Death by Diamonds-Annette Blair

Death by Diamonds
Annette Blair
Berkley, Jul 2010, $7.99
ISBN: 9780425233139

The upscale clothing store Vintage Magic is located in Mystic Falls, Connecticut. The shop is owned by a very special individual Madeira Coulter. Unique in many ways, what stands out is her psychic skills; especially psychometry in which she touches clothing and receives visions of the person who wore them. That talent allows her to solve mysteries; she hopes it will also enable her to identify who killed her close friend Broadway star Dominique DeLong.

Dominique had faith in Maddie when she delivered the dress Madeira designed for he r that contains h faux jewelry on it. A note accompanied the dress stating if the dress was delivered to Maddie she was dead. The cause of death was peanuts, which makes Maddie more certain her friend was murdered because Dominique was highly allergic to them and would not even touch a peanut. Also missing when Don died is the diamonds br she was to wear for an off-Broadway show. Whoever stole the diamonds believes they were on the gown she gave to Maddie. She plans to find out who killed Dom and the man she loved before the killer murders her..

Annette Blair has the magical touch when it comes to entertaining joie de vivre paranormal amateur sleuth paranormal who-done- its. The mystery is cleverly constructed making it very difficult to figure out who the culprit as there are so many suspect including Parasite hanger-ons enviously trying to improve personal status through connections. Maddy is unsure where to begin beyond using her psychic skills starting with touching and wearing the gown to induce visions, Readers will relish the latest Vintage Magic whodunit (see A Veiled Deception and Larceny and Lace).

Harriet Klausner