In her 3rd book in the Vintage Magic Mystery series, author Annette Blair once again spins a fascinating tale of mystery, magic and marvelous clothes in “Death By Diamonds.”Madeira “Maddie” Cutler knew something was wrong when she received a package at her Vintage Magic clothing boutique from her old friend, actress Dominque DeLong. Inside the box was the seafoam green bejeweled evening dress that Maddy had designed for Dom while she was still in fashion school. A hidden note inside the box confirmed Maddie’s suspicions – Dom had died during a performance in an off-Broadway production, and she wanted Maddie to see if she could use her special gift of being able to “see” things by touching the dress in order to get a “feel” for what caused her death.
Maddie agrees to travel to New York to help Dom’s son, Kyle, with his mother’s funeral arrangements while doing a little sleuthing around to see what she could discover about the unexpected death of her friend. The investigating takes Maddie into a very different world of drama, secrets and a bevy of diamonds that seems to be tied to Dom’s demise.
With a little help from her boyfriend, FBI agent Nick, her best friend Eve, and her own psychic abilities, Maddie is determined to find a reasonable explanation, but will she be in time to insure that Dom’s death is the killer’s final performance?
I love Annette Blair’s Vintage Magic series with it’s lively cast of characters. She continues to move the storylines along between Maddie and Nick, and Maddie’s dad and her aunt Fiona. I was disappointed that Maddie’s favorite ghost, Dante Underhill, didn’t have a more prominent role in this story, but maybe he’ll be back in full elegant force next time!
Be sure to check out Annette’s first two books in this series, “A Veiled Deception” and “Lace and Larceny,” plus her fantastic website at http://www.annetteblair.com/
