I just finished Death by Diamonds by Annette Blair. This is the third book in her vintage magic mystery series. The main character in the series is Maddie, or Mad to her friends, a former fashion designer, now owner of a vintage clothing store in Mystick Falls, CT. Maddie discovered that she has a rather unusual talent–she can read certain pieces of clothing by touching or wearing them. Of course, that leads to some interesting adventures in sleuthing. Over the course of the three books so far, we see how Maddie is growing into her abilities and becoming more accepting of them.
In this story, Maddie’s on again, off again relationship with Nick Jaconetti, her former high school boyfriend and a current FBI agent continues. Additionally, we’ve got Detective Lytton Werner, Maddie’s third grade nemesis, showing up once more. Nick, from all descriptions, is hot. The relationship he has with Maddie is big on passion, but short on emotion because the two are too afraid to test deeper waters. I usually don’t like stories where the female lead is attracted to two men, but Blair handles this very well. Maddie and Werner dance around the attraction, though it’s the big elephant in the room, particularly in this story. And in this story, it’s developed with considerable humor and freshness that I found myself looking forward to Maddie’s interaction with Werner over Nick’s. Go figure.
The mystery this time provided plenty of suspects and an engaging cast of characters. But, deep down, I know I’ll be buying the next book to see what happens with Maddie and her two “beaux.” Hopefully, Blair will keep the uncertainty going. I don’t think I’m ready to see Maddie make a choice.
If you’re looking for a good light summer read, you can’t go wrong by picking up the first book in this series, A Veiled Deception.
