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A review by attytheresa
Cloaked in Malice by Annette Blair
2.0
Even though I'm only giving this 2 stars, it was still a fun and enjoyable read.
This is the penultimate book in a series featuring amateur detective Madeira Cutler, owner of a vintage clothing shop in a fictional town near Mystic, CT., one that happens to be in a converted old funeral home/carriage house and one that has a resident ghost, the very dapper, dressed in top hat and tails, ghost named Dante. Yes, a ghost, and one that only a few 'gifted' like Madeira can see and interact with. You see, Madeira has special skills -- comes from a long line of witches if I recall correctly. Besides communicating with ghosts, she can 'read' vintage clothing by touching them - the imprint of what happened to and around the person wearing them. Like murder, or other events where there is high emotion.
I really remember loving the first books in this series, finding them quirky, clever, different, and fun. Learning bits about vintage clothing was entertaining although not a passion of mine (author on her website has photos of many of the items featured). This one...not so much. It's still quirky and fun, lots of humorous interchanges and situations.
My name is Madeira Cutler, and I'd like to invent a ghostly tracking device. Dante likes to just appear suddenly, making Madeira jump.
Or even the way Madeira swears by using fashion-related words: "wooly knobby knits", "scrap silk", "Hermes", "zany zigzag stitch", " scalloped-stitch", "scraptastic clustertuck", and a personal fave: "darning balls." And yet, I found myself mildly irritated by the relentless quirkiness, the non-stop chirpiness of the whole scene.
The mystery itself was initially pretty decent. A beautiful young woman looking remarkably like beloved local eccentric centenarian Dolly appears at Madeira's shop one day, dressed in vintage and acting a bit peculiar. She has a crazy story about having escaped an island off the coast of CT after her 'parents' died and left her there. Um yes, you have to suspend disbelief pretty dang quickly. And it gets more and more ridiculous as the book races to a conclusion. I can't say more without spoilers but lets just say that pretty much everything including the kitchen sink, pops up before a totally unbelievable conclusion is reached. I mean the journey was pretty outrageous but the ending! I can't seem to suspend my disbelief THAT far!
Will I read the last one in the series? Yes, if I can find a copy (not to be found in ebook, and it looks to be OOP). I like having something to hunt for at used book sales. Plus I want to see which of the 2 love interests she ends up with in the end...I suspect it will not be the one I think she should but still...at least unlike Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, the back and forth will not continue beyond six books.
This is the penultimate book in a series featuring amateur detective Madeira Cutler, owner of a vintage clothing shop in a fictional town near Mystic, CT., one that happens to be in a converted old funeral home/carriage house and one that has a resident ghost, the very dapper, dressed in top hat and tails, ghost named Dante. Yes, a ghost, and one that only a few 'gifted' like Madeira can see and interact with. You see, Madeira has special skills -- comes from a long line of witches if I recall correctly. Besides communicating with ghosts, she can 'read' vintage clothing by touching them - the imprint of what happened to and around the person wearing them. Like murder, or other events where there is high emotion.
I really remember loving the first books in this series, finding them quirky, clever, different, and fun. Learning bits about vintage clothing was entertaining although not a passion of mine (author on her website has photos of many of the items featured). This one...not so much. It's still quirky and fun, lots of humorous interchanges and situations.
My name is Madeira Cutler, and I'd like to invent a ghostly tracking device. Dante likes to just appear suddenly, making Madeira jump.
Or even the way Madeira swears by using fashion-related words: "wooly knobby knits", "scrap silk", "Hermes", "zany zigzag stitch", " scalloped-stitch", "scraptastic clustertuck", and a personal fave: "darning balls." And yet, I found myself mildly irritated by the relentless quirkiness, the non-stop chirpiness of the whole scene.
The mystery itself was initially pretty decent. A beautiful young woman looking remarkably like beloved local eccentric centenarian Dolly appears at Madeira's shop one day, dressed in vintage and acting a bit peculiar. She has a crazy story about having escaped an island off the coast of CT after her 'parents' died and left her there. Um yes, you have to suspend disbelief pretty dang quickly. And it gets more and more ridiculous as the book races to a conclusion. I can't say more without spoilers but lets just say that pretty much everything including the kitchen sink, pops up before a totally unbelievable conclusion is reached. I mean the journey was pretty outrageous but the ending! I can't seem to suspend my disbelief THAT far!
Will I read the last one in the series? Yes, if I can find a copy (not to be found in ebook, and it looks to be OOP). I like having something to hunt for at used book sales. Plus I want to see which of the 2 love interests she ends up with in the end...I suspect it will not be the one I think she should but still...at least unlike Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, the back and forth will not continue beyond six books.