• Karen Robards

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 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, almost 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.

1 StarWell, well, well, lookie what we have here: a macho hero with a tiny, ahem, brain.Just for the purpose of entertainment, here's some of the crap that keeps passing through his slow, chauvinistic mind (in no particular order):Women were always complications, bless their perverse little hearts. A man didn’t even have to marry a woman to lose his bachelorhood; all he had to do was be in a somewhat steady relationship with her, and he’d find himself structuring his free time to accommodate 1 StarWell, well, well, lookie what we have here: a macho hero with a tiny, ahem, brain.Just for the purpose of entertainment, here's some of the crap that keeps passing through his slow, chauvinistic mind (in no particular order):Women were always complications, bless their perverse little hearts.

A man didn’t even have to marry a woman to lose his bachelorhood; all he had to do was be in a somewhat steady relationship with her, and he’d find himself structuring his free time to accommodate her. And God forbid you actually move in with a steady girlfriend; you might as well get married. He knew, because he’d tried all the variations: married, not married but living together, steady dating, semi-steady dating it all boiled down to the same thing, meshing their lives together.'

.〚The heroine sits alone in a bar. Because women never sit alone in bars, the hero is not able to comprehend how the heroine can sit alone. Various reasons spring to his narrow mind. Here are some of them.

Plus, a bonus: a few of his crappy jokes:〛'There was one other possibility for Ms. Classy, too, one that made him doubly cautious.

Maybe she was a cop groupie. Some women got off on having sex with a cop. It had something to do with the uniform and the weapon, whether it was the one in the holster or the one behind the zipper, or maybe both. Some cops, especially newbies, let the increased sexual attention go to their heads, which could wreck both careers and marriages.' 'She wasn’t waiting for anyone, and she wasn’t looking to get picked up. Hell, maybe she was simply a woman who’d wanted a drink. He could relate to that.

Not the part about being a woman, but wanting a drink was definitely relatable.' 'The last thing he should do was waste any more time trying to figure out what a woman was thinking, even a woman with world-class legs and a drool-worthy ass.

But—“What the fuck,” he muttered under his breath as temptation grabbed him by the dick and hung on. He slid from the barstool, grabbed his beer, and headed toward the classy, expensive complication.' “I’m Eric Wilder.”Amused, she started grinning even before she placed her hand in his. “Wilder?”“It’s just a name, not a comment on my personality or lifestyle.”“Pleased to meet you, Eric Wilder,” she said. “I’m Jaclyn Wilde. It’s just a name, not a comment on my personality or lifestyle.”Don't worry, there's more. I just don't want to waste any more of my time on copying and pasting his crappy thoughts and stupid jokes.The heroine, on the other hand, is a modern emancipated woman who turns stupid in the hero's presence.

You know the type.What is the first thing you think when you accidentally collide with a total stranger?Well, the heroine thinks about the breadth of the hero's shoulders and the mature and muscled depth of his chest. She keeps thinking 'how his hard and warm his body felt against hers in that brief moment when they collided, and she mentally shies away from the intimacy implied'.2010, people.That's the year when this book was first published.

It wasn't EONS ago, for chrissake. It's when we got our first iPad. As far as I know, women had stopped fainting in a man's presence long before that.I hope.Now, don’t get me wrong. I'm not on some feminist mission.

Things like that don't bother me. I'm not easily insulted; I'm pretty easygoing, actually. And I love me some moody, grumpy, difficult heroes. In fact, I prefer books with asshole heroes.

But the thing is, there's assholes and there's dickheads. And this hero's views on women is really shitty.I want my heroes to respect all living beings, including women. He wasn’t about to let a piece of ass, even a prime piece, mess with his good judgment and common sense.Sorry, Ladies, he's taken!Finding a quality man like this who considers women 'pieces of ass' is tough, but we have one here.

He sees a woman at a bar and figures she MUST be either meeting a date or looking to get laid, because a woman having a drink at a bar has to be looking for a man. They can go to bars to watch the game, sit alone, maybe chat with other guys without anyone He wasn’t about to let a piece of ass, even a prime piece, mess with his good judgment and common sense.Sorry, Ladies, he's taken!Finding a quality man like this who considers women 'pieces of ass' is tough, but we have one here. He sees a woman at a bar and figures she MUST be either meeting a date or looking to get laid, because a woman having a drink at a bar has to be looking for a man. They can go to bars to watch the game, sit alone, maybe chat with other guys without anyone thinking anything about it. Well, we all know how women are.Here's a handy guide for the men out there.Unfortunately, our heroine, Jaclyn, does end up sleeping with this asswipe.

So, another strike against us all. Just don't try to ever have a drink alone, ladies. You will totally end up on your back, even if you didn't mean to.

It's in our DNA.Asswipe is a detective, so that's Detective Asswipe to you. He needs to investigate a murder of a Bridezilla and his bar-booty-call chick is the last one to see the victim alive. What does Detective Asswipe do? Does he take her aside and explain that he has to do his job and he's sorry that it might be awkward? Does he treat her kindly because he actually does know that she's innocent and you know, he just had sex with her a few hours ago?

Or, does he act like the Asswipe he is and treat her as shitty as possible, antagonize her, threaten her mother, and get a kick out of it? Yeah, he isn't named Asswipe for no reason.Asswipe also thinks it's sexy when she gets so angry with him that she's losing her f-ing mind. It's so cute when chicks get angry!damn, he liked the way she looked with fire in her eyes.

The cool lady could be pushed out of control, and he bet that would be a lot of fun.Yeah, it's fun to upset someone so much that she's practically in tears. Totally sexy.Oh, only if it's a woman though. Because we all know that a woman seeing a man furiously angry and out of control brings out different feelings in us. Yes, we need to be afraid of an angry man, but angry women are sexy and cute.Cute and handy!This book made me murderously angry which made my husband's male instincts kick-in and suddenly he's all over me.sigh. Man, it sucks to be a woman. Jaclyn Wilde is an attractive, busy, successful wedding planner in Hopewell, an Atlanta suburb.

Eric Wild er (funny, huh?) is a 35-year-old police detective in Hopewell. Eric and Jaclyn first meet when she literally bumps into him at city hall (while paying a speeding ticket). They share a few words and some admiring glances (he likes her 'world class' legs and classy looks, she likes his rugged sex appeal).

Later after a very hellish day dealing with Carrie Edwards, a 'bridezilla' client, Jaclyn Jaclyn Wilde is an attractive, busy, successful wedding planner in Hopewell, an Atlanta suburb. Eric Wild er (funny, huh?) is a 35-year-old police detective in Hopewell. Eric and Jaclyn first meet when she literally bumps into him at city hall (while paying a speeding ticket). They share a few words and some admiring glances (he likes her 'world class' legs and classy looks, she likes his rugged sex appeal). Later after a very hellish day dealing with Carrie Edwards, a 'bridezilla' client, Jaclyn stops off at a neighborhood pub to have a drink. Guess who's also at the bar, nursing a beer? That's right, the darkly handsome detective.

Karen Robards

Jaclyn has been so busy with her career, she hasn't had time to think about men, nor does she trust her judgment after her own marriage died a quick death. But boy oh boy, if she did have the time, Eric would be the one she'd consider making time with. The attraction is there for Eric too-but does he want another relationship after his failed marriage? Eric decides to makes a move, they do some flirty talking, and Jaclyn agrees to let Eric call her after her busy week of six weddings in five days is over. But when Jaclyn goes home with plans to unwind and watch some HGTV, she gets a phone call: 'I don't want to wait a week.

Invite me over.' Eric.Holy hell, they have an intense, sexy coupling.whew. Maybe this has the potential for a relationship? But then Jaclyn's client Carrie is murdered, Eric is the lead detective on the case, and it looks like Jaclyn is initially the prime suspect. There goes any future Eric and Jaclyn might have. Eric's only doing his job, he doesn't really think that Jacyln's the murderer, but Jaclyn is miffed that he would even suspect her! Plenty of people have had dust-ups with obnoxious bride-to-be Carrie, but who wanted to see her dead?

That's what Eric has to figure out, and Jaclyn may be able to help him. But will what she knows make her a target for the killer?

Will Jaclyn ever forgive Eric and give him another chance?I loved this story! It was part sexy romance, part who-done-it, with lots of humor (Eric's fruitless quest for a cup of coffee provided some laughs) and humorous dialogue thrown into the mix. I loved reading both Jaclyn's and Eric's POVs, loved the chemistry they had, loved how Jaclyn fought her feelings for Eric because she was so mad that he considered her a suspect, loved how Eric loved it when Jaclyn got all fired up.I loved everything about their whole relationship. If only Linda Howard would've given us more bedroom scenes, because these two were smokin'.A lot of the book went into details about what a wedding planner does (a lot of hard work!), and showcased some of the weddings that Jaclyn had booked for her busy week. Lots of humor in these chapters, and it seemed like LH had a blast writing these parts.

It was fun reading, but I would've preferred more Eric and Jaclyn, because whenever their paths crossed the pages started sizzlin'.As for the suspense? Well, I was surprised not by who the murderer was, but by who the murderer wasn't. I had a whole other scenario played out in my head, and was waiting for this twist in the story, but it wasn't to be. Hmmm, I guess I over-thought this one.:)I know a lot of people have fallen off the Linda Howard bandwagon and have been disappointed in some of her newer releases. It's true that she doesn't seem to spend as much time on the romance aspect of the story as she used to, but boy, her storytelling skills are still there. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, even though I was longing for more romantic scenes between Eric and Jaclyn. That longing was the only complaint I had about this book though.

Veil of Night thoroughly entertained me-4 1/2 stars. I'm really surprised no one from the planning crew killed carrie considering her annoying AF demands and the '60 tantrums in a minute thing' she had going. (R.I.P bridezilla. You will not be missed!)The book was an enjoyable read, but there were some moments where I wanted to punch the male lead. Repeatedly.The mystery part is not really a mystery if you think about it, but the narration kept me going.

Keeping the chemistry crackling is kinda LH's speciality, so you can count on it to brighten I'm really surprised no one from the planning crew killed carrie considering her annoying AF demands and the '60 tantrums in a minute thing' she had going. (R.I.P bridezilla. You will not be missed!)The book was an enjoyable read, but there were some moments where I wanted to punch the male lead. Repeatedly.The mystery part is not really a mystery if you think about it, but the narration kept me going. Keeping the chemistry crackling is kinda LH's speciality, so you can count on it to brighten up the rather dull plot.

I'd go with 3.5 stars. 'I liked it' feels like the right rating for this book, yet when I think about what to say about it, mostly criticisms come to mind. Really bad pacing/foreshadowing - it starts as a mystery with no mystery, then turns into romantic suspense with no build-up of suspense. Forced humor. An incredibly classist and elitist attitude on the part of the wedding planner heroine, who sounds like she plans the dullest, most cliched weddings on the face of the earth. (If you want to read about 'I liked it' feels like the right rating for this book, yet when I think about what to say about it, mostly criticisms come to mind.

Really bad pacing/foreshadowing - it starts as a mystery with no mystery, then turns into romantic suspense with no build-up of suspense. Forced humor. An incredibly classist and elitist attitude on the part of the wedding planner heroine, who sounds like she plans the dullest, most cliched weddings on the face of the earth. (If you want to read about wedding planning, Nora Roberts' series is the way to go, no question.)Still, there's just something about Linda Howard I like, even when she's not at her best. The set up between Eric and Jacklyn is interesting - a one night stand, made very complicated when she turns into a suspect in the murder case he's investigating. There's a nice little heart twinge when she wants to turn to him for comfort, then realizes he suspects her. Some of the humor works.

The sex scenes are hot. I doubt I'll ever want to read it again, but I don't feel like I wasted my time. (This is a review of the audiobook.) I had to get used to the narrator, Clarinda Ross, but I enjoyed this one much more than I thought I would, considering some of the reviews. I set it aside but was glad I picked it back up.

Maybe it could have used a little more romance, but I knew that going in, so I was fine with the level. And I didn't mind all the info on weddings. I was worried Jaclyn was turning in to a bit of a witch herself, like the victim, Carrie, at least towards Eric, but she was ★★★★✩ (This is a review of the audiobook.) I had to get used to the narrator, Clarinda Ross, but I enjoyed this one much more than I thought I would, considering some of the reviews.

I set it aside but was glad I picked it back up. Maybe it could have used a little more romance, but I knew that going in, so I was fine with the level. And I didn't mind all the info on weddings. I was worried Jaclyn was turning in to a bit of a witch herself, like the victim, Carrie, at least towards Eric, but she was hurt and she got over it.

2.5 starsNot my favorite by this author. There were some funny lines and I liked the H. The h was just bitchy and friends were catty for too much of the book. Funny, because I chatted with a GR buddy just the other day about liking a story but hard to rate high if you dislike the h.

I guess it was my turn 2.5 starsNot my favorite by this author. There were some funny lines and I liked the H. The h was just bitchy and friends were catty for too much of the book. Funny, because I chatted with a GR buddy just the other day about liking a story but hard to rate high if you dislike the h. I guess it was my turn🤔.

Not enough relationship development. She’s mad at him for most of the story. Some plot details were missing.REVIEWER’S OPINION:I loved the beginning: how they met, the bar scene, and how they got together for the first time.

I loved the first sex scene – wow, sensual, wonderful. But I did not enjoy the main conflict in the story which was Jacyln being mad at Eric for most of the rest of the book. She could not accept that he was doing his job (investigating a murder and clearing her of 2 ½ stars.

Not enough relationship development. She’s mad at him for most of the story. Some plot details were missing.REVIEWER’S OPINION:I loved the beginning: how they met, the bar scene, and how they got together for the first time. I loved the first sex scene – wow, sensual, wonderful.

But I did not enjoy the main conflict in the story which was Jacyln being mad at Eric for most of the rest of the book. She could not accept that he was doing his job (investigating a murder and clearing her of being a suspect). She was angry that Eric considered her a suspect.

I felt her anger was unjustified. I was tired of hearing about it. At one point I was also tired of hearing about the mother’s anger on Jaclyn’s behalf. It wasn’t fun to read.

I wanted more relationship development between the two. The author spent a chunk of time on several weddings, for example the “Hee Haw wedding” of bad taste (plastic flowers and mullets). Some of that was ok, but there was too much of it. Not enough time was spent on things important to me like relationship development, dialogue, and plot.

Linda Howard is one of my favorite authors, but this book was mediocre when compared to some of her other books. Maybe I’m a little harsh, but I’m comparing her to herself and to her better books.Regarding the murder mystery, it was not unique, but it was ok. I had a problem with the lack of details about the murder.

The victim said or did something which caused the killer to kill her. But I don’t know the motivation for the murder or what was said or done by either the victim or the killer.

I also wanted more details about the fight between Carrie and her maid of honor.The best part of the story was Eric buying coffee at the same time someone was robbing the place. This happened more than once. Eric’s actions may not have been totally rational, but they were creative and fun and had me chuckling each time.STORY BRIEF:Jaclyn and her mother Madelyn are partners in Premier, a wedding planning firm. Both are divorced. Carrie hired them to plan her wedding. Carrie is a bridezilla of mythic nastiness.

Someone kills her. Many people had motives including Jaclyn.Eric is a police detective.

He meets Jaclyn and ends up sleeping with her that night. The next day, Carrie is killed. Eric is assigned to investigate, and he can’t continue his relationship with Jaclyn until he can clear her as a suspect. Therefore he can’t comfort her and must play by the book so his investigation won’t be questioned later. Jaclyn is angry that he considers her a suspect and that he doesn’t trust her.DATA:Story length: 338 pages.

Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: strong.

Number of sex scenes: 2. Total number of sex scene pages: 4. Setting: current day Atlanta, Georgia, area. Copyright: 2010.

Genre: romantic mystery with a little suspense.OTHER BOOKS:For a list of my reviews of other books by this author, see my 5 star review of “Burn” posted 7-11-09.3.5 stars.This is the 4th Linda Howard book I've read in a row (I'm definitely in a Linda Howard kick!) and I enjoyed it a lot. She's the only writer I know who can make a romantic suspense book funny.Eric & Jacklyn have a one-night stand but the next day, one of her clients is killed and she's the prime suspect in the murder case. As the detective in the case, Eric needs to do things by the book to make sure that he doesn't cloud the investigation but during most of the book, Jaclyn is.3.5 stars.This is the 4th Linda Howard book I've read in a row (I'm definitely in a Linda Howard kick!) and I enjoyed it a lot. She's the only writer I know who can make a romantic suspense book funny.Eric & Jacklyn have a one-night stand but the next day, one of her clients is killed and she's the prime suspect in the murder case.

As the detective in the case, Eric needs to do things by the book to make sure that he doesn't cloud the investigation but during most of the book, Jaclyn is fuming that he didn't believe her. In the meantime, Jaclyn has to work in lots of weddings, which provided most of the humor in the book.The suspense part wasn't too suspenseful and sort of fell apart. So many people hated this bride that there could have been the possibility of having somebody really surprising as the killer but Ms. Howard went with the obvious choice. The best part of the investigation was the hero complaining about the paperwork and how not everything was as easy as on TV.Clarinda Ross was OK with the narration.

Her male voices were below average and the love scenes were narrated in a sort of blah tone that made you wonder if they were enjoying themselves but she wasn't terrible. She did a good job with the Southern accents though.Overall, a cute, enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this book. It really had the feel and 'voice' of a Linda Howard novel. I didn't love it though.

THere was a lot of filler and too much detail about the weddings that I just wasn't interested in.However, I did enjoy the H and h. Eric Wilder, our hero is terrific. His grumblings about not being able to get a decent cup of coffee made me laugh.If you are a LH fan and you've been reluctant to read her books, I'd say give this one a try. Perfect or Open 3.5 stars.

I really enjoyed this book. It really had the feel and 'voice' of a Linda Howard novel.

I didn't love it though. THere was a lot of filler and too much detail about the weddings that I just wasn't interested in.However, I did enjoy the H and h. Eric Wilder, our hero is terrific. His grumblings about not being able to get a decent cup of coffee made me laugh.If you are a LH fan and you've been reluctant to read her books, I'd say give this one a try. Perfect or Open Season, but it's close! I tend to love or hate Linda Howard novels.

She writes either a strong, clever, kick-ass female character or a simpering, woe-is-me, washrag of a female character. There are few 'in-betweens' for me with this author. That being said, this is an 'in-between' story.I liked the story. I really did - it was intriguing, entertaining, and sexy. The murder mystery played out in hilarious and intense moments. The romantic sparks between Eric and Jaclyn worked and their sexytimes were yummy.

And with I tend to love or hate Linda Howard novels. She writes either a strong, clever, kick-ass female character or a simpering, woe-is-me, washrag of a female character.

There are few 'in-betweens' for me with this author. That being said, this is an 'in-between' story.I liked the story. I really did - it was intriguing, entertaining, and sexy. The murder mystery played out in hilarious and intense moments. The romantic sparks between Eric and Jaclyn worked and their sexytimes were yummy.

And with Jaclyn being a wedding planner, there are a few wedding/reception/rehearsal dinner scenes - those were really amusing.But even though I thoroughly enjoyed most of the book, Jaclyn really pissed me off. I got real tired of her being hurt and insulted by Eric doing his job and eliminating her as a suspect. She really milked that for as long as possible. You were the last person to see a murder victim before they were a murder victim and you had motive - be a big girl and get the fuck over it already. Her boo-hooing got old fast.

I might have DNF'd this if I wasn't so invested in Eric and the weddings.So yeah, I liked the story, but Jaclyn annoyed me. I liked this for what is was. It was a light hearted romantic suspense.

It succeeded best where the heroine, Jaclyn, was trying to deal with her frustration with the hero Eric. I kept picturing this as a romantic comedy. The scene where she pitched a hissy fit at a wedding rehearsal was laugh out loud priceless. I would totally go see this at the movies.The book was fast paced and quick to read. LH is good at writing clear coherent scenes which are easy to visualize. There was a lot going on, a I liked this for what is was. It was a light hearted romantic suspense.

It succeeded best where the heroine, Jaclyn, was trying to deal with her frustration with the hero Eric. I kept picturing this as a romantic comedy. The scene where she pitched a hissy fit at a wedding rehearsal was laugh out loud priceless. I would totally go see this at the movies.The book was fast paced and quick to read. LH is good at writing clear coherent scenes which are easy to visualize.

There was a lot going on, a lot more action than introspection. The dialog was good. The men seemed like men and not just what women wished men were like.The romance element was not intense and torid.

The book took place over a week so this was the opening of a relationship. Which is more realistic than falling in love and being totally committed after only a week.

They knew they were attracted to each other and were going to give a relationship a try after the book was over. There were two nice love scenes. They were short, as descriptive as necessary without being pages of graphic stuff that bogged down the story. (I have no obection to graphic stuff in its place which is not a light hearted romantic suspense like this.)The suspense element was okay.

You knew pretty early who done it. I would have expected more red herrings concerning the others involved in planning the wedding, the caterer, the seamstress etc. The blurb on the book made it seem as if since everyone hated her, there would be many suspects. The police were shown solving the murder and a lot of the scenes revolved around their work, but it wasn't to the level of a police procedural novel written by people who specialize in that sort of fiction.The ending was a bit unclear. You had to guess a bit at motivations based on one scene that took place earlier in the book in the victim's POV.All in all a nice way to spend the evening. Not the best that LH has written but not the worst and far better than most other less talented authors.

While I enjoyed the book, and liked the two main characters, I felt a decided lack of.something.in this book. Howard has all the elements here for a really decent suspense novel and a satisfying romance but didn't quite pull it out in the end. The best 'heat' in the book was in the first part, and while I could believe the chemistry between the main characters, I would have liked to have seen the tension between them explored and developed more thoroughly. There was some classic Howard humor While I enjoyed the book, and liked the two main characters, I felt a decided lack of.something.in this book. Howard has all the elements here for a really decent suspense novel and a satisfying romance but didn't quite pull it out in the end. The best 'heat' in the book was in the first part, and while I could believe the chemistry between the main characters, I would have liked to have seen the tension between them explored and developed more thoroughly. There was some classic Howard humor and while some of it worked, some didn't, at least for me.

The 'Hee Haw' wedding was one such failed attempt. The situation didn't end up being funny, it simply made Jaclyn look like a petty snob, which seemed out of character. (As an aside, the author mentions Brad Paisley several times in conjunction with this wedding 'disaster.' His music is linked with bad mullets and 'backwards, tacky' Nascar-loving hillbillies. It just so happens the night before I read this passage in the book I'd actually seen Brad Paisley live in concert, and I have to tell you, out of about 8,000+ people I didn't see one mullet. By the description of the wedding, the participants would more likely be listening to Hank Williams Jr. Or Willie Nelson.

Although.the 'tick' song is pretty funny.)BTW- I didn't mind the wedding details, nor did I think they were too plentiful. The heroine is a wedding planner and taking the reader through her day adds to the story for me. To skim those details would have made the book seem really shallow and vague to me.So, enjoyable and I'm glad I read it.good but not great. Nice detective/mystery story, but it did not set me on fire. I am an avid Agatha Christie, Margaret Maron, Patricia Wentworth cozy British mystery fan just for backstory.Jaclyn, a wedding planner, and Eric, cop, have a hot night together which is little unfortunate since Jaclyn is a potential suspect in the murder of one her clients, a truly obnoxious character.

So awful I actually wanted to see more of her she was so over the top.The mystery, no more like a detective story, plays out rather Nice detective/mystery story, but it did not set me on fire. I am an avid Agatha Christie, Margaret Maron, Patricia Wentworth cozy British mystery fan just for backstory.Jaclyn, a wedding planner, and Eric, cop, have a hot night together which is little unfortunate since Jaclyn is a potential suspect in the murder of one her clients, a truly obnoxious character. So awful I actually wanted to see more of her she was so over the top.The mystery, no more like a detective story, plays out rather procedurally.

There are no major grey cells at work, but good solid police work where all the i's are dotted etc.The sexual tension between the two major characters is pretty smoky, but I felt that very interesting minor characters were not as developed as they could have been.Plus when the killer is found, I wanted a more in depth explanation. All in all, nice hybrid of detective and slightly steamy love story.

Jaclyn Wilde is an events planner and one of her clients it the ultimate bridezilla. When she ends up murdered, Jaclyn is on the suspect list.This one put me in mind of Mr Perfect and Open Season but not quite as good. Still I felt it was a good, entertaining read and have no regrets reading it.

I fell in love with Eric, the hero and I even liked Jaclyn but I did feel she was a little too hard on him. But sometimes authors have to take a character in a direction to make the story work as it's Jaclyn Wilde is an events planner and one of her clients it the ultimate bridezilla.

When she ends up murdered, Jaclyn is on the suspect list.This one put me in mind of Mr Perfect and Open Season but not quite as good. Still I felt it was a good, entertaining read and have no regrets reading it. I fell in love with Eric, the hero and I even liked Jaclyn but I did feel she was a little too hard on him.

But sometimes authors have to take a character in a direction to make the story work as it's supposed to. Eric Wilder and Jaclyn Wilde meet when she is at the police station to pay a speeding ticket. She literally runs right into him. They are attracted but go on about their day. Eric is a police detective and Jaclyn is an event planner. They meet again later that evening when she happens to stop into a cop bar to get a drink to unwind from a tough day.

Sparks fly, the conversation flows, and, ultimately, they wind up having a one-night stand. He leaves in the morning promising to call her in a week Eric Wilder and Jaclyn Wilde meet when she is at the police station to pay a speeding ticket. She literally runs right into him. They are attracted but go on about their day. Eric is a police detective and Jaclyn is an event planner. They meet again later that evening when she happens to stop into a cop bar to get a drink to unwind from a tough day.

Sparks fly, the conversation flows, and, ultimately, they wind up having a one-night stand. He leaves in the morning promising to call her in a week of so when her stretch of six weddings in five days is over.Jaclyn has a meeting with one of the worst bridezillas ever the next day. Carrie Edwards is marrying the son of a state senator and is determined to have a perfect wedding. Unfortunately she is just mean and seems to delight in throwing everyone else into chaos. She wants new bridesmaid dresses custom made with only a month to go.

She doesn't like the flowers. She won't make a decisions about the food.

Jaclyn has to try to soothe the venders and pacify the bride. Carrie has a tantrum, slaps Jaclyn across the face and fires her company. Jaclyn is angry and upset. Not about being fired, because she has hated working for Carrie and knows that they will still be collecting most of their contracted fess, but because she so badly wanted to hit Carrie back.Next thing she knows, someone has killed Carrie by stabbing her with multiple kebob skewers and she is the number one suspect. Eric is assigned to the case and has to act professionally to clear her name which makes her very angry and hurt. Eric doesn't want the investigation to put a stop to their new romance and thinks that the quickest way to get back to the romance is to clear her name as convincingly as possible.It turns out the Jaclyn saw the probable murderer as she was leaving the meeting with Carrie. She was so upset and angry that she didn't really notice him other than that he was a grey-haired man driving some kind of silver car.

Eric investigates Carrie's murder by interviewing her family and friends and discovers that quite a number of people want her dead. His fears that the murder will come after Jaclyn for fear that she recognized him are realized when Jaclyn becomes a near victim of a drive-by shooting.Besides the intense action, there are some really nice moments of humor in this one. Eric has had the recent bad luck of stopping for coffee two mornings in a row and foiling attempted robberies at each location. In neither case did he take down the criminal with his gun. More humor comes when Jaclyn is doing wedding planning for a hillbilly wedding and trying to help the mother of the groom keep it from being a complete fiasco.This was a fun and intense romantic suspense novel. I enjoyed it very much. Jaclyn Wilde is an event (mostly weddings) planner, and her latest client Carrie Edwards is an outright diva b.

When Carrie is murdered, the detective Jaclyn had a one-night stand with, Eric Wilder (Wilde and Wilder, get it? Ugh), is the cop on the case. She's furious that she's considered a suspect, since Carrie slapped her and fired her shortly before she was murdered. Although Eric is fairly certain Jaclyn isn't the culprit, he still, understandably, does things by the book. Jaclyn saw a Jaclyn Wilde is an event (mostly weddings) planner, and her latest client Carrie Edwards is an outright diva b. When Carrie is murdered, the detective Jaclyn had a one-night stand with, Eric Wilder (Wilde and Wilder, get it? Ugh), is the cop on the case.

She's furious that she's considered a suspect, since Carrie slapped her and fired her shortly before she was murdered. Although Eric is fairly certain Jaclyn isn't the culprit, he still, understandably, does things by the book.

Jaclyn saw a grey-haired man shortly before the murder, and it becomes apparent this person thinks Jaclyn can identify him, so she becomes a target as well.Plotless bunkum. Not as bad as Shadow Woman, but not very good. There's lots of information about the weddings that are being organised, by the suspense and mystery element is sorely lacking.

There's no attempt to hide the identify of the villain/s. It was readable and inoffensive as far as romantic suspense goes, but a couple of major credibility points and storytelling flaws forbid it from getting anything more than two stars. Firstly, a lot is made about the fact they think a senator (the father of the Carrie's groom-to-be) could be behind the murder and had to be careful about showing pictures of him to Jaclyn because she might be able to identify him due to already knowing who he is because of his political campaign.

But in that case, wouldn't she have recognised him when she first f.ing saw him at the scene of the crime, if he was that well known? It makes zero sense!Secondly, we're never told WHY the senator killed Carrie Edwards. What the actual f.?!? How lazy can you get? The murder is the whole thing that sets the plot in motion, but giving us an actual motive is more than what Linda Howard can be bothered to do. It's.it's offensive! Does she not think that little tidbit might be somewhat important?

That display of sheer laziness and disregard for the reader made me drop an entire star. Very disappointing. I think I only finished because I usually like this author.

The mystery/suspense was almost painfulone of those in which the culprit would never get caught except that they start trying to kill the person who might have seen them do it. (Come on, if they had actually seen you do it, someone would have had a warrant out by now!) Not to mnetion that those attempts on her life were so feeble as to be almost laughable. I couldn't work up the slightest sense of apprehension.But Very disappointing. I think I only finished because I usually like this author. The mystery/suspense was almost painful¸one of those in which the culprit would never get caught except that they start trying to kill the person who might have seen them do it. (Come on, if they had actually seen you do it, someone would have had a warrant out by now!) Not to mnetion that those attempts on her life were so feeble as to be almost laughable. I couldn't work up the slightest sense of apprehension.But the worst thing was, Linda Howard is usually good for a decent situational romance.

The characters in this book have a one night stand, then the next day she's a murder suspect and he's investigating the case. That might have been an interesting twist, except that I wanted to roll my eyes every time one of them thought, 'S/he might have been the one, but.' Give me a break.

You slept together once, a few hours after you met. This was one of those false equivalence stories, in which great sex = love.The story took a long time to get started, with nothing happening for a very long time except the two characters going about their normal daily routine. She's a wedding planner, and throughout the story we get a lot of detail about the weddings she's planning. Some of that was interesting, but there was a lot of it. Author:First published: 2010Length: 340 pages (hardcover)Setting: Contemporary. Around Atlanta.Sex: Explicit.

First time a one night stand bar hook-up.Hero: Detective,Heroine: Event plannerI enjoyed this light romantic-suspense. Two very independent people suddenly having a potential romance and their lives turned upside down by a bizarre murder. But rather than focus on the romance or the mystery/suspense, Howard spends a lot of time on wedding side trips, unnecessary Author:First published: 2010Length: 340 pages (hardcover)Setting: Contemporary. Around Atlanta.Sex: Explicit. First time a one night stand bar hook-up.Hero: Detective,Heroine: Event plannerI enjoyed this light romantic-suspense. Two very independent people suddenly having a potential romance and their lives turned upside down by a bizarre murder. But rather than focus on the romance or the mystery/suspense, Howard spends a lot of time on wedding side trips, unnecessary inner monologues from secondary characters and evenings of does he lurve me?To the extent we are left wondering what about the actual motivation for the murder, let alone how it could have been accomplished, and why and how his alibi became involved.

There was a missing depth but Howard's more-than-competent writing allows the reader to immerse oneself in the story and deal with the truck-size plot holes later.3.5 stars rounded down. Because it was fun.

Mostly.References:Author on w'pedia:(ISBN 978-0-345-50689-4)-CR. Unlike Nora Robert's Bride Quintet, Veil of Night shows a truer face of the perils a wedding planner faces. This book is hot, darkly humorous and has a great suspense plot to boot.Jaclyn and her mother run a wedding planning business called Premier. Not all their clients are wonderful to work with. In fact, Carrie, is the bride from hell and no one is safe from her.

After a nasty meeting with Carrie, Jaclyn decides that she could use a time out and stops at a neighborhood bar. It is a cop bar Unlike Nora Robert's Bride Quintet, Veil of Night shows a truer face of the perils a wedding planner faces. This book is hot, darkly humorous and has a great suspense plot to boot.Jaclyn and her mother run a wedding planning business called Premier. Not all their clients are wonderful to work with. In fact, Carrie, is the bride from hell and no one is safe from her. After a nasty meeting with Carrie, Jaclyn decides that she could use a time out and stops at a neighborhood bar. It is a cop bar and a hunky cop she had previously had a run in with is there also.

It is instant lust for both but neither wants to get involved. They share their drinks and go their separate ways. Eric calls to see if Jaclyn is up for a booty call and she invites him over. Hot to the max sex and Jaclyn sends him on his way the next morning with a to go coffee cup with lousy coffee. Jaclyn has an afternoon meeting with Carrie and vendors and things explode. Carrie slaps Jaclyn then fires her. Jaclyn is upset, but thankful to be done with Carrie.

Later, Carrie is found murdered. Of course, Eric catches the case and Jaclyn is the prime suspect. Ugh, I really want to like this book. I do, actually, but not so much.The plot is promising. And even though it's predictable and typical from Linda Howard, I still look forward to read it.

Mostly because I enjoyed the previous book with this kind of plot before (I can't remember the title but it's also from Linda Howard), plus Linda's writing always good, right?But this book somehow went waaay too fast than usual. I don't feel the chemistry between Jaclyn and Eric (I love this name!), and I Ugh, I really want to like this book. I do, actually, but not so much.The plot is promising. And even though it's predictable and typical from Linda Howard, I still look forward to read it. Mostly because I enjoyed the previous book with this kind of plot before (I can't remember the title but it's also from Linda Howard), plus Linda's writing always good, right?But this book somehow went waaay too fast than usual. I don't feel the chemistry between Jaclyn and Eric (I love this name!), and I really need to feel their love because without the chemistry, I can't properly 'ravished' the romance part.But overall I liked it, though it's not exactly my favorite. Look forward to read more books from Linda Howard!

This was a decent LH read especially since some of her latest have been disappointments. There was a bit of the humor that we saw in Mr.

Perfect altho not as much. It did keep me LOL throughout my read. The biggest problem I had with the book is that the H/h weren't together very much. More focus was on the murder investigation.The bridezilla who was murdered in this book was awful!!! I'm surprised nobody killed her before this. =) I intensely disliked her which I guess I was supposed to. I just This was a decent LH read especially since some of her latest have been disappointments.

There was a bit of the humor that we saw in Mr. Perfect altho not as much. It did keep me LOL throughout my read. The biggest problem I had with the book is that the H/h weren't together very much.

More focus was on the murder investigation.The bridezilla who was murdered in this book was awful!!! I'm surprised nobody killed her before this. =) I intensely disliked her which I guess I was supposed to.

I just can't imagine someone that horrible in real life.This was a fun quick read and I was glad to see a return to some of the LH humor. 3.75 StarsI borrowed this book from the Library, read a good few chapters and was really enjoying it, but then I got sidetracked and kinda forgot about it for agessssss, until I was sorting my books and found it again and decided to finish it.I really enjoyed it.I liked the characters, especially Eric and I found myself a lot of the time with a smile on my face reading.Favourite quote:Every time he touched her it was like being stroked by lighting, and everyone knew lightning destroyed. It was 3.75 StarsI borrowed this book from the Library, read a good few chapters and was really enjoying it, but then I got sidetracked and kinda forgot about it for agessssss, until I was sorting my books and found it again and decided to finish it.I really enjoyed it.I liked the characters, especially Eric and I found myself a lot of the time with a smile on my face reading.Favourite quote:Every time he touched her it was like being stroked by lighting, and everyone knew lightning destroyed. This novel is highly readable and typical Linda Howard. It breezed along with her stock hero and heroine with all their strengths and weaknesses intact.

There is plenty of conflict between them as well as (of Course) very hot instant sexual attraction. If you want a deep and complex love story and relationship building, go elsewhere. The hero is her typical male chauvinist alpha male.

The only way he broke the mold was that he takes his coffee with cream and sugar when everyone knows real men This novel is highly readable and typical Linda Howard. It breezed along with her stock hero and heroine with all their strengths and weaknesses intact. There is plenty of conflict between them as well as (of Course) very hot instant sexual attraction. If you want a deep and complex love story and relationship building, go elsewhere. The hero is her typical male chauvinist alpha male. The only way he broke the mold was that he takes his coffee with cream and sugar when everyone knows real men take their coffee black.

The heroine is beautiful, classy, and successful with trust issues. The romance proceeds as per usual with a bit of a non-mysterious mystery thrown in to give them a reason to be together.

The damsel must be in distress. Linda is good at amusing banter and observations, and the descriptions of the Beverly Hillbillies’/Sons of Anarchy Wedding is downright funny. Well-written secondary characters add interest and keep the ball rolling. A very solid 3 stars. 'Veil of Night' is the story of Jaclyn and Eric.Wedding planner Jaclyn is having the worst client ever: Bridezilla Cassie who drives both her mother/ business partner, as well as her colleagues nuts!

To blow off some steam, she decides to get a drink- only to meet, get infatuated, and have a one night stand with detective Eric.When Cassie is skewered and murdered after she fires Jaclyn, she ends up becoming a suspect.in an investigation led by Eric!Fast paced, thrilling read between an 'Veil of Night' is the story of Jaclyn and Eric.Wedding planner Jaclyn is having the worst client ever: Bridezilla Cassie who drives both her mother/ business partner, as well as her colleagues nuts! To blow off some steam, she decides to get a drink- only to meet, get infatuated, and have a one night stand with detective Eric.When Cassie is skewered and murdered after she fires Jaclyn, she ends up becoming a suspect.in an investigation led by Eric!Fast paced, thrilling read between an independent and self confident heroine, a duty bound hero, lots of infidelity, drama and few hot sex scenes.Honestly, the mystery was predictable but I still enjoyed reading this! Average, both on mystery and romance.Safe3.5/5P.S. I liked the occasional coffee humor in this one! Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.Linda S. Howington is an American best-selling romance author writing under the pseudonym Linda Howard.

After 21 years of penning stories for her own enjoyment, she submitted a novel for publication which was very successful. Her first work was published by Silhouette in 1982. She is a charter member of Romance Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.Linda S.

Howington is an American best-selling romance author writing under the pseudonym Linda Howard. After 21 years of penning stories for her own enjoyment, she submitted a novel for publication which was very successful.

Her first work was published by Silhouette in 1982. She is a charter member of Romance Writers of America and in 2005 Howard was awarded their Career Achievement Award.Linda Howard lives in Gadsden, Alabama with her husband, Gary F. Howington, and two golden retrievers.

She has three grown stepchildren and three grandchildren.

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Linda Howard's Prey.NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In this thrilling novel of romantic suspense, Linda Howard cordially invites us to an elaborate wedding-one in which rings will never be exchanged, kisses will never be shared, and the bride will never see the light of day, because a killer has been waiting under a 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, yet 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. Assigned to the case, Detective Eric Wilder finds that there's too much evidence pointing toward too many suspects. Compounding his problems is Jaclyn, now a prime suspect, with whom he shared one deeply passionate night before Carrie's death. 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.