A Vintage Magic Mystery, by Annette Blair, Berkley Prime Crime, August 2009
Vintage Magic's grand opening is just days away, and Maddie Cutler fears her new vintage clothing and designer store is far from ready. Heading back to Mystick Falls, CT after working her two-week notice in New York City, she detours into downtown Mystic to check out her shop's recent renovations. Maddie's thrilled at how her father, academic Harry Cutler, and his crew adapted the building's interior, turning an empty morgue and funeral home into a cheerful upscale boutique.
Excitement quickly morphs into fear when Maddie hears footsteps on the second floor. She and her cat, Chakra, sneak up the dark stairway to investigate and are startled when the intruder flies down the stairs and out the front door. Though the building's resident ghost, charming and handsome Dante Underhill, commisserates with Maddie, she's relieved when her friends and family arrive to help her open a secret room upstairs.
Maddie's scary night is far from over. The playhouse across the street is torched, possibly to conceal the owner's dead body and some unidentified bones, Vintage Magic is revisited by an intruder, and a vision involving a well and a woman named Isobel leaves Maddie upset, exhausted and in the protective arms of Detective Werner.
With her friends and store in danger, Maddie falls headlong into trouble while trying to solve an almost thirty-year-old cold case and keep the town's butcher, Mr. Tunney, from being charged with the murder of the burned theater's owner. Dealing with the murdered man's family, with their obvious greed, in-fighting and old family secrets, may just be the death of Maddie...literally.
Larceny and Lace is the second book in a cozy paranormal mystery series by Annette Blair. The author is an excellent storyteller and uses lively dialogue, colorful descriptions and an amazing array of vintage clothing knowledge to draw the reader into the story. She creates fully-developed major characters with unique personalities and mannerisms. Fashion-conscious Maddie is very loyal to the people she loves, independent, curious and still coming to terms with her ability to see visions when she touches fabric. Eve is daring, intelligent and sexy, and her favorite color is black. Vintage Magic's ghost, Dante Underhill, is dashing, debonair and dead, to the disappointment of feisty 103-year-old Dolly Sweet, his once lovely sweetheart. Detective Werner and Maddie are arch-enemies, ever since she called him Wiener in the third grade, but his stern demeanor occasionally weakens when Maddie least expects it.
If you're looking for a fun series to dive into, you can't go wrong with the Vintage Magic books. I suggest you start with the series' first book, A Veiled Deception, but you can read any of the four books as a standalone. They are all entertaining, guaranteed to lift your spirits and put a smile on your face.
* The current books in the series are A Veiled Deception (January 2009), Larceny and Lace (August 2009), Death by Diamonds (July 2010), and Skirting the Grave (July 2011). The next book, Cloaked in Malice, will be released in April 2012.
PROTAGONIST: Wild child, vintage store owner, psychometry-gifted Maddie Cutler
CRITTERS: Chakra, a cute and comforting yellow kitten
ACTION: Fire, dancing, hiding in the woods
LOVE INTERESTS: Never-home FBI agent, always-around detective
ROMANCE: Deep kisses, hugs, comfortable shoulders
QUIRKINESS: Charming and handsome ghost, 103-year-old feisty friend, loving godmother who's both a lawyer and a witch
INTERESTING TIDBITS: Lots of vintage and designer clothes info, Mystic CT scenes
FUN FACTOR: Lighthearted, cheeky comments, some slapstick moments
IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU MAY LIKE: Missing Pieces Mysteries by Joyce and Jim Lavene, Haunted Home Renovation Mysteries by Juliet Blackwell, Witchcraft Mysteries by Juliet Blackwell, Bewitching Mysteries by Madelyn Alt