La morte negli occhi

Bernadette Saint Claire #1

by Terri Persons, C. Converso (Traduttore)

Tipo riservato, Bernadette Saint Clare è un'agente dell'FBI. Piglio mascolino, modi bruschi e la fama che la precede non ne fanno una beniamina tra i colleghi. Infatti ciò che la rende un personaggio scomodo è l'aura di cupo mistero che avvolge i suoi metodi d'indagine. Chiamata a risolvere casi sempre più torbidi dove il reale sembra sconfinare nel soprannaturale, la donna pare dotata di poteri inquietanti: "visioni" che la portano attraverso un processo psichicamente devastante a vedere con gli occhi dell'assassino. E' per uno scottante incarico che viene trasferita nel Minnesota, sulle tracce di un killer che amputa la mano destra delle sue vittime, lasciandole morire dissanguate. Sola e sempre più sotto pressione, Bernadette piomba in un tunnel dove spesso la realtà si confonde con le spaventose ombre della sua mente. Chi sono il misterioso e inquisitorio frate che la paralizza nel buio di una chiesa e lo strano vicino di casa che le sussurra dritte sinistramente azzeccate?

Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Thriller, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Audiobook

407 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Aka Theresa Monsour

A first time author, Terri Persons delivers detail with the adept touch of big name authors who have been doing this for years. She was a reporter and freelance magazine writer, and lives in the Midwest with her husband and two sons.

Reviews

[Terence M [on a brief semi-hiatus] · Rating 1 out of 5]

Audiobook - 9:50 hours - Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
FBI Agent Bernadette Saint Clare's gift of sight allows her to see things others can't. I am one of the "others" - I couldn't see/hear anything that encouraged me to finish this book.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
A very good mystery and an FBI agent with a special gift that drives her co-workers nuts... I am really looking forward to reading more books in the series.

[Shiela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise (having the ability to see through the eyes of a serial killer) but the newly discovered ability (talking/seeing/mating with the dead) was a little random and did not really add to the book. Maybe Persons just kind of added this feature in at the end to set her character up for the following books? I don't know but I would have enjoyed this book a lot more without it.

I did however enjoy the police procedural aspects of the hunt and Agent St. Claire's ability to see through the eyes of a serial killer added to the usual standard methods of investigation. Insight into her personal life, as well as the serial killer's life added flair to the book as well. I will definitely be checking out the 2 following titles in the series.

[Valissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

well, poot. I was really hoping that this would be better. strangely appealing premise, and moderately interesting criminal, oh, and a very intriguing main character cliff-hanger, but even added all together, felt like a freshman effort.

[Andrea]

Started out well, but something about the rather self-pitying tone of the narrator put me off - and there was a constant jumping back and forth to the flow of events which made me lose interest. Not a fan of the religious debate as presented, either.

[Louise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Silly book...silly premise...silly writing.

[Faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Audiobook). While this story aspires to be a whodunit and a whydunit, it falls far short: the plot was feasible but formulaic and easily deciphered. I liked the basic characteristics of the protagonist in terms of appearance, skills, and talents, but several times while listening, I emphatically called her an "idiot" out loud. The cast is simple with only three (okay, 4) characters. This book is not a police procedural and it is not by any stretch forensics fiction. I would call it a good old-fashioned murder mystery that can be enjoyed by those not encumbered by science or sense. Young Adults would be a more appropriate audience were it not for the more ghastly aspects of the story; in fact, I would characterize it as a gruesome Nancy Drew. I did not find the author to be skilled in the craft of writing. However, I'm giving this book 3 stars because the author did successfully set the groundwork for a series and I closed the book anxious to know what will happen next.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be honest. I picked this up because I saw if available from the library and I wanted a murder book for some light reading. The clincher was that there was a quote by John Sanford on the cover. While I don't think that this is the same caliber as John Sanford, Terri Persons writing is solid; it's not overly cheesy or at too low of a reading level as is sometimes the case with mystery thrillers. I enjoyed the mystery, and I didn't find the inclusion of the psychic powers of the protagonist too "whoowhoo," (every technical term, I know) until the end when it was revealed that Bernadette can see ghosts??. I found this book enjoyable enough that I wouldn't mind picking up the next book to see if the supernatural aspect stays at a level I enjoy, or if it becomes too much.

[JadeShea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bernadette is an FBI agent being sent to another office, she gets this a lot all because of her special "gift" she has. In this one, she must try to find the killer before it is too late, but she's a lot closer to him than she realizes.

This book has good characters, and a very interesting story, plus it has a psychic. But the thing with the ghost was annoying and something I didn't like at all. Then there's the fact that the heroine seemed stupid about certain things, but she eventually trusted her instincts, so that was good. I do look forward to reading more.

[Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that this was set in St Paul, MN. It takes place in literally places I’ve been to. I liked Bernadette St. Clair’s character and her boss Tony Garcia. But toward the end of this book, when they were pursuing the killer priest, just sort of dragged on. I am still trying to figure out the sex with the ghost guy, Augie. I didn’t hate this book but I was glad to finally finish it.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story with a touch of paranormal. This book introduces Bernadette who us able to see through three eyes of the killer. In a new role, in a new city, she works to prove herself as a real detective. She can use her sight to help with regular police work. I like her and the story.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

An FBI agent uses her unique talents to solve cases. The baddie in this one appears to be a priest taking out sinners.

[Amy Phelps · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good story. I liked the main character. Her gift is not unique but she is. I liked the fact that her new boss even though he was skeptical was not dismissive.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out very slow- I very nearly stopped trying to get into it when it picked up and got interesting.

It gets 3 stars because of its slow start- the series has potential.

[Christine Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing special FBI thriller.

[Melanie Peak · Rating 5 out of 5]

first time reading this author and I loved it. great storyline and loved the characters. Cant wait to read the next in the series.

[Matt Kolbet · Rating 2 out of 5]

For someone with special sight, the narrator seems to overlook a lot.

[barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I applaud Terri Persons for writing such an entertaining and captivating mystery. I especially loved the heroine, FBI Agent Bernadette Saint Clare ("Cat"); an interesting and complex character, who happens to have a special gift. You can't help but like her. She’s deep, has spunk, and a little attitude. I also like that she’s not a big “know-it-all,” parading her gift, her accolades, or putting on airs. She is who she is: a female agent good at her job.

Cat is able to see through a killer's eyes when she holds an object of theirs (hence her nickname). Her gift has helped her solve quite a few crimes. Unfortunately, it's not always 100% accurate. Regardless, the FBI doesn't know how or wants to deal with her. Not to mention they find her strange. The fact that she has one blue eye and one brown eye doesn't help. Their solution is to send her to an office in another city, away from them. This only lasts for a little while as every office she ends up in eventually reassigns her to another city. This time she's ended up in Minnesota, where she grew up. She’s got a new office in the basement, a new boss, a new condo, and a very strange neighbour (with a lovable dog) who lives right above her in the penthouse.

Someone is killing off criminals. Criminals who have committed horrific crimes, but were not punished, according to the killer, to the fullest extent. The killer believes it is his job to execute each one. Although illegal, I could almost empathize (just a little) with the killer (at the beginning only) who is a vigilante, executing those who he believes deserve it, all in the name of God. As I read on, any empathy I did have quickly disappeared. At one point, the killer shoots a raccoon for no reason; watching it explode all over the place. Talk about gruesome and disturbing. These words come to mind frequently throughout.

It's up to Cat and her boss, Agent Tony Garcia, to stop the killer.

It's Persons writing style that really makes the novel. She’s not over-descriptive; and the story moves at a good pace. Once I started the book, I couldn’t stop as it never let up. I ended up reading it in one sitting. She's created a story with complex and interesting characters, which includes a very disturbing and monstrous killer.

In the end, a suspenseful and enjoyable read. I look forward to reading the next two books in the series, and hope they’re just as good as “Blind Spot.”

[Amanda Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first installment of the Bernadette Saint Clare series, “Blind Spot” introduces us to a strong female FBI agent who has a special gift that is both disbelieved and revered.
Saint Clare has just been transferred to the basement office in the St. Paul, Minnesota FBI field office. She fears her new assignment in an out-of-the-way city, in the dark and deserted basement, is due to the special skills she employs to help catch the bad guys.
Saint Clare has the gift of second sight. Thanks to her twin sister who died in a car crash as a teenager, as a twist of fate Saint Clare has been gifted with the ability to see through the eyes of killers, in real time. This ability oftentimes helps Saint Clare find the killer, yet sometimes impairs the hunt if she misinterprets what she envisions.
Saint Clare is still mourning the suicide of her husband when she moves to St. Paul to accept her new position. She moves into an old apartment building where her landlord lives upstairs and frequently visits her along with his ever-present dog.
Saint Clare’s only other social outlet is with her attractive and single boss, Tony Garcia. Garcia frequently drops in on Saint Clare, sometimes bringing dinner over to her house. The romantic foreshadowing is a nice touch to their professional relationship, as is the fact that Garcia actually believes in Saint Clare’s psychic abilities and encourages her to use them.
This mystery revolves around a man whose family was brutally murdered when he was a child, and as an adult he failed in becoming a priest. His anger at both pivotal events in his life has turned him into a vigilante who tortures and murders people who he feels are evil.
I had read the second book in this series a while back and was interested enough to want to pick up this book to catch up on the back story. I was not disappointed. I will also be sure to pick up the third installment in this series and be on the lookout for future books about Saint Claire, her interesting landlord and her attractive boss.

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is a table, smack dab in the middle of the library I go to, promoting over twenty "reader's choice" books. You read, you vote, and if you read enough your name is entered into a drawing for a prize. I first noticed the table when Shannon Hale's Austenland was displayed but hadn't heard of any of the other titles or authors before. Thinking to myself that I liked Austenland so, perhaps I would like the others as well.

This is not a good table for me. Karma Girl, which was my first selection from the table, seems to have only brought bad reading Karma. None of these books are horrible, just none very good either. And I can't help wondering why libraries are promoting "just o.k" books. Aren't they supposed to be professionals?

Blind Spot is about a female FBI detective, Bernadette St. Clair, who has been able to "see" what killers see ever since her twin was killed by a drunk driver. The FBI, embarrassed by her, but unwilling to dismiss her gift, moves her around from town to town to solve difficult homicide cases. The trouble is, since she can only see what the killer sees, she doesn't usually know what the killer looks like, unless he or she happens to look in a mirror. In addition, she doesn't know when her visions are occurring, as in real time, or not. As a result, she has made mistakes in cases before, making her crime solving skills a liability.

All this I can handle. The premise is interesting enough. What makes this book subpar is that the author goes a step too far in making odd Bernadette into a crazy, ridiculous, way-too-unlikely-to-be-real character. Besides that, the reader knows who the killer is very early on in the book, so the chapters describing her visions are unnecessary - the narrator already took us there.

Anti climatic with a far fetched ending, I can't recommend this one.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone has heard that twins have a special connection. When Bernadette Saint Clare and her sister were young, they developed a special talent – they could see through each other’s eyes. Then, her sister died in a car accident and somehow Bernadette’s vision was transferred to that of her sister’s killer. Now, Bernadette can see through murderers’ eyes and uses her talent to help her in her job as an FBI agent. After being transferred to yet another new office, Bernadette finds herself in an odd situation. Her new supervisor seems to believe in her ability. On her first day in St. Paul, Minnesota, two boys find a hand while fishing; a body is discovered that afternoon in the woods. The first problem is that the hand is that of a woman and the body is that of a man. The second problem is that just one month ago, a hunting dog brought home a severed hand and a body was discovered shortly thereafter. Bernadette’s gift leads her to a serial killer hell-bent on his own form of retribution. Although the “psychic” detective is appearing quite often lately, it’s still a concept that I find intriguing. Persons’ thrilling debut makes a great stand-alone, but I sincerely hope, and suspect, that we will see more of Bernadette Saint Clare in the future.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been awhile since I read a straight mystery and figured that the one I picked up should be good. Blind Spot works on a premise of an FBI agent named Bernadette Saint Clare who has....well, I'm not sure. She's capable of seeing what killers see, apparently as it happens.

While this was a good mystery, the main mystery was the sketchiness of Saint Clare's gift. Not many folks believe her, so she's shuffled to a basement in MN. Her new boss may or may not be behind her with her visions.

She, herself, admits to many problems with the visions. She's pursued the wrong people, taken the wrong path to solve crimes. So I'm confused as to why her character is constantly jumping to conclusions. Just because you see a person in a hospital doesn't make them a doctor. This part of Saint Clare's character just really bugged me.

I see that there is a new book out to continue the characters from Blind Spot. I'll be sure to read it just to see if some of the sketchiness goes away. Saint Clare would be, could be, a really great female lead if the kinks are worked out.

[Weston Kincade · Rating 3 out of 5]

FBI Agent Bernadette Saint Clare is a troubled woman striving to find her place in a world of skeptics. Her story is compelling, if not fully believable at times. This plot was interesting and a somewhat entertaining read, but I never found my heartbeat racing, cared for Bernadette enough to really worry, and, unfortunately, most of it was predictable. There were a couple instances in which surprised me, but only slightly. (I won't say which here because I don't wish to spoil the fun.) The story is entertaining and I would recommend reading it if you have time to spare, but don't expect to fall in love with the protagonist. For some odd reason, I found myself worrying more about her boss at one particular instant more than I did about Bernadette. Bernadette's upstairs neighbor is certainly an interesting character though and I found the story's antagonist to be most intriguing, his troubled past altering his future for the worst. Parts of this story reminded me of the Davinci Code for this very reason.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bernadette St. Clare is an FBI agent with a special talent. If she holds an object that belonged to a victim she can see through the killer's eyes. This makes her a "strange cookie" so to speak with fellow agents and other law enforcement officers.

She was transferred to St. Paul in a dank, closed basement office. She feels she is being punished and people don't want to work with her because of her 'sight'. Tony Garcia is her supervisor and wants to believe in what she can do but is skeptical.

Soon after she arrives bodies with their hands cut off start appearing. Soon it is discovered that all of the victims had done something wrong in their past. The reader can actually feel Tony sitting on the fence as to whether he should believe the leads that Bernadette discovers with her gift or not.

The tension builds as they get closer to discovering who the murderer is and both of them could die in the last battle.

There is also a building relationship with a new neighbor of Bernadette's but I feel that situation has been over done in some paranormal books.

[Laura Elisabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bernedette St Claire is a supernatural detective in much the same vein as Ghost Whisperer or Medium. A FBI agent, the agency wants her to use her power of "seeing" through a killer's eyes but also are suspicious of her abilities. She has the typically dark and painful past (and a particularly odd and unlikely one at that) and the typically prickly demeanor. The writing is plodding at times, especially when Persons is describing St Claire's route across the city street-by-street and the characters are fairly bland. Nonetheless, the mystery plot is serviceable for a quick read and an (admittedly pretty basic) final plot twist sets up the continuing series. This one won't offer many surprises, but ties together its plot into a satisfying conclusion and would likely appeal to those who like a supernatural element with their strong female heroines.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book as a recommendation from my local library. I love mystery and CSI-type stuff so I had high expectations for this book. However, the plot, while entertaining enough, lacked substance and the climax really fizzled out. I'd hoped for more.

** Spoiler Below **

The last chapter of the book is what caused me to give it 2 stars instead of 3. It went from psychic CSI to Sixth Sense and "I see dead people." Give me a break! At least the plot was plausible until then. Why ruin the book with having sex with a ghost? Gah. I wouldn't recommend this book to my friends, but if you are in to that sort of thing, go for it.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

book on tape.

Agent "Cat" of FBI has visions. I skipped forward.
more of the supernatural than i enjoy for recreational reading.
she becomes involved with her new upstairs neighbor. But there's something about him she can't quite put her finger on, especially when he offers her a key clue to the killer's identity.
A complex novel filled with quirky characters on the right and wrong sides of the law, Blind Spot reminds us that life is filled with leaps of faith both great and small.
i liked the author's style but, for me, the supernatural did get in the way.

[Leya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little skeptical about this novel. There's only so many paranormal type books that one can read before they start dreading the idea of another psychic gifted hero or heroine. I do have to say that this heroine completely surprised me. She's so different from the others. She sees things from the eyes of the criminals. Amazing!

Aside from the great heroine, the other aspect that had me glued was the way that whatever the author threw at me, I still wanted to read more. Yes, there were several ewww moments but I kept on reading, enjoying every little bit of it.

[Smoochys · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is your normal FBI mystery except that the lead investigator has a physical anomaly where she can see through the killer's eyes by touching an item that he or she has recently used. The skill isn't always perfect and apparently everyone knows about her little quirk and they think that she's a little off.

I found the agent's complaints about others making fun of her stupid. It's not like anyone had to ever know about her second sight - even though she claims that people just 'picked up on it'. If you let that part go the mystery is okay.