas Eve and asks Piper if her mother would be so kind to make her wedding cake. Piper immediately accepts on her mother's behalf. It's also during this lunch that Glenna discloses she has received a disturbing letter (anonymously written) about her upcoming nuptials. Piper warns Glenna to be careful.

Days following their lunch, someone close to Glenna is mysteriously murdered. All clues lead back to this letter. And it's not until another person from the soap is left for dead that Piper begins to realize someone is determined to not see Glenna walk down the aisle and will kill anyone that is in the way.

To Have and To Kill is the first book in Clark's new Wedding Cake Mystery series. I've read and thoroughly enjoyed her previous Key News series, so I was looking forward to reading this mystery. As usual, Clark did not disappoint. She has created a likable and intelligent amateur sleuth in Piper. There's a hint of a love interest for Piper, but it doesn't overshadow the mystery. Piper's parents round out the storyline as her mother is battling personal issues that may threatened her livelihood.

Overall I really enjoyed To Have and To Kill. It's a light, cozy mystery that is perfect reading for a lazy afternoon. I'm looking forward to reading future mysteries starring Piper.

3.5 Stars

Highly Recommended ~ Loved it

Awesome book... :-)

Highly entertaining

As an avid mystery ready, what a delightfully lighthearted mystery. I enjoyed this new series. I will read more of Mary Jane Clark books

What a Soap Opera!

Will Glenna make it to her wedding day? Is Casey really the person he presents himself to be? What is Jessie's secret? Mary Jane Clark has "baked up" a "delicious" mystery for you in the book "To Have and To Kill." The icing on the cake is the suspense of the storyline and the characters with all their "hidden" agendas. The twists and turns will keep you reading, you could read this over the weekend if you have no interruptions, you know other than eating and sleeping. LOL! If you like this culinary novel, be sure to take a look at Diane Mott Davidson's culinary capers with plenty of "delicious" recipes at the end of the mystery.

It's ok

The book was interesting up until the end, where it seemed rushed in order to wrap it up. So I give it 3 stars, it was ok.

Okay

The book was s little too simple for my tastes.

Price Point

I can't get past the price point. I love, love MJC, but I am extremely disappointed that for a new series, it's over $10.00. Yes, that makes me look very cheap, but I purposefully bought the NOOK to pay lower costs. And yes, the hardcover is considerably more, but still. When launching a new series, it should be under $10 to entice readers. I am always willing to pay more for the subsequent books because my interested has been piqued.

Having typed this, I did read the sample and felt that it would be a great series to read. I'll just wait for the price to drop (hopefully)!

Kept me guessing!

Well written! The author kept me guessing and I have to admit I was always wrong! Great read and would recommend!

A fast paced, cozy mystery

The first in a new mystery series, popular author Mary Jane Clark introduces us to a new line of personable and kind characters - you don't want to accept that one of them could be the culprit. Leaning on her knowledge of television shows and studios, Clark leads us into the world of A Little Rain Must Fall. Piper and Glenna are both stars of the popular show. The cast will soon relocate to LA for taping, but not before one of their own succumbs to poison. Was the poison meant for him or for another character? Soon others that have close connections to the show, and know more than they should, find their own way into the murderer's hands. Readers will enjoy this fast paced novel, anticipating the joy of Glenna's upcoming nuptials to Casey (can he really be trusted?) and being in the kitchen of the local bakery with Piper and her mother (why is she not participating in the baking activities as much?). This novel will leave you guessing until the end. Another great story by one of my favorite authors.

Highly Recommended

Piper Donavan does what no one ever wants to do. She packs her bags, hands over her keys, and moves...back into her parent's house. Her lack of employment in her chosen profession--acting and a bad breakup--leave her no other choice. She has to eat. And what better place to eat than her mom's bakery, The Icing on the Cupcake?

Piper braces herself for what she expects to be the worst: her dad's emergency preparedness lectures and her mom's constant questions about her love life and her eating habits.

Little did she know instead she'd be facing: her mom acting strange, a friend getting married, creating her first wedding cake, a soap opera reunion, and even worse...MURDER.

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