Customer Reviews

A Veiled Deception (A Vintage Magic Mystery)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Madeira Cutler has worked for a prestigious New York clothes designer for many years. Returning home to Mystick Falls, Connecticut, Maddie becomes embroiled in all the small town and family dynamics as her sister Sherry's arch-enemy Jasmine is all too present at the festivities and a little tied to her future mother-in-law and ultimate snob Deborah Vancortland. When Maddie discovers Jasmine strangled by her sister's bridal veil, Maddie investigates to clear her sister's name. Her understanding of fashion takes an unexpected turn when a ghost appears. The wedding gown, a vintage gown given by Deborah to Sherry, possesses a magical power to make its past all too visible. Can Maddie and the magical wedding dress clear her sister? How will a little touch of magic and a vintage gown transform Maddie's life?

Annette Blair's A VEILED DECEPTION is a humorous, light magical feel good story. Maddie's return home elicits the bittersweetness of one's hometown as both good and bad memories are both never too far away. The power plays between Maddie and her friends make the opening chapters fun and endear the reader to both Maddie and her sister. The isolated scenes of Maddie's vision of the gown's past and the ghost itself are a few of the emotional highlights in this mystery. As the tale develops, however, A VEILED DECEPTION loses focus from those parts that give this book its most power and charm. The mystery itself is a bit too easily solved and the reader guesses the connections a bit too quickly despite the clever twist at the end. The mystery becomes more of a subplot for Maddie's self-discovery, a discovery that feels self-indulgement and a bit too self-centered. The sense of compassion that emerges from Maddie's connection to the past disappears too quickly as the mystery becomes more a story of Maddie discovering her true calling. The past revealed by the ghost and the sense of connection he evokes rapidly gets subsumed by Maddie's increasing individualism and focus on her quest for identity. Although in a way, the search for self presents a couple of pleasant ghostly twists, the tone becomes increasingly shallow as the book progresses.

A VEILED DECEPTION with its magical element and vintage take on the clothing so often seen in the chick lit genre will appeal more to romance lovers than mystery buffs looking for a clever mystery with a clever hunt for the culprit. Sweet, funny and heart-warming at times, A VEILED DECEPTION is a charming story of a young woman's homecoming, a homecoming fraught with funny and outrageous incidents. As a mystery, however, A VEILED DECEPTION leaves one wanting more clue twists, more discovered history and more of the center of the story.

COURTESY OF BOOK ILLUMINATIONS

I have always enjoyed Annette Blair's books and so I picked up this one expecting the usual solid read Blair always delivers. But, this book was a delightful surprise, more then a solid read and a great kick off to what looks like a great cozy series.

Perhaps as another reviewer noted there is a little too much romance for mystery readers--but I always like my cozies with a little romance in them and this certainly qualifies as Romantic Suspense.

I loved the paranormal elements and I thought Blair did a great job setting up the series, while still not losing control of the story as she introduced a lot of characters.

I especially love the 103 year old woman and her ghostly lover--what a delight and I can't wait to read more about them.

I also sense a Stephanie Plumesque choice between the solid if sometimes dorky Werner and the ooh la la Nick. Although I have a feeling that there is a lot more to Nick then just his libido.

I loved it when Madeira apologized to Lytton Warner for dubbing him "Little Weiner" in elementary school. He acknowledged that the nickname made him tough (he got in a lot of fights) and may have influenced his becoming a star football player and cop--but I can understand his grudgingly not quite accepting her apology.

The deep backgrounds and long history of these characters add depth to the story and the relationships.

As for the paranormal elements, I lost my Mother last May and the final ghost at the wedding did make me shed a few tears. If only all of us could have that kind of closure--but it made for a great ending.

I also loved the gorgeous cover with the foil accents, I can hardly wait to read the next one in the series.

Madeira "Maddie" Cutler, a vintage clothing designer for a famous fashion house, is on her way to her hometown of Mystick Falls, Connecticut where she hopes to create the gown for her baby sister she raised. Maddie arrives in time for pandemonium; an angry Sherry watches her fiancé Justin's former girlfriend Jasmine hang all over him as if she is the bride. Upset Sherry makes a rash statement that she will kill Jasmine in front of witnesses.

Maddie goes to see the wedding dress Sherry's mother-in-law expects her to wear only to find Jasmine choked to death by a veil. Sherry is the number one and only suspect; she does not help herself as she refuses to provide an alibi. Maddie has visions of another woman wearing the same dress and concludes her visions are related to the Jasmine homicide, but has no idea how. She investigates Sherry's in-laws especially their past since the dress belonged to Justin's mother to understand what she saw and hopes to apply it to identify the killer.

Annette Blair, renowned for her sensational bewitching romantic fantasies provides a new series filled with humor, the paranormal, two related mysteries, and of course romance. The protagonist is a beguiling intelligent free spirit who prefers a laughter and lay back lifestyle, but knows when the situation calls for a serious spin. She is glue that not only holds A VEILED DECEPTION together but turns the tale into an outstanding read.

Harriet Klausner

Since I have never read anything by this author I really did not know what to expect but quickly found myself immersed in an excellent mystery. Well written, deftly plotted and the characters well developed enough to make me feel I know them. The time passed quickly and I had finished the book before sleeping. This is just my first adventure with her.

First Line: My father would never have asked me to take a leave of absence from my job in New York City if he could have handled my sister's wedding and the "Jezebel" plotting to preempt it without me.

Madeira (Maddie) Cutler takes a leave of absence from her design job in a New York fashion house to go home to Connecticut to help with her younger sister's wedding. Sherry is looking forward to having Maddie design a spectacular wedding dress just for her, but at dinner they learn that the groom's mother has an heirloom dress and veil that she fully expects to be used. Not only that but a former girlfriend is draped all over the husband-to-be.

When the Jezebel later turns up dead, Sherry is the prime suspect, and Maddie isn't about to let something like that spoil her sister's wedding. What she knows that most other folks don't is that she's going to have a little extra help: Maddie not only can see the occasional ghost, she can touch fabrics and see things associated with the clothing's past.

This is a light, fun read-- perfect for curling up on a cold winter afternoon. I loved Maddie's fashion- and fabric-inspired way of cursing ("son of a stitch", "wooly knobby knits", etc.). It shows a lot more education and imagination than the usual profanities. I also loved the bits that dealt with design and vintage clothing.

The mystery was a bit weak; the killer seemed very obvious to me, but all the characters clucked and scratched everywhere in the barnyard but inside the hen house. Me? I was enjoying myself and more than content to watch them cluck and fuss. When I need something light and fun, I know that I'll be able to turn to this series for a pleasurable read.

Madeira Cutler, sleuth, has a psychic ability inherited from her dead mother (a witch?). Madeira can read vintage clothes, during which dizzying readings she sees snippets of things that happened while the clothes were being worn. And this amazing ability, come to live only when she returns to live in Mystick Falls Connecticut, has her helping to find the girl found murdered at her sister's engagement part.

The prime suspect, the bride of course, and Madeira, who can fix anything, must solve the crime so as not to cancel her sister's dream (or nightmare) wedding.

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it. Have read them all so far and they always make me want more.

VEILED DECEPTION is the first, then LARCENY AND LACE, then DEATH BY DIAMONDS, and soon SKIRTING THE GRAVE, plus there'll be two more after that, at least.

Give all Blair's books a read. You won't be sorry.

I expected a paranormal mystery from Annette Sinclair, but nothing of a supernatural nature happened in the first third of the book, and the main character, Maddy, made little progress in solving the mystery. However, it definitely picked up when Maddy decided to open a vintage clothing shop in the carriage house of a former funeral home, complete with resident handsome ghost, Dante Underhill. From there the story held my interest, the suspect list expanded, and the pieces of the mystery fell into place. If this were a stand-alone title I might complain about the large cast of characters --- Maddy has a goth BFF, 3 siblings, a college professor Dad, Aunt Fiona, a boyfriend, the local police chief who in my opinion SHOULD be her boyfriend, an eccentric 103-year-old neighbor, the ghost of Dante, the ghost of Maddy's mother, and a really weird cat. All these characters could be better developed; some do little more than clutter up the story. But since this is the first book in a series, I'm guessing they will play more significant roles in subsequent titles. Now that Maddy has discovered her psychic talents and is on the verge of opening her store, I'm looking forward to Book 2, which should feature more ghosts & more vintage fashions!

Maddie comes home to help with her baby sister's wedding. Ever since her mom died, she's become a mother to Sherry. Taking a break from her fashion designing job, she realizes that she might be on the verge of leaving New York City and moving back home to Mystic Falls. She might be just in time too. On the eve of her return, there's an engagement party for her sister. Her groom's mother is trying to take over the weeding and an ex-girlfriend tries to prove she still has control over the groom. When the ex-girlfriend turns up dead with a veil tied tightly around her neck - all fingers point towards Sherry. Maddie knows her sister isn't a murderer and sets out to prove her innocence. Soon Maddie starts to unravel all kinds of family secrets from the groom's side - and someone doesn't want them revealed. Can she clear her sister's name and save the wedding?

The start of a new fun adult mystery series that takes the cake with family drama and romance wrapped up with mystery and amazing fashion.

While reading the first half of this book I felt like I was just skimming over a surface, never being drawn below to any substance. The second half did pick up, but the only strong relationship was between Maddie and Aunt Fiona. All other relationships were too undeveloped for much interest.

Also, I found the overuse of designer vernacular to be a bit irritating.

Like many first books in a series, the author is under the impression that he or she must pack it with every little fact they think the reader needs while watering down the meat of the story.

The premise of the book is nothing new, picking up vibes from objects or clothing has been used in other books, some good and some bad. Ms Blair managed to take it and turn it into a Grade C story.

The mystery, how shall I describe it? Okay, someone was murdered? A very unpleasant person was murdered brought into the plot by another unpleasant person; I had more sympathy for the murderer.

The process of solving the crime was overall ho-hum. They were some passages that were cute and some that actually made me chuckle.

I liked the fact that the professionals in the book weren't portrayed as complete idiots.

Mad, the main female character wasn't bad, we did learn that she wasn't happy with her job, she raised her siblings and that she's been having an on again - off again relationship with a very attractive F.B.I. agent who walked though the book and while we learned what Mad did I felt I didn't learn that much about her.

I also wanted to know more about Nick and it would be nice to see better chemistry-interaction between him and Mad. In addition, I would like to learn why their relationship was described as on-again/off-again but deep down I want them to remain on-again.

Then there was Eve, Mad's stereotypical friend and recent roommate who should mind her own business. You'll know what I mean when and if you read the book.

Some of the characters reminded me of extras in a TV program, they were there and they took part in the story but except for a couple of characters including the Sweets, Mother and daughter-in-law none of them was worth remembering.

And dropping names of fashion houses may be of interest for some people but it really didn't add to the story and made no impression on me what's-so-ever and I couldn't care less if they were real.