Bailey Weggins, the main character in “Even If It Kills Her” by Kate White, is a likable character. She’s trying to make a go of a career as a writer, and in the process ends up investigating murders and putting herself in danger, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend.

Although this is the seventh book in the series about Bailey Weggins, that fact doesn’t make the book difficult to read as a stand-alone or make the reader feel like there is a huge backstory  missing. There are a few references to past crimes solved and past dangerous situations, but that doesn’t take away from the mystery or the enjoyment of this story.

When Bailey runs into a college friend during a book signing, she feels bad because when the friend’s family was murdered in a freak crime, she never reached out to comfort her friend, and when the friend dropped out of college, she lost contact with her.

Now the friend comes to Bailey with the news that the person convicted of the crime has practically been exonerated of the crime, and she wants Bailey to find the real murderer. Bailey’s need for a new topic for a book combined with the guilt from how she abandoned her friend make her agree to look into the murders. Beau, the boyfriend, is not happy with Bailey putting herself into a possibly dangerous situation.

The story takes Bailey and her friend Jillian to a small town in Massachusetts where Jillian and her family lived. The unravelling of the story, all the possible suspects, the red herrings, and the final twist, are well handled by White. While the reader might have a slight issue with the final reveal of the murderer because there are almost no clues leading up to that character being the killer (at least that this reviewer could see), the overall story is well written, the characters engaging and realistic, the subplots interesting, and the end result quite satisfying.

Please note: This review is based on the final, paperback book provided by the publisher, Harper, for review purposes.