KATE SEES AURAS THAT PREDICT DEATH…in Carrie Bedford’s slightly psychic take on the traditional British mystery all wrapped up in a DaVinci Code-like puzzle… and running on an international adventure, ticking off picturesque locales from London to a Venetian palace and the Tuscan countryside, pausing just long enough for a quick tour of Florence’s Duomo, with danger dogging every step.
What began as a quiet Friday night dinner date with an old childhood friend turns into a manhunt when Kate arrives at the rendezvous just in time to find her friend Ethan leaving in a taxi. Kate is alarmed to see the distinctive swirling pattern above his head that only she can see, and that she has come to recognize as a portent of imminent and mortal danger. When Ethan’s disappearance is followed by a series of cryptic text messages, Kate goes looking for him at his sister’s house in Florence, Italy, but it’s immediately clear that whatever danger threatened Ethan in London has followed Kate to Italy–his sister Claire has a matching aura! Soon Kate and Claire are on the run, constantly watched and followed, repeatedly threatened and attacked … never knowing who they can trust. Apparently not even the carabinieri, who are now following them also!
An ancient book that was given to Claire and Ethan’s grandfather after the close of World War II holds the key to Ethan’s disappearance and the source of the danger indicated by Claire’s ever-present aura. Until all the pieces come together – the book, a hidden key, a diagram, and a cypher that Kate will need help decoding – Kate and her friends are safe; but then their tormentors – whoever they are – will have no reason to keep them alive.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the fast-paced action and exotic locales of The Florentine Cipher. It is an edge-of-your-seat page turner.” —Terri Reid, author of the Mary O’Reilly Paranormal Mystery Series.
“An intense, edge of your seat mystery, with just the right amount of paranormal twist I’m always looking for.” —M.P. McDonald, author of the Mark Taylor Mystery Series
WHO ELSE WILL LIKE IT: Anyone looking for a new, fresh female sleuth, as well as fans of paranormal suspense, traditional (yet not too cozy) stories, contemporary British women detectives like the ones found on the BBC’s ROSEMARY AND THYME and MURDER IN SUBURBIA, and mysteries with a metaphysical twist, like Kay Hooper’s Bishop Files series, Iris Johansen’s THE PERFECT WITNESS, and Heather Graham’s Krewe of Hunters books.
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Carrie Bedford – Kate Benedict Bk 3 – The Florentine Cypher – Reviewed 10/10/16 – Read 9/30-10/2/16
LOOK OUT, DEATH! YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE!
KATE SEES AURAS THAT PREDICT DEATH…in Carrie Bedford’s slightly psychic take on the traditional British mystery all wrapped up in a DaVinci Code-like puzzle…
London architect Kate Benedict’s weekend begins with “Follow that cab!” and takes us off and running on an international adventure, ticking off picturesque locales from London to a Venetian palace and the Tuscan countryside, pausing just long enough for a quick tour of Florence’s Duomo, with danger dogging every step. What began as a quiet Friday night dinner date with an old childhood friend turns into a manhunt when Kate arrives at the rendezvous just in time to find her friend Ethan leaving in a taxi. Kate is alarmed to see the distinctive swirling pattern above his head that only she can see, and that she has come to recognize as a portent of imminent and mortal danger. When Ethan’s disappearance is followed by a series of cryptic text messages, Kate goes looking for him at his sister’s house in Florence, Italy, but it’s immediately clear that whatever danger threatened Ethan in London has followed Kate to Italy–his sister Claire has a matching aura! Soon Kate and Claire are on the run, constantly watched and followed, repeatedly threatened, and attacked … never knowing who they can trust. Apparently not even the carabinieri, who are now following them also! An ancient book that was given to Claire and Ethan’s grandfather after the close of World War II holds the key to Ethan’s disappearance and the source of the danger indicated by Claire’s ever-present aura. Until all the pieces come together – the book, a hidden key, a diagram, and a cypher that Kate will need help decoding – Kate and her friends are safe; but then their tormentors – whoever they are – will have no reason to keep them alive.
“I received this for being an advanced reader for the author. Besides getting all the good books in advance of hitting the market and have the opportunity to share my remarks, I love being part of the team that works with authors as they share each new book that they pen”.
What did I like? I love to find a new female sleuth and of course, everyone already knows that I am a fan of the paranormal especially time travel. This was really a great story that also included some very interesting plays on history. I fell in love with the main character and realized that I also had the first book of this series that I have not had time to read. Guess what I am reading it now and will be looking for the second one I am sure. You can check back to see my reviews of them later. Now about Kate, she is very refreshing as compared to others that I have read. I loved the paranormal aspect of the story giving this a really unusual twist. Wouldn’t it be great if we could see that and then be able to help those people away from death if we could; not to change their fate but to truly help? Then again as Kate said it could really be a burden that maybe no one would really want but it sure made this story really interesting.
What are you going to like? The first thing that you are going to love is the details of the locale. I have read lots of books in my time and am very familiar with the areas talked about in this book but I was amazed at the descriptions and details that the author took the time to describe. I really felt like I was there watching from overhead. It makes a book so much more interesting if you can connect not only to the characters but to the place that they are in. The next thing would of course the characters! Kate is unique in that she was so normal but yet she could roll with the quirkiness of Claire. Claire is the type of girl that you just want to smack and yet you have to love her in her peculiar way because of her upbringing. This really added such a great aspect to the storyline. Additionally, I loved the makeup of the group, the closeness and intricate involvement of the brothers to the girls. The storyline is very involved yet really simple, but you can definitely see the amount of research that was done to bring the quality of the story to the reader. I can absolutely recommend this book and you will not be able to put it down till the last page is turned.
WHO ELSE WILL LIKE IT: Anyone looking for a new, fresh female sleuth, as well as fans of paranormal suspense, traditional (yet not too cozy) stories, contemporary British women detectives like the ones found on the BBC’s ROSEMARY AND THYME and MURDER IN SUBURBIA, and mysteries with a metaphysical twist, like Kay Hooper’s Bishop Files series, Iris Johansen’s THE PERFECT WITNESS, and Heather Graham’s Krewe of Hunters books.
• File Size: 3611 KB
• Print Length: 280 pages
• Publication Date: September 30, 2016
• Publisher: booksBnimble Mysteries
• ASIN: B01LYSCEK8
• Genre: Psychic Mysteries, Traditional Detectives Mysteries
@ddeegott
I love this series. Kate Benedict is a wonderful character. I started this series with book 4 which takes place in Scotland which is why I choose to read it. I was unsure about the Death Aura thing but gave the book a try. I was hooked and have now read books 1-3 too. I would recommend giving this series a try even if like me you are sceptical of the aura thing 🙂 I hope there will be a book 5 and I hope Carrie Bedford takes us to another wonderful city Ireland would be fun just saying.