"Deliciously humorous mystery!"
While driving home to Mystic Falls with her roommate and
best friend, Eve, to take charge of her baby sister's
wedding, Madeira—or Maddie as she prefers to be called—
realizes just how much she really doesn't want to go back
to New York. After all, with Eve doing classes at the
university her father teaches at, she won't have a roommate
anymore and she's really not all that happy working with
Falina, the famous designer, anymore. Once they get to her
home, Maddie makes sure Eve will at least come in and say
hi to everyone at the party for her sister's engagement. Of
course, their home isn't the normal house, but what else
would one expect from an English Lit professor? It's a two
hundred and fifty year old plus old coach stop and tavern.
Maddie has always loved this house. It always seems to
welcome her home. Maddie's mother died when she was young and as the oldest
of four children, Maddie raised her siblings. When it comes
to arranging weddings, her father is pretty much helpless
and asked Maddie to take a leave of absence from her job to
help. Of course, the fact it's her baby sister's wedding
has given Maddie a bit of a wake-up call. All her friends
and family are at the party when Maddie and Eve get there,
even her brother and his partner, Nick—Maddie's on/again,
off/again boyfriend. Of course, Sherry—Maddie's baby sister—
grabs onto Maddie as soon as she walks in the door. Turns
out her fiancee's ex-girlfriend is at the party, at the
invitation of her fiancee's mother, and is hanging onto
Justin. The fact Sherry is marrying into the family of
Mystic Falls means Deborah—Justin's mother—will just have
to be in charge, regardless of what Sherry wants. When
Deborah claims Sherry so the ex-girlfriend can arrange the
surprise, Maddie decides to go upstairs. When Maddie passes
her middle sister's room, she feels something odd and
decides to go in. Bad mistake. When she enters the room,
Maddie sees the ex-girlfriend with a veil wound around her
neck. Immediately, Maddies tries to bring the woman back,
only to realize it won't be possible when Nick comes in and
lets Maddie know the ex is dead. When Sherry ends up being the prime suspect for the ex's
murder, Maddie has no recourse but to prove her sister's
innocence. And so begins Maddie's journey to find out who
killed Justin's ex-girlfriend. However, she has a little
help when she realizes she can "see" things when she
touches vintage clothing—Maddie's especial love. Who really killed Justin's ex-girlfriend? Will Sherry even
get married, or will she stand trial for committing murder?
Why is Maddie seeing all these things when she touches
vintage clothing? Will her relationship with Nick be on
again? Will Maddie go back to New York and working for
Faline, or will she stay in Mystic Falls? A Veiled Deception is a funny, engaging read.
Annette Blair puts together a mystery with humor, suspense,
and quite the engaging plot. However, this is not just the
story of a murder, but also of one woman's journey to find
herself and what is really important to her. As
Maddie "sees" different things, she begins to realize she's
more like her mother than she thought. Have to admit, my
favorite character is old Mrs. Sweet, with her Dante and
quirky sense of humor. Of course, Chakra Citrine, the watch
cat, was a wonderful touch as well. If this is an example
of Annette Blair's talent for storytelling, I intend to go
out and pick up all her back titles. The dialogue is witty,
there's humor throughout the story, along with friendship
and family, sexual tension without the story revolving
around the sex, and the plot just zings along. I very
highly recommend this story to anyone and everyone. I
enjoyed it, I'm sure you will too.
Reviewed by Chere Gruver
Posted December 22, 2008
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