Wedding planner Mallory Shepard doesn’t have time to organize her own nuptials—because right now she’s engaged in solving a murder . . . When Mallory discovers some old lace at a Port Quincy antique shop, she knows it’ll make a perfect headpiece. But she’s barely gotten it out of the store before Helene Pierce tears it from her hands. Helene claims it’s a family heirloom that went missing when … her late husband died in a hit-and-run twenty-five years ago. The conflict gets more complicated when the veil is attributed to none other than famed seamstress Betsy Ross. Mallory may have a genuine museum piece on her hands, but meanwhile Independence Day is right around the corner and she has to host the town’s Revolutionary War re-enactment. Then it becomes clear there’s a bigger mystery behind all this history when a local woman is murdered with a musket—and Mallory’s investigation could set off some fireworks . . .
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Wonderful book! Mallory and her friend, Bev, find an old lace veil at the local antique store. Unfortunately, this piece of fabric brings upon many incidents. First, Mallory’s ex’s mother claims the veil is hers and was stolen when her husband was killed in an accident over 20 years ago. The veil was reportedly made by Betsy Ross. Truman lets Mallory keep it in her safe at Thistle Park, much to Helene’s chagrin. During the Cordials and Cannonballs war reenactment, a woman is killed and two men, including Mallory’s stepfather, are injured. The musket that was used to shoot the victims belonged to Mallory’s stepfather, though it had been checked twice and found to have no real ammunition. The safe at Thistle Park is also broken into and the veil is stolen. In the meantime, Mallory and Rachel hire Pia, the daughter of the antique shop owner, as an assistant for their wedding planner/event business. Mallory and Garrett are working to plan their wedding with help from Rachel and Pia as well. Truman and Lorraine offer land in between their house and Thistle Park to build a cottage for Mallory, Garrett, and Summer to live once the wedding occurs. During the building, an old distillery equipment piece is found and is considered to have belonged to the town founder. The antique store owner is also either almost murdered or attempts suicide and the accident of Helene’s husband many years ago is brought to light again. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, though the chapters in the beginning were a little longer than I normally like. I loved seeing Mallory and Garrett finally getting married. Keith standing up to his mother was something I really enjoyed and felt it was about time he took a stand. I enjoyed seeing Keith and Becca and little Miri together. Pia was a nice addition to the business and I look forward to seeing her work with Mallory and Rachel. With the reveal of the killer and everything behind the killing and incidents, it just left me shaking my head with wonder as to how a person could do all that. I look forward to reading more of this series and would highly recommend it to anyone who has not read any of these books!
Mallory is busy planning another wedding and avoiding designing her own in Veiled in Death. Everyone is trying to get her to set a date, especially her mother. But Mallory isn’t ready and will use just about any event to keep from having to name a date. When a murder occurs, it just gives her one more excuse to delay her mother’s continuous onslaught of demands that she set a date for the nuptials and give her grandchildren. Finding an antique veil helps get her in the mode for her friend Bev’s wedding and her own, and maybe even helps her decide to plan for her future.
This murder is unexpected, and the victim even more so. Mallory and her sister have arranged a civil war reenactment event, and everything is going well until someone puts real gunpowder in a musket. Once again, Mallory goes up against her one-time future mother-in-law over the ownership of the veil, but even this can’t stop her from digging into this investigation. There are suspects everywhere, even in her own family. The evidence is stacking up, and Mallory must find the killer before her best friend’s wedding or before someone she cares about ends up behind bars.
Veiled in Death is an easy to read book. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep readers interested and enough action to keep them guessing. Characters are nicely developed, the setting picture perfect, and the mystery filled with intrigue and excitement. The wedding planning and other events throughout the story help readers grasp the plot with ease and keep turning the page to find out if all the questions are answered and who the killer is, and more importantly, why they committed murder. In the end, all mysteries are solved, and the killer is caught but not without some difficulty. This is a terrific story, and readers will be happy they read it to the end.
“Veiled in Death” the 6th instalment in the “Wedding Planner” Mystery series by Stephanie Blackmoore. I have read only two other books previously and this can be read as a stand alone but you will want to read in order.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story from start to finish, there was so much happening re-enactments, history, Mallory’s wedding and a little murder. There was more than one mystery to solve and I liked how it was all woven together so neatly that nothing seemed out of place. We got to know the characters their feelings, relationships and care about the outcome. Amongst all this there were plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing on the identity of the killer.
I look forward to reading the rest of the series and book 7 when it comes out.
I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Kensington Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Veiled in Death by Stephanie Blackmore is a Wedding Planner Mystery in which, the wedding planner, Mallory is getting married. As you can imagine, this will not be easy. The crime is twenty years old to begin with. Secondly, there are a lot of feuds, some of many years standing that tend to muddy the waters and make the mystery difficult to navigate. Mallory has seen the dress she wants but no one seems convinced but her. It is a vintage sundress in her friend, June’s shop. When she finally decides, it’s gone. This is after the disastrous Cordials and Cannonballs event, a revolutionary war re-enactment during which three people were actually shot, one killed, even after all precautions were taken, including the sheriff and his deputy checking the weapons as the re-enactors took the field. It looked like Mallory’s stepfather, Doug, had been the shooter, but that theory was debunked almost immediately. But who?
This was an entertaining little mystery, full of so many ins and outs that the reader almost needed a scorecard. Some things happened that were unbelievable, almost. The good guys were not and the bad guys turned good. It was a very carefully plotted book with tremendously good characters, if a lot of them. People can be surprising: they can hide their crazy for years. Truman, the sheriff, had excellent instincts, the opposite of the caricature of a small town sheriff. The wedding came off without a hitch, so that’s the good news. All the crimes were solved, and everyone lived happily every after. I recommend it.
I was invited to read a free ARC of Veiled in Death by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #veiledindeath
This is on my list of favorite cozies but I only gave it 4 stars because it took so long to get to the action. Not that it must happen on page one or in the first chapter but by 30% I was getting a bit antsy. Overall, though, I was enjoying the mystery, revisiting the usual characters and looking forward to Mallory getting hitched.
Mallory thinks she has found the perfect wedding dress and is thrilled to also find a lovely veil to go with it. She and Bev will both be wearing it – that is until Helene, Mallory’s almost mother-in-law, the mother of Mallory’s former fiance. Helene grabs the veil and proclaims that it was stolen from her 25 years ago and that it was made by Betsy Ross. That’s the last thing Mallory needs on her very full plate. Then there is a cold case and a current death and things really heat up. Will her wedding happen? Will the cases be solved? Find a comfy chair and settle down to join Mallory investigate local homicide.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Veiled In Death is the sixth book in the A Wedding Planner Mystery series by Stephanie Blackmoore.
Mallory and Rachel’s wedding planner business is doing good, so well, they are thinking about hiring an assistant. But Mallory’s priority is to go shopping with her best friend Bev, owner of Silver Bells Wedding Dress boutique, to find some accessories for Bev’s wedding to Jesse. When the store owner’s daughter, Pia, opens a suitcase she has just brought up from the basement, Mallory and Bev gasp at the beautiful piece of lace they see. They love it and agree to buy the lace and divide it in half, and they will both be able to wear it for both their weddings. As they are checking out, Helene, Mallory’s nemesis and almost mother-in-law, enters the store and sees the veil and immediately claims that is her veil, and a tugging match ensues between the ladies. The veil, reputedly made by Betsy Ross, will need to be authenticated by an expert, and Helene will have to provide proof that she had owned it before the police will release it to anyone.
The Port Quincy residents are looking forward to its inaugural Cordials and Cannonballs, and as part of the celebration, there will be a Revolutionary War re-enactment. A controversy arises just before the re-enactment begins when a woman announces her plans to be a participant. Shortly after the mock skirmish begins, it has to be stopped when it is learned that some members have been shot by real bullets. The woman who was told she could not participate was killed and Bev’s fiance and Mallory’s stepfather were also injured by bullets. Mallory proceeds to look into the senseless murder and the injuring of the two men.
This is a well-plotted and written story. The characters are all well developed and believable. The book reads at a nice pace and there are enough twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end.
Delicious sounding recipes are also included in the book.
I am awaiting the next book in the series.
Veiled in Death by Stephanie Blackmoore is the sixth installment in the Wedding Planner Mystery series. This is one of my all time favorite series. It can be read as a stand alone.
Mallory is a wedding planner, a B&B owner, a volunteer for the Revolutionary War reenactment, dealing with her mother, and trying to plan her own wedding. She is shopping at her favorite antique shop and finds a beautiful vintage gown that she falls in love with for her wedding. Then she comes across a piece of lace that could be a wedding veil. She is talked into leaving the dress because she “should” buy an actual wedding gown in the shop in Port Quincy. She takes the lace and while exiting the store, it is literally ripped from her hands by Helen Pierce. Helen would have been her mother in law if her son hadn’t cheated on Mallory. The police are called and an investigation is started as the lace could actually been made by Betsy Ross! Then during the reenactment, one of her friend’s mother is shot by a musket. Who shot the musket, Mallory’s step father, Helen Pierce, or someone else.
There are plenty of plot twists that have you guessing to the end. You also get likeable characters and a great setting. As with most Cozies, there is some humor and romance. There are recipes included.
I was given an ARC by Kensington and NetGalley for an honest review.
This is a fantastic new book in the Wedding Planner mystery series. I really liked getting to see a little more of Mallory’s life as she is trying to plan her own wedding as well as take care of her current events. This book had me guessing through out the book. The ending took me by total surprise. I really enjoyed the story.
Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington for the digital arc in exchange for my honest opinion.
I’m new to this series so although it is the sixth installment it did very well as a standalone. However, I enjoyed this book so much, I’ve already started in on the earlier installments.
Mallory Shepard is a wedding planner and bed and breakfast owner. She inherited the building that houses her business from the grandmother of her ex-fiancé. Mallory is helping her friend Bev plan her wedding and they are shopping at a local antique store where they stumble across a beautiful veil that was hidden away. Helene Pierce (mother of Mallory’s ex fiancé) comes in to the store and sees the veil and claims it is hers and was lost years ago under mysterious circumstances when her husband was killed in a hit and run.
Is the veil cursed? A local woman is murdered in a Civil War reenactment and that sets off a chain of events that Mallory helps investigate.
I didn’t see the murderer coming at all. I did guess some of the other minor mysteries rather early on and a few things felt a bit incongruous to me.
But a very enjoyable read that I’d recommend. 4.5 rounded up to 5
I received an ARC from Kensington via NetGalley but any opinions expressed are my own.