Larceny and Lace

Turning an old mortuary into a vintage clothing store, Madeira comes across old bones wrapped in a vintage quilt hidden in a body drawer....being clairsentient, Madeira trances and sees a woman in a well and hears the name Isobel....

The local theater is burned to the ground and the owner is found dead within.

From there the local Sheriff and much to his consternation; Madeira & her friend Eve stumble through the investigation linking the two murders together.

I like this series. It is entertaining, easy to follow, and contains some interesting descriptions of vintage clothing.

Although I didn't fully enjoy the first book, I figured since the second book was just sitting right there I'd read it. I wish I hadn't.

The main character's connection to the murder that comes up is sketchy at best, and the police's handling of the first crime is completely unrealistic (from what very little I know about police work, which isn't much, they still need probable cause to arrest a person).

Madeira walks in on a break in (twice)--doesn't bother to report it. She comes across the old bones of a dead body--doesn't bother to report it. She finds additional physical evidence--doesn't bother to report it. I also find it highly suspect that her FBI boyfried-ish-person would be willing to illegially give her background information show more about people, confidential financial reports, or autopsies.

Aside from the story being entirely unbelievable, the main character is mean-spirited and unpleasant. I had the next two books on my shelf, but they are gone now. Not interested in continuing with this series. show less

Despite the fact it becomes a bit predictable more than halfway through the book, the story is engaging. I truly liked it.

Maddie Cutler is close to opening the dream of her life, a vintage clothing store in her hometown. But when a fire leads to the discovery of a body in the nearby playhouse, and a set of human bones is discovered in her own shop ( well it had been a funeral home), Maddie and her friend, Eve, cannot help but be drawn into the mystery. Using her skill of psychometry and natural curiousity, Maddie finds herself upto her vintage designer hemline in danger.

I really enjoy these books. Blair has a real talent for creating characters and fun situations. Her mysteries are pretty good too, which often is not true in cozies. A good choice for lovers of mystery and chick lit alike.

picked up A Veiled Deception, the first of the Vintage Magic mysteries, a few weeks ago and just decided to read it the other day. Just after I finished it, I happened to be at Borders with $5 in Borders Bucks, happened upon the sequel and picked it up.

In the first book, Madeira Cutler goes back to her (fictional) home town of Mystick Falls, Connecticut to help with her sister Sherry's wedding to Justin Vancortland. At a dinner party on her first evening home, Maddie finds an ex-girlfriend of Justin's strangled with Sherry's antique veil. Of course, Sherry is the prime suspect.

As Maddie rushes to find the real killer before the wedding, she discovers some interesting intuitive attributes she didn't know she had.

While Maddie, who works show more for a top New York fashion designer, is in Mystick Falls, she learns that a disused mortuary building is for sale,and decides it would be a perfect home for the vintage clothing store she's always dreamed of.

The second book begins as did the first: with Maddie's arrival in Mystic Falls. Now owner of the old morgue building, she's preparing to open her store. When she drops by on the way to her father's house, she interrupts an intruder, frightening him off, although he just returns later.

The plot of Larceny and Lace is a little convoluted and there seems to be an abundance of villains. But the characters are appealing and story is engaging, and I found myself rushing to learn the conclusion.

These books are a lot of fun, and the supernatural element isn't terribly sinister. I'm looking forward to Death by Diamonds, the next book in the series (excerpted at the end of Larceny, though no publication date is given). show less

This was a book that I had a very hard time putting aside to do other things, like to eat. Annette Blair has a definite winner in Maddie Cutler and freinds.

Never quite sure which way some things will go and others are such easy guesses