Veiled Threats

December 3, 2001
Reminiscent of Donna Andrews's Murder, with Peacocks, this zany mystery is a bubbly blend of farcical humor, romance and intrigue. Seattle-based wedding planner Carnegie Kincaid (named after robber baron Andrew Carnegie) has just landed the job that could propel her small business, Made in Heaven Wedding Designs, into the limelight. Nickie Parry's marriage to concert pianist Ray Ishigura promises to be the season's biggest high society wedding, and with Nickie's deep-pocketed, doting father footing the bill, it will likely put Carnegie on Easy Street and get her aging business partner and accountant, Eddie, off her back about their finances. But when someone dies in a suspicious car crash and the bride is kidnapped, the impending nuptials turn from a dream into a nightmare. Relying upon her sharp intuition and active imagination, Carnegie attempts to root out the culprit, and she finds an unlikely ally in Aaron Gold, the short, aggressive reporter who's been hounding the Parry family for weeks. First-time author Donnelly will beguile readers with her keen wit and mint descriptions (the white wedding gown is "a symbol of purity, like the safety seal on an aspirin bottle"), but it is her characters—such as Boris the Mad Russian Florist, who is "265 pounds of Slavic fury"—that make this a stellar debut.

December 15, 2001
When struggling wedding consultant Carnegie Kincaid finally lands the society wedding of Nickie Parry, daughter of the very wealthy Douglas Parry, who is embroiled in a savings and loan fraud scandal, she thinks things are looking up, but then the disasters begin. At a wedding reception, Carnegie mistakes Holt Walker, a hunky wedding guest who just happens to be Douglas' attorney and close friend, for a waiter and chastises him for his inappropriate attire. Then a drunken bridesmaid takes the bride's car and dies in a crash. Conflicts arise over the wedding gown and expenses, and sleazy tabloid reporter Aaron Gold makes it all worse. As a romance heats up between Carnegie and Holt, Carnegie is shocked that a kiss stolen by Aaron can elicit such heat, but when the bride is kidnapped, things really get dicey. Donnelly's fast-moving story and likable sleuth will please readers who like romantic soft-boiled mystery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)