Holly‘s review of Veil of Night
Jaclyn Wilde is a wedding planner who loves her job—usually. But helping Carrie Edwards with her Big Day has been an unrelenting nightmare. Carrie is a bridezilla of mythic nastiness, a diva whose tantrums are just about as crazy as her demands. But the unpleasant task at hand turns seriously criminal when Carrie is brutally murdered and everyone involved with the ceremony is accusing one another of doing the deed.
The problem is, most everyone—from the cake maker and the florist to the wedding-gown retailer and the bridesmaids’ dressmaker—had his or her own reason for wanting the bride dead, including Jaclyn. And while those who felt Carrie’s wrath are now smiling at her demise, Jaclyn refuses to celebrate tragedy, especially since she finds herself in the shadow of suspicion.
Assigned to the case, Detective Eric Wilder finds that there’s too much evidence pointing toward too many suspects. Compounding his problems is Jaclyn, with whom he shared one deeply passionate night before Carrie’s death. Being a prime suspect means that Jaclyn is hands-off just when Eric would rather be hands-on. As the heat intensifies between Eric and Jaclyn, a cold-blooded murderer moves dangerously close. And this time the target is not a bride but one particularly irresistible wedding planner, unaware of a killer’s vow.
This novel was much more reminiscent of the Linda Howard I fell in love with almost a decade ago. The writing was cleaner and I didn’t feel like I was reading an instruction manual. However, I also feel like she’s already done this…a cop who has to interrogate his latest flame over the murder of her client. I wish she’d been a little more original.
Jaclyn is a well settled woman who is comfortable with who she is. She’s intelligent, witty and in charge of her life. She isn’t looking for a relationship, but she can’t deny the chemistry she shares with Eric. Rather than turning him away she decides to see where it will go.Erin isn’t looking for a relationship either, but like Jaclyn he’s willing to see where things go. Until Jaclyn turns out to be the main suspect in one of his cases.
This novel started out strong. The attraction between Jaclyn and Eric fairly leapt off the pages. It was easy to fall into their relationship and follow along as it progressed. Unfortunately the romance soon takes a backseat to the murder plot. While that normally wouldn’t be a problem, I think Howard miscalculated by keeping Eric and Jaclyn apart for so much of the novel. Eric has to deal with her quite a bit in a professional capacity, but not much time is given to their romance after the first initial meet and greet. Their HEA wasn’t as believable as it should have been, because they spent so much of the novel apart, or circling each other like adversaries.
I was also somewhat disappointed in Eric as a whole. He was so unapologetic.That can work in some circumstances, but here I felt he needed more grovel time. Much like Dane in Dream Man, which isn’t a good thing (I hated Dane).I understand that he was just doing his job, but Jaclyn needed more from him. I don’t feel he fully redeemed himself or that she held out long enough to make him apologize properly.
Having said that, I enjoyed much of the novel . I breezed right through it and had no trouble falling into the story. While this can’t compare to many of her earlier works, it seems like she’s headed in that direction. I hope this is a sign that Howard is on her way back. I’ve missed her. I picked this up from the library. While I enjoyed it, I didn’t enjoy it enough to encourage you to spend the money on the hardcover. Wait for the paperback.
3.75 out of 5
This book is available from Ballantine. You can buy it here
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