To Have and To Kill by Mary Jane Clark

To Have and To Kill by Mary Jane Clark
A Wedding Cake Mystery, Book 1

Review:
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.

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Book Details:
Pub. Date: December 28, 2010
Publisher: William Morrow
Pages: 303
ISBN: 9780061995545
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: Library