A Veiled Antiquity [Hardcover]

Rett MacPherson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 1998

Torie O'Shea investigates the tangled roots of an ancient family tree.

Torie O'Shea-- genealogist and amateur sleuth-- is having a killer of a day. The town gossip spreads the word that her sweet wheelchair-bound mother is having an affair-- with the sheriff! Then quiet Marie Dijon is found dead at the foot of her basement stairs. Did she fall? Was she pushed? All Torie knows is that Marie had a family tree with royal roots completely foreign to a folksy Middle America town like New Kassel, Missouri. As foreign as, say...murder.

But nosiness in New Kassel is as native as the upcoming Oktoberfest. To Torie, the open door to Marie's house is more tempting than chocolate. Finding a hidden key and old documents in French make further investigating irresistible. But while juggling her growing suspicions, a hectic job at the historical society, two kids, and a sexy husband, Torie overlooks the obvious. Curiosity killed the cat. Someone killed Marie Dijon. And now Torie might know too much to live...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Missouri historical tour guide and genealogist Torie O'Shea (Family Skeletons, 1997) brings down-home sensibilities and acute insights into small-town life when she investigates the death of a reclusive woman whose body is found at the bottom of her basement steps. Although the woman was not a native of New Kassel, Torie is surprised at the lack of kinfolk at the funeral and at the woman's will, which states that no one outside the town can bid on her antiques-filled house. Poking into the woman's home while doing a little informal detecting, Torie finds a key and some old documents written in French taped to the underside of the kitchen table. She and the sheriff are stunned when the woman's documents appear to point to the identity of the famous man in the iron mask. What, they ask themselves, would someone in a small Missouri town be doing with such valuable letters? While it may be overreaching to pose the answer to that well-known French conundrum in a small middle-American town, MacPherson's genial exploration of village relationships and neighborly nuances carries its own raison d'etre.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Torie O'Shea, who debuted in last year's Family Skeletons (LJ 3/1/97), suspects that a woman's fatal fall down some steps was not accidental, so she begins sleuthing. Charming, down-to-earth characters and gentle humor.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (May 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312186770
• ISBN-13: 978-0312186777
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #954,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart, Engaging Mystery, July 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Veiled Antiquity (Torie O'Shea Mysteries, No. 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a wonderful and humorous novel. There were some passages so funny, I had to put the book aside to laugh. Torie O'Shea is a great heroine - someone with whom the reader can truly identify. I can't wait to start MacPherson's next mystery.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming and fun., April 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Veiled Antiquity (Hardcover)

I had so much fun reading this book. I picked it up because the author is from St. Louis, but don't be mislead, this book does NOT take place in St. Louis if you are looking for a book about that city. In fact, she only visits one small section of a St. Louis neighborhood with about a paragraph and a half devoted to it's description, which was right on. Otherwise, it takes place in a fictitious town that I wish was real so that I could visit it. She puts forth a well researched THEORY on the subject matter in the book. It made me so interested in it, in fact, I went and checked out books on it in the library. I think that's what I liked about it was that she pokes fun at historical theories while at the same time putting forth her own. MacPherson's books are a great get-away from reality and other heavy, depressing books. She delivers exactly what is expected of her...a tongue in cheek COZY!!! Can't wait for the next one this summer.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More please, June 6, 1998

By 

Pam "SMB,SLT" (Flint Hills of Kansas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Veiled Antiquity (Hardcover)

A Veiled Antiquity leaves you wanting to know more about Torie O'Shea and those who surround her in New Kassel, Missouri.

There are good clues dropped along the way and interesting hints in to the lives of the characters in this little town just a hop skip and a jump outside of St. Louis.

Again the only problem with finishing a brand new book is that one has to wait so long before the next one comes out. Sometimes it's better to read authors whose series have been around for a while and you can immerse yourself in several before you have to suffer the pains and agonies of waiting for new releases. Rett MacPherson makes me wish she had been published much earlier.