Customer Reviews

Piercing the Veil

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Guilt can make people do crazy things, like risking their lives. "Piercing the Veil" is a mystery blended with the supernatural as Anne Marshall must construct a case against cutthroat and shady businessman Tim Sherman. In the process, murder prevails over bad business ethics; Anne's own life may be threatened, and the ghost of her father may be her only friend. "Piercing the Veil" is a riveting thriller and is quite the read.

Court reporter and law student Anne Marshall finds herself emotionally involved in a high profile divorce case. As the court reporter during the trial, Anne is privy to inside information, and hopes the prosecution can come through for their client. After all, the Sherman's had been friends of her parents.

The next thing Anne knows, her dad shows up at her apartment to ask her help in getting the best settlement possible for Isabelle Sherman. The problem is Anne's dad died two years ago. After she calms down, he explains that he thinks Tim Sherman, a successful businessman, is hiding assets from the court, possibly in an off shore account. Her dad knows that Anne is the only one he can contact to help him prove he is right.

Anne and her dad begin working together as they try to uncover the truth. Anne also enlists the help of her law school study group, her boyfriend Jason, and Randy Vers, Isabelle's lead attorney. Anne's father had taken Randy under his wing years ago and greatly helped his career.

As evidence comes to light that Tim is having an affair, Anne and her friends dig deeper to find out what else he might be hiding. When a key witness for the prosecution turns up dead, Anne is determined to prove Tim is the murderer.

It soon becomes apparent to her friends that Anne has gotten too deeply involved in the case. Despite numerous warnings from her friends and the police to stay away from the case, and a personal attack leaves her shaken and contrite, she renews her efforts to reveal the truth.

Piercing the Veil is Jacqueline Fullerton's debut novel. The paranormal mystery is an engrossing fast-paced suspense that brings Anne together with a good size group of likable friends who are eager to help her solve the case. Although the book often tells the story more than shows, it is a highly entertaining read.

The end of the book nicely sets the stage for further Anne Marshall stories. I hope that her dear departed dad is again included in the cast of wonderful characters Fullerton has created.

Twenty-six years old Anne Marshall and her dad dreamed of practicing law together as a father and daughter team, but he died at sixty-two from a heart attack. Although she misses him, she attends Compton Law School and works as a court reporter. However, when she begins hearing him, she fears for her sanity perhaps from too much work and she is still grieving after two years. The voice of her dad insists his acquaintance fiftyish Tim Sherman is a dangerous snake who has embezzled $10 million from his firm depositing it over time in off-shore accounts.

As she begins to believe her dad's ghost is trying to partner with her from beyond, Tim and his wife Isabelle are divorcing in the court where Annie works. Tim looks forward to breaking up their business and personal partnerships by vanishing without a trace. Tim also enjoys the concept that his affair with office manager Stephanie will end the same way his relationship with Isabelle will end. Mentored by her dad, Anne with the help of her study group, searches for legal evidence that Tim has stolen company funds while her boyfriend ADA Jason Perry worries about her recent behavior professionally and personally. When his mistress, a witness to the divorce proceeding, is murdered, Anne feels guilty, though her father, also feeling remorse, tells his angel that the murder is not her fault, but that of the snake. Feeling a need for justice, Anne, her other worldly partner, and her study group try to find proof Tim is a killer.

PIERCING THE VEIL is an engaging paranormal investigative legal thriller starring a likable but over her head heroine and her late dad, a true believer in justice for all. The story line is fast-paced from the first time Dad communicates with his shocked angel and never slows down. Although the climax feels abrupt, sub-genre fans will enjoy this entertaining tale.

Harriet Klausner

I was lucky enough to get a first glimpse at Jacqueline's writing. I couldn't put the book down. It was a page turner and I just thought she did a wonderful job with the characters. I especially love the last chapter which ties it all together. I am looking forward to her next book I hear will be out in March 2010.

This is the first book in the series of Anne Marshall and her "ghostly" father. It is the story where she learns that her father's ghost is helping her to solve murder mysteries.

While this is a bit unnerving for Anne, she also loves it as she planned to go into law practice with him after her graduation from law school. But a sudden heart attach prevented that and now he is helping her from the "great beyond".

Tim and Isabelle Sherman are getting a divorce and everyone feels Tim is hiding money. Can it be proved? In a word, no. But that doesn't stop Anne's father from coming to her and asking her to help prove Tim is a no good.

Between going to law school, working as a court stenographer, being engaged to Jason and the people in her study group, Anne is a busy girl. She still goes about trying to get the proof that Tim is hiding money from Isabelle.

Tim couldn't leave well enough alone and is a womanizer to boot. The "flavor of the day" believes he will marry her once Tim's divorce is final and plots with him on hiding money. Just to complicate matters, she is found dead. Now all think Tim is a murderer as well.

To find out how this all works out, you will need to get a copy of PIERCING THE VEIL.

Anne Marshall is a court reporter by day and a law student at night. Her dream had been to go into practice with her father but that dream was shattered when he died of a massive heart attack. But now her father is back, or at least his ghost is, and urging her to prove that wealthy businessman Tim Sherman is hiding money from his soon to be ex-wife. Anne quickly finds herself deeply involved in the Sherman case and up to her neck in trouble, trouble that includes murder.

"Piercing the Veil" is the interesting first book in Jacqueline Fullerton's new mystery series featuring Anne Marshall and the ghost of her father, James Marshall. While there are several paranormal mysteries out there, I found this one to be particularly poignant as it is clear that Anne loved and misses her father, who died way too young at the age of 62. Fullerton does a nice job with the relationship between the two. The paranormal aspects are nicely done, although I wish Fullerton went into James's "life" as a ghost a bit more (like where does he go when he's not visiting Anne?) and his abilities as a ghost and how he pulls some stuff off (like altering court documents). Anne is a great heroine if a bit reckless and impulsive. One of the things that I love about this book is Anne's relationship with the other people in her life, not only her father but her boyfriend Jason and friends like Maria and Shane, Bryan, John, and Clark among others. The book isn't perfect - there are some continuity errors and a twist towards the end that comes almost out of nowhere (there is some foreshowing but not enough). Still, all in all, it is a decent mystery and I suspect the series will get stronger as it progresses.

"Piercing the Veil" is a good mystery featuring a unique father-daughter team.

While not a "who done it", you will not find a "caper" story either. Both of these storylines have a strong influence but neither predominates in this well written enjoyable book. Jackie Fullerton has the ability to construct good believable characters in tight stories. The result is a high-energy book that grabs and holds our attention. The characters are so well done that I never had to think about who they were as each is recognizable.
A note on the "supernatural" aspects of this story, Anne Marshall's father is dead. She "sees him" at points in the story but this is NOT a ghost story. Those looking for an active mobile involved ghost will not be happy. Those thinking of not reading the book because of this will miss a good story.
This is a nice easy fun read. The story grabs us and the characters are engaging. Be careful, things are not always, what they seem. Comfortable assumptions and easy expectations may not be valid.

I read this book on Friday night and while it was a very quick read, it just never quite hooked me. I thought that the paranormal angle would be more involved but it really was only a very small part of the book. It was just a nice neat mystery that had a little twist at the end, nothing spectacular.

Anne Marshall is a court reporter who can communicate with the ghost of her late father James in the novel Piercing The Veil. Jacqueline Fullerton makes me believe that people can talk to ghosts. Communicating with ghosts is always a fascinating concept to put in a novel to me. This book has all the elements of a good mystery novel. It contains murder, infidelity and the embezzlement of a large sum of money by one of the main characters, but there is no real suspense here. The reader is aware of who the villain is way too early in the novel. There is a small twist at the end, but the sense of satisfaction or big pay off is not there.

The best aspect of the novel is the lead character of Anne. I like the relationships she has with her boyfriend Jason and the other characters in the legal field. I just wish Jacqueline Fullerton could have built the suspense more in the book. I love her integrity to her profession and her pursuit of justice in the case. I like the idea of using ghosts to help people solve crimes, but I would liked to have seen the main character solve the case through self discovery of clues. Piercing The Veil is a fast read with a fascinating premise about communicating with ghosts, but it is not very suspenseful.