Sunday, March 1, 2009

Piercing the Veil-Jacqueline Fullerton

Piercing the Veil
Jacqueline Fullerton
A.P. Lee & Co., Ltd., Feb 2009, $14.95
ISBN: 9781934482032
APLeeCo@sbcglobal.net

Twenty-six years old Anne Marshall and her dad dreamed of practicing law together as a father and daughter team, but he died at sixty-two from a heart attack. Although she misses him, she attends Compton Law School and works as a court reporter. However, when she begins hearing him, she fears for her sanity perhaps from too much work and she is still grieving after two years. The voice of her dad insists his acquaintance fiftyish Tim Sherman is a dangerous snake who has embezzled $10 million from his firm depositing it over time in off-shore accounts.

As she begins to believe her dad’s ghost is trying to partner with her from beyond, Tim and his wife Isabelle are divorcing in the court where Annie works. Tim looks forward to breaking up their business and personal partnerships by vanishing without a trace. Tim also enjoys the concept that his affair with office manager Stephanie will end the same way his relationship with Isabelle will end. Mentored by her dad, Anne with the help of her study group, searches for legal evidence that Tim has stolen company funds while her boyfriend ADA Jason Perry worries about her recent behavior professionally and personally. When his mistress, a witness to the divorce proceeding, is murdered, Anne feels guilty, though her father, also feeling remorse, tells his angel that the murder is not her fault, but that of the snake. Feeling a need for justice, Anne, her other worldly partner, and her study group try to find proof Tim is a killer.

PIERCING THE VEIL is an engaging paranormal investigative legal thriller starring a likable but over her head heroine and her late dad, a true believer in justice for all. The story line is fast-paced from the first time Dad communicates with his shocked angel and never slows down. Although the climax feels abrupt, sub-genre fans will enjoy this entertaining tale.

Harriet Klausner