I thoroughly enjoyed the first four books in Annette Blair's
Vintage Magic Mystery series featuring Maddie Cutler who
experiences psychic visions when she touches clothing
(needless to say, owning a vintage clothing store introduces
some interesting challenges). CLOAKED IN MALICE, though the
fifth book in the series, is my favorite so far. The
premise was intriguing, the mystery kept me guessing until
the unexpected but logical conclusion, and the characters
felt like old friends. While you can read this story as a
standalone, the series is a must read for mystery fans.
Maddie is minding her store when a young woman walks in
dressed in vintage clothing from head to toe. Oddly enough,
she doesn't seem to realize she's wearing vintage clothing.
It turns out Paisley Skye has recently escaped the small
isolated island on which she was raised and is in town
looking for clues to her identity. She knows there are gaps
in her past and her only clues are an old photo and some
vintage clothes. The shocked reactions of Dante, Maddie's
resident ghost, and Dolly Sweet, Maddie's elderly friend and
neighbor, suggest Paisley has unexpected ties to the
community. Maddie's vision suggests that one or both of
Paisley's parents may have been murdered. If that's the
case, then who are the people who raised her? It's up to
Maddie, her family, and her friends to help Paisley uncover her
identity and solve a decades old mystery.
I don't want to say more for fear of giving too much
away. Ms. Blair does a masterful job of releasing clues to
Paisley's history bit by bit. The story that unfolds is
fascinating and unexpected. I couldn't figure out how the
pieces all went together until all was revealed; the
uncertainty kept me reading late in to the night. I loved
every minute of it!
There's nothing Maddie loves more than fabulous vintage
clothes, but the visions she gets while touching them are
starting to wear her down. Even so, when a beautifully
dressed girl comes to Vintage Magic in search of her past,
Maddie isn't about to turn her away, especially since she
bears a striking resemblance to her good friend Dolly Sweet.
When Maddie touches Paisley Skye's exquisitely crafted
child's cloak, the vision she receives is of the ugliest
sort: a decades-old case of kidnapping and murder. To give
herself more time to investigate, Maddie enlists the help of
her FBI Agent boyfriend Nick and takes Paisley into her
home. But when Dolly suddenly skips town, Maddie realizes
that uncovering the folds of Paisley's past will reveal more
than one vintage crime...
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