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Torie O'Shea #2
A Veiled Antiquity
Torie O'Shea investigates the tangled roots of an ancient family tree.
Torie O'Shea-- genealogist and amateur sleuth-- is having a killer of a day. The town gossip spreads the word that her sweet wheelchair-bound mother is having an affair-- with the sheriff! Then quiet Marie Dijon is found dead at the foot of her basement stairs. Did she fall? Was she pushed? All Torie knows is that Marie had a family tree with royal roots completely foreign to a folksy Middle America town like New Kassel, Missouri. As foreign as, say...murder.
But nosiness in New Kassel is as native as the upcoming Oktoberfest. To Torie, the open door to Marie's house is more tempting than chocolate. Finding a hidden key and old documents in French make further investigating irresistible. But while juggling her growing suspicions, a hectic job at the historical society, two kids, and a sexy husband, Torie overlooks the obvious. Curiosity killed the cat. Someone killed Marie Dijon. And now Torie might know too much to live...
Torie O'Shea-- genealogist and amateur sleuth-- is having a killer of a day. The town gossip spreads the word that her sweet wheelchair-bound mother is having an affair-- with the sheriff! Then quiet Marie Dijon is found dead at the foot of her basement stairs. Did she fall? Was she pushed? All Torie knows is that Marie had a family tree with royal roots completely foreign to a folksy Middle America town like New Kassel, Missouri. As foreign as, say...murder.
But nosiness in New Kassel is as native as the upcoming Oktoberfest. To Torie, the open door to Marie's house is more tempting than chocolate. Finding a hidden key and old documents in French make further investigating irresistible. But while juggling her growing suspicions, a hectic job at the historical society, two kids, and a sexy husband, Torie overlooks the obvious. Curiosity killed the cat. Someone killed Marie Dijon. And now Torie might know too much to live...
224 pages, Hardcover
First published May 15, 1998
7 people are currently reading
191 people want to read
About the author
Rett MacPherson
18 books115 followersRett MacPherson was born in Saint Louis, Missouri. She is the author of the popular Torie O'Shea mysteries and helped to pioneer the sub-genre of genealogical mysteries. She is also a bead and fabric artist and loves wineries, cemeteries, genealogy, history and of course, books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
February 18, 2015
The historical aspect was somewhat hard for me to follow, I got confused over who was related to who but overall enjoyed the book. Tory is a wonderful sleuth and her Mom is also great.
September 16, 2021
I love cozy/amateur sleuth mysteries for various reasons. I like how the character will have a pretty nifty job or hobby that I would love to try. Or they live in a setting that would be neat to visit. I like that they are ordinary people who want to see justice done or are just plain nosey and need to know whodunnit. I like the size of the books so that they fit perfectly in my purse or work bag and I have something ready to read at a moment's notice.
What I am not always fond of, and will often stop reading because of it, is a poor premise, characters I don't feel drawn to, or the main character is married with kids or pets and they are only there in the periphery. Apparently they are self-sustaining and need nothing from the main character so that said main character can go galavanting along solving mysteries.
That is almost the case in this book and series. Not enough to keep me from finishing, but enough that I didn't find every opportunity to pull the book and read til the wee hours or sit in the parking lot and only be a little late for an appt or whatever. I started this in June and only today, 16 Sep, finished it. I don't dislike the book, it was a pretty good mystery and the characters and setting were interesting. I am not going to go out of my way to look for the rest of the series, but if I find one somewhere, I will likely take a look.
What I am not always fond of, and will often stop reading because of it, is a poor premise, characters I don't feel drawn to, or the main character is married with kids or pets and they are only there in the periphery. Apparently they are self-sustaining and need nothing from the main character so that said main character can go galavanting along solving mysteries.
That is almost the case in this book and series. Not enough to keep me from finishing, but enough that I didn't find every opportunity to pull the book and read til the wee hours or sit in the parking lot and only be a little late for an appt or whatever. I started this in June and only today, 16 Sep, finished it. I don't dislike the book, it was a pretty good mystery and the characters and setting were interesting. I am not going to go out of my way to look for the rest of the series, but if I find one somewhere, I will likely take a look.
January 10, 2021
This book seemed to be better thought-out than the previous book, though I still feel like there should be more to the books... more personality to the kooky but clever mom we know as Torie. They're quick and light reads, relatively speaking, but somehow I want a bit more meat.
SPOILER: It's almost too convenient that Torie knows a woman who might be able to translate a French document she finds, and extremely too coincidental that the woman is the sister of the previous owner of said documents. How would Camille have set up the supposed document theft and presumed attempted murder on her so quickly (and could she really have died in the garage in half an hour?) before Torie and the sheriff arrived? The entanglements with unknown/unidentified men -- at Marie's house, on the highway -- perhaps I missed who those were later on (it's still kind of a mystery to me).
SPOILER: It's almost too convenient that Torie knows a woman who might be able to translate a French document she finds, and extremely too coincidental that the woman is the sister of the previous owner of said documents. How would Camille have set up the supposed document theft and presumed attempted murder on her so quickly (and could she really have died in the garage in half an hour?) before Torie and the sheriff arrived? The entanglements with unknown/unidentified men -- at Marie's house, on the highway -- perhaps I missed who those were later on (it's still kind of a mystery to me).
December 4, 2017
These are interesting, light mysteries whose protagonist is a genealogist and local historian who lives in a town resembling Kimmswick, Mo. Torie O'Shea allies with the sheriff and uses research to uncover the killer of an antique dealer who had very old French manuscripts. A fun read.
January 3, 2022
Better than first in the series. She is clearly more comfortable with character. I also enjoyed the connection with the Knights Templar and the Merovingian bloodline. Not absurd as Dan Browns and solidly based on fact.
April 9, 2018
This is the first book I have read in this series and I enjoyed it very much. I finished it in 2 days because I kept going back to it wanting to see how it turned out.
June 18, 2019
I enjoyed this so very much. Because of the little personal touches in Torie's character, not so much the geneology aspect.
October 17, 2020
Nice enjoyable light reading - like Hardy Boys for grown up female genealogists! Reading the whole series now.
January 19, 2020
Torie is uneasy about the death of Marie Dijon. Her fall down the cellar stairs could have been an accident, but Marie wasn't alone when it happened, and then someone digs up her coffin.
Documents that Torie comes across in Marie's house has Torie refreshing her knowledge of French kings and missing heirs, while some, who may be willing to murder, mean to get ahold of treasure.
Documents that Torie comes across in Marie's house has Torie refreshing her knowledge of French kings and missing heirs, while some, who may be willing to murder, mean to get ahold of treasure.
September 21, 2018
A fine mystery. I enjoy the main characters and setting.
November 2, 2018
There's a lot of possible bad guys in this. I didn't figure it out. Fun read!
January 19, 2019
A really clever plot twist, well done. Torie mends fences with the sheriff who is dating her mom. A great, clever read. Probably my favorite mystery series.
January 24, 2019
The genealogy was too complicated for me to follow but it was very enjoyable. The characters are likable and the writing is easy.
June 28, 2019
Torie loves a good mystery! She finally settles her disputes with the sheriff and they seem to work together, at least better than I expected.
February 22, 2022
A bit of cussing
July 30, 2023
Not much substance that I could discern.
June 17, 2024
A library find.
June2024.
A quick light read.
Enjoyable.
June2024.
A quick light read.
Enjoyable.
July 18, 2011
A light and easy genealogical mystery. Although sometimes the language, especially in the beginning, is silly (Torie having long conversations with herself about nothing; her daughter running into a house in one sentence and the next she's suddenly back holding hands with Torie at the door, etc.), the characters are lovable and grow on you. The mystery is OK. Marie, a woman who had lived in New Kassel for 2 years, is found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Was it an accident, or murder? Marie's sisters, some strange unknown men, hidden treasure, a family legacy, some documents written in code all play into the storyline. I wasn't quite satified with how the different strands of the story were tied up, but it was OK. I most liked the back story of Sylvia (a cranky old woman who is Torie's boss and secretly very generous with her money and helps whoever needs it) and how she discovers the truth about the gentleman who left her a million dollars when he died.
November 18, 2014
In the second installment of the Torie O'Shea Genealogical Mystery series by Rett MacPherson, Torie returned in A Veiled Antiquity. As an amateur sleuth and a genealogist, her dad couldn't get much worse. Gossip have been spread about her wheelchair-bound mother was having an affair with the local sheriff. In order to hush the local rumors, newly pregnant Torie ended up discovering the dead body of Marie Dijon in her own basement. Now it was up to Torie to discover the roots of Marie's family tree to piece together the murder, when Oktoberfest came to their sleepy New Kassel town. Torie visited Marie's home, she discovered French documents and hidden treasures to realize Marie was murdered. ..
October 24, 2009
The last one of my grown-up Nancy Drew books. Maybe I will read more at some other time. Torie O'Shea, (Victory) genealogist and amateur sleuth, is having a killer of a day. The town gossip spreads the word that her sweet wheelchair-bound mother is having an affair--with the sheriff? Then quiet Marie Dijon is found dead at the foot of her basement stairs. Did she fall? Was she pushed. Torie sets out to answer all of the questions and of course finds the solutions to all of the town's problems. It was a quick read only about 200 pages, but as the others were, it was fun and I enjoyed reading all of them. I know there are more, but maybe some other day I will find them.
January 3, 2013
MacPherson writes chatty mysteries set in a quaint Missouri town overlooking the Mississippi River. Amateur sleuth Victory "Torie" O'Shea works for the local history society as a researcher and tour guide.
Amazon recommended this series to me several years ago. The first book, Family Skeletons, wasn't all that great but when I found a cheap used copy of the second book I decided to give MacPherson another look. I won't make that mistake again but, if you enjoyed Nancy Drew as a child, you might enjoy the Torie O'Shea mysteries. There are similarities. Alas, neither Nancy nor Torie is a character with whom I can connect.
Amazon recommended this series to me several years ago. The first book, Family Skeletons, wasn't all that great but when I found a cheap used copy of the second book I decided to give MacPherson another look. I won't make that mistake again but, if you enjoyed Nancy Drew as a child, you might enjoy the Torie O'Shea mysteries. There are similarities. Alas, neither Nancy nor Torie is a character with whom I can connect.
June 24, 2013
I did not read the first installment of this series. This was a library book club chosen book. I like to think that it expands my boarders. I will read something that I would of not picked up on my own.
This reminded me of a cross between Joann Fluke and Debbie Macomber novel.
I have a hard time with Genealogy in the first place. I was quite bored reading this book. Not much really happens at all. It was mostly a lot of small town drama. Although Camille was a surprise. But she was acting so weird that it was a pretty red flag waving over her head.
The. Sylvia's side story! Ugh. Who cares??
This reminded me of a cross between Joann Fluke and Debbie Macomber novel.
I have a hard time with Genealogy in the first place. I was quite bored reading this book. Not much really happens at all. It was mostly a lot of small town drama. Although Camille was a surprise. But she was acting so weird that it was a pretty red flag waving over her head.
The. Sylvia's side story! Ugh. Who cares??
June 24, 2015
For me, this series is a personal favorite for a lot of biased reasons. The setting is a fictionalized version of a small town in Missouri that isn't far from where I live. The humor suits me. The fierce town-historian turned sleuth wears things like, "my bright orange sweatshirt with the white ghosts and black cats on it" while going to confront a potential killer. Our heroine is pretty much everything my 10-year-old self would have loved to be. If I'm being technical, then yes, I felt there were some loose ends at the conclusion. But I still plan on reading every single book in this series with glee.
December 3, 2008
This outing in the Tori O'Shea mystery series was a little too complicated for my taste. I thought of Davinci Code as I read it, though it wasn't nearly That convoluted. This is the second in the series, and it wasn't the best, in my opinion. Still, it was a fun read and didn't involve too much concentration. I love the relationships in these books. All the townspeople and her family are people you'd want around you. I can always visualize people we've known.
July 16, 2016
I'm not sure why, but this is the second genealogy-thriller author who places their story in or around New Orleans and along the Mississippi. But I do like the descriptions of the people and area in addition to the history that is involved, so maybe it is that history which draws the authors to use this backdrop.
I enjoyed the book, with its twists and turns, not to mention the colorful characters.
I enjoyed the book, with its twists and turns, not to mention the colorful characters.
July 31, 2020
Quirky characters and great setting made me fall in love with this book at first BUT my high opinion came crashing down toward the end as the actual mystery part of the book is poorly done. The resolution was out of left field and involved a character who had barely been touched upon throughout the bulk of the book as well as crazy insights and connections from the protagonist that seemed forced rather than natural.
January 24, 2010
I like Torie and her family and friends and I really like the combining of genealogy with a mystery so yes, I enjoyed this book.
It was a bit far-fetched, bringing in The Man in the Iron Mask, French royalty and long lost treasure but it was a lot of fun to read. Oh, and Torie is starting to come to terms with her Mom's new beau, the Sheriff!
I'll keep going with this series.
It was a bit far-fetched, bringing in The Man in the Iron Mask, French royalty and long lost treasure but it was a lot of fun to read. Oh, and Torie is starting to come to terms with her Mom's new beau, the Sheriff!
I'll keep going with this series.
January 18, 2013
Despite a rather unsatisfactory ending, this historical/genealogical mystery, second in a series, is delightful. Torie O'Shea helps at the New Kassel historical society and does genealogical and historical research, when she's not dealing with her rambunctious family. When a local woman dies in a fall, Torie finds herself in the woman's house and raises questions about how accidental it was.
November 27, 2013
I found this Torie O'Shea entry very entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and all the shenanigans that revolved around it. I love Torie, her family and all the New Kassel denizens. The mystery was well thought out and complex enough to keep me guessing. I read this entry out of order but it didn't seem to matter one bit. Recommended.
April 21, 2009
Average little cozy mystery featuring Torie O'Shea. As usual, nosy Torie involves herself in what appears to be an accidental death of Marie Djion. However, Marie's family tree and old French documents lead Torie to believe Marie was murdered.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews