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The Aura: A Kate Benedict Paranormal Mystery (The Kate Benedict Series Book 1) by [Carrie Bedford]

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Carrie Bedford

The Aura: A Kate Benedict Paranormal Mystery (The Kate Benedict Series Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Carrie Bedford (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

431 ratings

Book 1 of 6: The Kate Benedict Series

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The FIRST book in the Kate Benedict paranormal mystery series.
SHE KNOWS WHO'S GOING TO DIE! BUT NO ONE WILL BELIEVE HER...
Life spins out of control for London architect Kate Benedict when she sees a dancing aura above certain people’s heads that seems to signal death. Suddenly she’s psychic. But that can't be! Psychic’s not acceptable in her circle, where the supernatural is strictly for the superstitious. And yet…people are dying. People close to her.

Kate's tentative attempts to talk about her new-found metaphysical gift are met with eye rolls, so much so that she can’t even tell the nice Scotland Yard detective who's investigating the death of a close friend, Rebecca Williams. And now Rebecca’s neighbor has an aura.

So what's Kate to do but try to save him by turning detective herself? A break-in and attack on her boyfriend confirm that the murderer’s catching on that Kate knows too much. But he (or maybe she) has no idea that what Kate knows is a little on the paranormal side.

Fans of traditional British mysteries (and female sleuths) will love watching competent, reasonable Kate try to harness supernatural abilities she not only doesn't understand, she doesn't even believe in! And those who love international mysteries will particularly enjoy the vivid scenes in Italy, where the story begins and, in some ways, ends.

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.

"Carrie Bedford is a real find, and The Aura is engaging paranormal suspense ... Bedford is a fine writer, an accomplished novelist, and a terrific storyteller whose characters ring true and pull us deep into the mystery." -Shelley Singer, author of the Jake Samson-Rosie Vicente mystery series and Torch Song, first in the Blackjack near-future thriller series.

"...a terrific book with a likable protagonist, skilled plotting and a supernatural spin. This gripping mystery had me hooked from the first chapter." -Janet Dawson, author of the Jeri Howard series

Print length

303 pages
Language

English
Publication date

September 7, 2014
File size

4914 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

After winning the Greater London Essay Competition in her teens, Carrie has spent a lifetime writing for pleasure and business. Over the last thirty years, she has published articles in technology and business journals, served as editor for a magazine publisher, and more recently co-owned and managed a Silicon Valley public relations firm. She has an Honors degree in English Language and Literature from Manchester University in England. Carrie grew up in London and has lived in Switzerland, France, Spain and Italy. An enthusiastic traveler, she draws on her experiences in her writing. She wrote her debut novel, Nobilissima, while living in Italy, where she researched the life and times of the Empress Placidia. The Aura is set in London and Florence. She now lives in California with her husband, their two daughters, two yellow labs and a calico cat who assists in edit cycles by taking random walks on the keyboard. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN : B00MV3HQL0
Publisher : booksBnimble (September 7, 2014)
Publication date : September 7, 2014
Language : English
File size : 4914 KB
Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 303 pages
Lending : Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #94,884 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #570 in Psychic Suspense
- #726 in Women's Detective Fiction
- #809 in Psychic Mysteries

Customer Reviews:
431 ratings

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3 star		12%
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Top reviews from the United States

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May Max

Where's the suspense?

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2016

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Here we follow Kate who can see auras of people who are close to death. She gets involved in a murder investigation, bothers her brother, her dad, and some poor dude who seems to like her. I have to admit, I found the book very boring and if I weren't stubborn, I wouldn't have finished it.

Here's what I liked: The cover. It was edited. I think the author is a Chelsea fan.

Here's what I didn't like: Kate. She seems like the type of person who has to be constantly sad and the center of attention at the same time. She has no consideration for others and will just do something if the idea gets in her head. She doesn't appreciate it when people disagree with her, either. She loves drama. I just could not get to like her at all.
The mystery solving was boring. It consisted mainly of her worrying about this or that, and then questioning Clarke. It wasn't thrilling.
It didn't feel very British. I wanted to be transported to London, and I wasn't. With only a few references to the underground, a football team, and Hyde park, this could have happened in Any Town, USA. That was a disappointment, especially when she referred to football as soccer. I'm an American, I get the feeling that the book was aimed at an American audience, but we know soccer is called football everywhere else in the world.
Overall, I found the entire book was anti-climatic.

28 people found this helpful

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Dena W.

Anticlimactic!

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2018

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This book had great potential but the author failed to execute. One of the most poorly crafted stories I’ve ever read. Every time it seemed something exciting was about to happen, the story just seemed to resolve itself with no satisfaction for the reader. SPOILER ALERT: The most dramatic scene in the book is cut short by a very poorly written car accident followed by a villain having a panic attack. The editor should have told the author to go back to the drawing board to flesh this story out.

12 people found this helpful

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fb-guy

Strong Characters, Fast Paced Twisting Plot

Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2014

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I found the characters to be very believable and interesting, which makes this "paranormal" mystery work for me. The heroine, Kate, is a real flesh and blood person with authentic inner conflicts, and she's very likable and capable -- I think you will enjoy her. The story moves forward briskly, with surprising twists and turns -- which keeps you wanting to read more. If you like travelogue details, I think you will also enjoy the scenes the writer paints of modern London, Florence and the Tuscan countryside. Ms. Bedford obviously knows those places, and she does a good job of contrasting them and bringing them to life.

I would highly recommend The Aura, and I'm looking forward to seeing what Kate gets up to in future novels. Well done.

28 people found this helpful

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Michael McLarnon

the Aura rocks

Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2014

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A very well written mystery with a paranormal twist. The author is a master of painting the scenes so the reader can feel as if they are there. The story has both pathois and joy. And, a big bonus, for a newer author, a book that is not riddled with grammar or spelling errors.

A very good story from a great writer. Look forward for the next book from her.

18 people found this helpful

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C Thilmany

Interesting concept

Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2015

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After an incident where her mother appears to her after passing over 6 months prior, Kate’s head takes a hard knock and she’s now seeing the auras on some folk and it appears the clearer she can see it, the higher the risk of them dying in the very near future. When a friend dies Kate feels guilt that she hadn’t been able to stop the death and is convinced that she’d been murdered. So this story is two-fold; the first is understanding what she’s seeing and what she can do about, and the other is the mystery into her friend’s death.

What Kate goes through is difficult between the constant guilt and fear she carries as well as the weird fact that the concept of the metaphysical or paranormal seems so odd to most other characters in the story. Kudos to the author for making the reader feel Kate’s emotions, but dang, a good chunk of the story felt depressing.

I thought the mystery aspect of it was nicely twisted as is how Kate got the clues; I certainly didn’t see the who and why until it was revealed.

4 people found this helpful

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Friend Bryan

I am reading all of this series

Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2018

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I may be hopelessly out of order, having started with 4, then 2,, & now, 1. But I am absolutely looking forward to 3 next! And, really hookIng there are more after 4.
Uncharacteristically, that first, #4 was my favorite this far. So often it takes the first in a series to put everyone & everywhere in its place.
But instead, Each book here has stood alone as exciting reads with fascinating locale and relationships. I started reading this series less than 24 hours ago and don't begrudge a moment's list sleep;-)

2 people found this helpful

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RPurvis

i couldn't put it down!

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2016

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The Aura: A Kate Benedict Paranormal Mystery by Carrie Bedford

The Aura was an excellent book! It took place in England where the weather itself comes close to qualifying as a main character. Coming from a state where a good rain is almost enough to declare a state holiday, the descriptions of mist and rain and clouds and damp cold framed the story in an appropriately descriptive atmosphere. The plot line followed the sense of coldness, misty rain that both provided hiding for the bad guys and symbolized Kate's lack of clarity about her new "gift," which I'm sure she called a curse. The characters were well explained and relatable, even thought I sometimes disliked them. The mood was tense and suspenseful as the bodies dropped like flies. Kate struggled with her ability to live with seeing the auras given off by people who are going to die, even though she didn't seem able to change their fate. I had some suspicions as to who the killer was but the author was way ahead of me, coming up with an end that was both unexpected and satisfying. A very good book.

There was no explicit sex, little to no bad language and some violence. The writing was excellent and the plot was well thought out with good editing. I suggest you not start it unless you have some time to spend reading. . I found it exceedingly difficult to put down.

5 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Nicola Mills

Nearly a 2.5 star

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 21, 2018

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Thought this was a British book, and it’s set in London with British characters, but it’s written in American which was a bit weird. The main character is very flaky, and I felt this would have had more impact if we’d had some notion that before the current situation she’d been strong and sensible – as it is she pushes very close to being annoyingly high maintenance. However the plot moved along smartly and it was a very readable book.

2 people found this helpful

Lynda Kelly

Oh No.....One Aura Too Many Tipped It Over The Edge

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 10, 2016

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I was getting on well with this but then she suddenly threw in one aura too many and blew it for me. What a shame as till then it was on the right side of believable but once that happened it descended into a farce for me and it made it too nonsensical and farfetched. Kate had been quite the heroine till then but that turned her into a regular Jonah you'd never want to spend any time around !!
I had made it 33% in so I was liking it.
I did wonder at the American spellings in a story set over here and partly in Italy. That didn't work for me but the only errors I'd spotted were a random fullstop-"...pulling the sheet. back in place..." and she spelt papadum as pappadum so that was good going.
Such a pity she spoilt it by taking it that step too far for this realist !!

One person found this helpful

Kindle Customer

A modern Cassandra

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 5, 2016

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A decent plot, and the protagonist well-written - the reader can really feel Kate's frustration as she wonders what to do with this strange talent she has for seeing death-predictive auras, give that nobody of course will believe her. It was good to read a text that looked more at the social interaction (including trying to hold down a job) side of what it means to have a parapsychic ability rather than the usual cliched 'let's give the heroine a talent and then get her into lots of dangerous situations' approach. There is enough tension to keep you interested, although once or twice Kate's desire to tell you about people on the train who have absolutely no relation to the plot, or about nearly dropping her phone while doing the washing-up, for example, turn her into that slightly dopey aunt we all have who insists on sharing the most irritatingly mundane details of her life. Focus, Kate.

Sophie Cayeux

Such a pleasure to read her prose

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 4, 2014

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I love the idea that Kate sees auras that predict death and that she can prevent death from happening. I would favor more rescued victims... Lots of casualties, plenty of tension, Kate's narrow escape from murder, an intricate network of victims and assassins, a complex case to solve for attractive Inspector Clarke. Rather excessive for my sensitive soul......Carrie's prose is so eloquent that reading her descriptions of locations carries you on a journey to beautiful places. This why I love reading her. She obviously can tackle any genre of fiction. I enjoyed even more reading her first book Nobilissima, historical fiction, about a Roman Empress, Placidia.

3 people found this helpful

Kim

Gripping

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 12, 2019

Verified Purchase

Enjoyed this from start to finish, a real whodunnit that keeps you guessing until the end. Very well written, would highly recommend

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