Veil of Night

A Novel

By: Linda Howard

Narrated by: Clarinda Ross

Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's Summary

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.    

©2010 Linda Howard (P)2010 Random House

I'm sorry Ms. Howard - I give this a 2.5

I love Linda Howard - I have read all her books (twice) and then when they become available on audio I purchase them again and usually listen twice.
I'm not sure what happened here with this book, it was good for the first two hours, the lead characters were somewhat interesting together and a bit sexy; but then it got stale really quick for the rest of the listen. I kept waiting for something to happen but what I listened to was a full on description of six wedding's the wedding planner was involved with. I listened to a description of the color pink for about 40 minutes. there was some quirky scenes in the book but it might have been translated much better with a different narrater.
The murder investigation was drawn out and there was no interesting details with any type of mystery or "WHO DONE IT" scenarios. It was obvious the entire time who the killer was, without any type of shock value.



The narrater, Clarinda Ross, was all wrong for this book. The entire listen I was so aware of her that she distracted me from the book itself. When listening to any narrater (a good narrater) you are supposed to forget that they're there, you're supposed to be taken into the story and forget; you are not supposed to be reminded with every sentence that you are being read to. Like your favorite sixth grade teacher did when she had the class sit on the floor in a circle. Every time she started a sentence, I kept saying to myself "just spit it out and get to it already".


I'm sorry i didn't enjoy this book,I was really looking forward to it. This book was left open at the end like it may become a 2 book series like she did with "Drop Dead Gorgeous" perhaps if she writes a continuation, the next one will be more entertaining.
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I'm still waiting for some of my favorites to become available on audio:
"A Game Of Chance", & "Mr. Perfect", I hope to see those two real soon here on audible.com.

Was Joyce Bean busy?

Talk about missing the point. I think the delivery would have better with a speech enhanced Kindle. This is a funny, tongue-in-cheek mystery, along the lines of Blair Mallory. This is a area Linda Howard does extremely well and this book is no exception. The narration was just wrong, not bad, just wrong. Clarinda Ross was perfect for Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly but totally missed the mark here. This book needed someone like Joyce Bean or Susan Ericksen.

With that said, I decided to just rate the book, which is Linda Howard all the way, well written characters and a good plot line. You know who-done-it and why early on, but still it's a fun ride.

Not Quite Loved It...

I'm a fan of Linda Howard and I'll give just about anything she writes at least one read/listen. While I did enjoy this book, I was somewhat disappointed. Linda Howard is one of those writers who can both invoke laughter and outrage at the characters she creates...and there were spots of that in this story.

I'd so been looking forward to the release of this book...based on the story line, I'd built up my expectations for another DYING TO PLEASE with Susan Ericksen...sadly I didn't get it. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the narration was not horrible, but it wasn't Susan Ericksen either.

As I said earlier Linda Howard can really invoke feelings of outrage at some of her male characters, I was really looking forward to being outraged at this bride...but there were not many scenes in which that outrage was felt.

I would have REALLY enjoyed more mysterious in this book...I wanted to be guessing who-dun-it...but all in all I loved all of the characters, the storyline, and I still love Linda Howard...so 4 stars!

Loved the story, narrator okay

I agree that the narrator wasn't the best, but I was still engaged with the characters and the storyline, so I can overlook the narration. I enjoyed the story and would recommend it in spite of the less than stellar narration.

Great Read

I use to be an Event Planner so I wasn't sure if I should get this book wondering if the details of the business would be so off I couldn't relate. But Ms Howard was dead on and I could so relate. The book is funny, a good story and I don't know what every other reviewer is complaining about but I really liked the narrator. I thought she was perfect.

Awesome

I loved this book, it reminds me of why I started reading her books years ago. I hope to see more.

Ruined

It's difficult to destroy a Linda Howard book, but this narrator has succeeded. Her dramatic attempts are reminiscent of a child trying out for the lead in a school play.

Another big hit for Linda Howard

This audio book was awesome, Ms Clarinda Ross voice was great. I loved the whole story, couldn't stop listing. Will listen to it again.

Truly enjoyable experience!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes! The story is so entertaining! It grabbed my attention at the first and never let go. I was sad to have it end!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Veil of Night?

The four southern women talking about the dead bridezilla:
Y'all know you aren't supposed to speak ill of the dead....Jacklyn
I like her better that way....Deirdre

What about Clarinda Ross’s performance did you like?

Everything! Ms Ross did a tremendous job. I enjoyed her performance so much, I listened to the whole thing again!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely. I became so involved in the story, I hated having to turn it off before the end.

Any additional comments?

This is my absolute favorite audiobook to date; I have listened to it at least 4 times. I have long been a fan of Linda Howard, and it is by belief that no one could possibly have done a better job narrating this story than Clarinda Ross.

good

i love Linda Howard and have read or listened to all of her books.
this one was good. the girl was a little "stupid" yelling at the guy but all and all it was a good buy

enjoyed it and not a waste of a credit

A little dated, but a good read

I read this on kindle several years ago and I enjoyed the audio book just as much. The murder of a “bridezilla” is complicated by the fact that the wedding planner and the cop investigating the murder had a one night stand the night before the murder. The side characters all had distinct personalities which adds to the interest and although the murder was not too tough to solve, the developing push/pull relationship between the H and h was absorbing

Brilliant

Funny and quick witted. Well written and the narrator was believable. Ordering coffee and yee-ha weddings were never so funny. Enjoy !!!!