Whispers Beyond the Veil
4.8
7
5
1
Paperback
USD
13.5
$13.50
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780425281604 |
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| Publisher: | Penguin Publishing Group |
| Publication date: | 09/06/2016 |
| Series: | A Change of Fortune Mystery Series , #1 |
| Pages: | 352 |
| Sales rank: | 309,538 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.17(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.90(d) |
About the Author
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Whispers Beyond the Veil
4.8 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
7 reviews.
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I usually enjoy mysteries but this one was not really mysterious . Story is about a young woman scam artist who is abandoned by her scam artist father. They both have to leave a crime scene quickly. The daughter goes to her mother's family. The aunt runs a hotel of mystics. Story takes place at the turn of the 1900's. There is a murder and who did it. Story really drags. I finished the book but won't buy the next one. There are better mysteries
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WHISPERS BEYOND THE VEIL is a delightful read. The heroine is easy to relate to, the other characters are all unique and memorable, and the witty banter between them can be truly entertaining. Estevao writes in a way that effortlessly transports the reader back to the turn of the century, which makes this the perfect pick for historical mystery fans.
Disclosure: I won a free copy of this book in a giveaway.
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"I wondered what it would be like to take the chance, to be myself without guise, without guile."
On the run for her life after a " medicine show" disaster that ended in death, Ruby Proulx has come over the Canadian border to Old Orchard Maine in hopes of finding her late Mother's family. What she funds is so much more.
She finds her aunt, Honoria Belton, owner and operator of the Hotel Belton, recently renovated as a residence catering to Spiritualists. Honoria and her cadre of interesting guests has drawn both good and bad "publicity", especially when a psychic investigator checks in and seems knowledgeable enough of Ruby's past to uncover that she may not be exactly what she has told everyone she is.
And then, he is found dead and Ruby is the focus of the investigation.
With a true historical setting, Estevao's first " adult" novel got a lot of press as it hit the shelves this year, and with good reason. Her characters are well drawn and truly jump off the page. My only negative is the "political correctness" around the Native "issues" of the time. It historically happened. It was accepted practice to blame non whites for all matter of things. Ms. Estevao did not have to use 21st century morality to explain that. I do not believe that "fixes" the historical issues. The question becomes what can we do now!
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Enjoyed the historical aspect of the story and the unconventional characters .
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Whispers Beyond the Veil marks the beginning of a superb historical mystery series. Jessica Estevao manages to create an extremely likeable, flawed heroine, Ruby Proulx, and place her in an equally enjoyable setting, the charming seaside resort town of Old Orchard, Maine. As the book opens in 1898, Ruby is traveling in Canada with her father, a charlatan who enlists Ruby in his fraudulent schemes. After one of his supposed cures causes a death, Ruby escapes to Old Orchard, Maine to join her estranged Aunt Honoria and avoid being charged with the murder. Honoria owns the Hotel Belden which caters to spiritualists, a popular interest during this time period. When the medium hired by Honoria fails to show, Ruby steps in to fill the medium’s shoes. Meanwhile, Old Orchard is building a large pier to attract more visitors, and the additional people mean an increase in crime. As the story unfolds, several individuals are murdered, and Ruby takes it upon herself to help the police solve the murders.
The historical aspects of the story are wonderful, and the characters well-developed. Estevao’s attention to historical detail is fantastic – I felt like I was there. The story held my interest through the entire book, and the resolution was particularly creative. While I really loved the entire book, one of my favorite things about Whispers Beyond the Veil was how different it is from anything else I have read. As I mention frequently in my reviews, I feel like I encounter an overabundance of the same types of stories over and over again, and it gets old. Estevao’s originality is much appreciated and welcomed; I cannot wait to read the next installment.
I highly recommend this clever, well-written, and very entertaining novel. Thank you to Berkley Publishing for this wonderful book.
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Whispers Beyond the Veil by Jessica Estevao is the first book in A Change of Fortune Mystery series. It is 1898 (in Canada) and Ruby Proulx has not had an easy life growing up with her father. Her father hawks useless medicines and medical devices while Ruby earns a little extra money telling fortunes with her cards. They live in tents and are always on the go. They have never been able to save much money, because her father is always spending their money on new get rich quick schemes (that never work). His latest waste of money is a medical device that will invigorate and re-energize a person. Ruby wants nothing to do with it, but her father can be very insistent. He hooks up Ruby’s friend, Johnny, to the machine and has Ruby turn it on. The voice warns her not to do it, but she flips the switch anyway. Johnny ends up dead and Ruby’s father blames it all on her (of course). He states they must separate and tells her to leave immediately. Ruby takes what little money she has saved up telling fortunes, and heads for Old Orchard, Maine. Ruby is heading for Honoria Belden, her mother’s sister (her mother passed away after giving birth to Ruby). Ruby arrives in town and is immediately accosted by a purse snatcher on the pier. Ruby is rescued by Officer Warren Yancy. He escorts her to her aunt at The Hotel Belden owned by her Aunt Honoria. Her aunt is thrilled to see her. Honoria has just revamped the hotel, and will be re-opening it as a hotel for Spiritualist (a big movement in the US at the time). The featured star will be the medium, Miss Flora Roberts. But when Miss Flora cancels, Ruby feels she must step in and help her aunt. Without the medium, the guests will cancel and her aunt will lose the hotel (she took out a mortgage for the remodel). It turns out that each female in Ruby’s maternal family has a unique gift. Ruby has been hearing the voice for years, but she was afraid to tell anyone (did not want to be put in an asylum). Will Ruby be a convincing medium? Ruby gets worried, though, when Leander Stickney checks into the hotel. He is the president of the Northeastern Society for Psychical Research. Instead of promoting psychic phenomena, Mr. Stickney is out to debunk it. But then Mr. Stickney turns up dead, and this presents a new problem for Ruby—the police! Ruby needs to find the killer and save the Hotel Belden (before it gets in the press). Join Ruby in Whispers Beyond the Veil.
There is quite a bit going on in this book. I have tried to summarize the main portions of the book. I thoroughly enjoyed Whispers Beyond the Veil. We are given a lot of background information in the book on Ruby, the hotel, Old Orchard, etc. It can a little confusing (especially coming at you so quickly at the beginning), but we need all this detail. The story is well-written and engaging with entertaining characters (especially Honoria Belden). You will find that not everything is solved in this first book. We will have to see how things play out during the course of the series. The mystery was complex and had a neat twist that I do not believe many people will expect. I give Whispers Beyond the Veil 4.5 out of 5 stars (I more than liked it, but I was able to solve the mystery and expected the twist). If you enjoy unique, historical mysteries, I believe you will enjoy Whispers Beyond the Veil. I look forward to reading the next book in A Change of Fortune Mystery series.
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I Will Not be Whispering My Feelings for This Debut
It gets harder and harder to stay away from the paranormal end of the cozy spectrum when authors you know you like jump into the subgenre. That’s why I found myself picking up Whispers Beyond the Veil, the first in a new series by Jessica Estevao, also known as Jessie Crockett. Despite my misgivings, I found myself enjoying it.
Ruby Proulx has been raised by her father, a fast talking seller of medical miracle cures. Being 1898, these miracle cures are often suspect at best. When his latest get rich scheme goes horribly wrong, Ruby finds herself alone racing across the Canadian/US border to the resort town of Old Orchard, Maine, and the hotel owned by her late mother’s relatives.
Ruby has never met her mother’s family, and she is delighted to be welcome with open arms by her aunt. The family hotel is just about to reopen as a haven for spiritualists of all types. However, much is riding on this season if the family is to keep the hotel. Just as Ruby is beginning to think she’s found a place where she belongs, new dangers enter her life, including a murder. Can she survive the forces coming her way?
Just about every form of spiritualism is represented in the cast of characters from palm readers to mediums to tarot card readers. Ruby has a gift as well, of course, she can hear a voice that gives her guidance. Personally, I don’t believe in any of this, but I found this to be a part of the story without overwhelming it. The answer doesn’t just fall into Ruby’s lap from these gifts, which also really helped me like the story.
If you are reading this just for the mystery, you’ll find the early portion of the book slow. However, I still really enjoyed it. This part sets up the characters and sets up some of the conflict that leads to the murder. There is still plenty here to keep your interest as Ruby navigates this new life she’s landed in. Once the murder does happen, the pace never lags. The climax felt a bit rushed, but it does wrap everything up nice and neatly for us.
These may be new characters, but they are already strong. I felt like I got to know Ruby, her aunt, and several other potential regular characters very well, and I really enjoyed my time with them. The suspects are also strong characters.
We get the story from Ruby’s first person point of view and the third person point of view of Yancey, the police detective in town. It’s an interesting way to tell the story, and I felt it really worked here. Since some of the conflict comes from their relationship, this helped showcase that and it helped give us a deeper view of the conflicts going on in town than we’d get from just Ruby alone. I’m anxious to head back and see where the seeds planted here lead.
And I loved the setting. Pretty much any resort town appeals to me, and this one was no exception. It’s almost like being on vacation myself. Being back in 1898 just added to the fun. I’d love to visit the real Old Orchard someday and compare what it looks like today verses the image in my head from 1898.
So I’m glad I picked up Whispers Beyond the Veil. The characters are wonderful, the plot is strong, and the setting is fun. What more could you want in a book?
NOTE: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
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