NO MATTER WHERE SHE GOES, SHE SEES THE UNINVITED HOUSEGUEST--ALSO KNOWN AS THE AURA OF DEATH... London architect Kate Benedict is off to a glamorous weekend party in Scotland at the formerly grand castle belonging to the uncle of her boyfriend Josh. And thus is the scene set for a deliciously traditional British cozy with a touch of the paranormal thriller – complete with ghostly characters from the past; the requisite medieval weapons collection; and a creepy, ruined, closed-off wing of the castle.
There’s also a vaguely menacing assortment of servants and locals and a castleful of dodgy houseguests, all wrapped up in mysterious gloom as thick as the Scottish fog…but warmed by a cozy library fire and a nearly priceless collection of single malt scotches.
The festive occasion turns solemn when Kate notices an aura above the head of Josh’s beloved Uncle Fergus. Blessed – or cursed – with the ability to see auras that indicate that death is imminent, Kate can sometimes avert disaster – if she can discover the source of the danger. Otherwise, Josh’s favorite uncle will die in a matter of days.
Is Fergus suffering from an undiagnosed illness? Is the threat linked to the impending sale of the castle? Or is there a murderous secret buried in the past, with a deadly claim on the present? In an attempt to sort out the nature of the threat, Kate takes a stroll to the loch and experiences a hallucination – a vision so real she feels she could touch the a black-robed priest stalking a lovely young woman in 16th-century costume, as she clings protectively to a book. The woman holds the book out to Kate, as if asking Kate to protect it. Is the vision a message about the threat to Fergus?
As Kate and Josh race the clock to find the source of danger, the guests arrive, filling the house with known and unknown threats: townspeople opposed to the sale of the estate; the wealthy businessman who wants to buy it; scheming relatives with agendas of their own and tales of treasures hidden in the castle. And as the dangers increase, so do the number of auras Kate sees. She knows who’s in danger, but she can’t do anything to help unless she knows why!
Perfect for anyone who’s ever shivered their way through a Barbara Michaels mystery; and for all lovers of both American and British cozy mysteries, especially those with just the slightest hint of the paranormal, like Michaels’ colleague Carolyn Hart (in her Bailey Ruth series), and the more contemporary ones, including Carolyn Haines, Gina LaManna, and Leighann Dobbs.
This story had great descriptions of the Scottish countryside and castles. I felt like I was there. The mystery was very good and kept me guessing until the end.
Kate is finally going to meet James' uncle and the grounds that he loves visiting. Neither were expecting the aura of death to be circulating above the uncle's head. Can they figure out what threatens his life before they lose him?~
The Scottish Connection: A Kate Benedict Paranormal Mystery, Book 4 by Carrie Bedford
This novel, #4 in the series, is the first in the series that I've read. It was well edited, excellently proofed, featured great plotting and pacing, wonderful flow, interesting and fully fleshed characters, and a dandy who-done-it. The setting is an old castle in Scotland, complete with a portion of the living areas being closed off and seemingly hopelessly decaying, with more than adequate space left to the residents that was in relatively good repair. Kate and her boyfriend, Josh, have come to the castles, the traditional home of Josh's family, to celebrate the 65th birthday of the current resident, Josh's uncle Fergus. Also joining them are Josh's cousin, Duncan, and his girlfriend, Lucy. The household staff, which consists mainly of the housekeeper, Mrs. Dunsmore, the groundskeeper, Lachlan, and the cook, Pierre. The birthday celebration will be held at the castle, with many guests coming locally, as well as from far away.
If you read this series, you know that Kate has the ability to see a type of aura that signifies the pending death of the person to which it is attached. She sees one immediately attached to Fergus. When people from around them start turning up dead or with threats made against them, it's up to Kate to figure out what is going on. Add in a man from America who is trying to purchase the castle, which is becoming to expensive for the family to care for properly, a rumor that an ancient codex and/or a Faberge egg belonging to the Romanovs might be hidden somewhere in the castle, plots, cross plots, shady characters, plus a ghostly vision seen on the grounds and Kate is hard put to know where to concentrate in order to save Fergus.
There were many seemingly different plotlines to follow in this novel, but the author was able to pull them all together with a dash of old-style gothic scenery, modern technology, and lots of research. An enjoyable and interesting read.
Slow Beginning, Better Middle & A Well-Paced Ending
This is a decent paranormal cozy mystery—once it gets going. The first 15-20% of this book is mostly exposition: intro to characters; the protagonist’s paranormal history, seeing death auras and visions of ancient murder; descriptions of castles, moors, foul weather; etc.
If you make it past the 25% Kindle mark, you’ll be rewarded with murders, scheming relatives, a valuable “artifact” worth millions, a treacherous chef, firebomb arson, Faberge eggs, a vengeance-seeker, a self-absorbed Silicon Valley billionaire, attempted murders, plus both figurative and literal backstabbing.
I skimmed much of this book, but I remembered most of the secondary characters by choosing culprits and discarding red herrings. The denouement was satisfying.
I am always careful writing these, because I don't want to post spoilers, I so hope we see more of Kate Benedict! read these books, I was on the edge of my seat often, with these books!
Another exhilarating and sparkling Kate Benedict adventure!!
Kate and Josh arrive at Castle Aiten in Scotland to celebrate the birthday of Josh's uncle Fergus. Kate gets into her element when she sees the dreaded aura surrounding Fergus! She sets to work trying to figure out the threats against Fergus so they can be eliminated.
They are joined by Duncan, another nephew of Fergus and cousin to Josh along with his girlfriend Lucy, a history professor. Overshadowing the celebrations is the prospect of the sale of the castle to a silicon valley millionaire! Fergus confesses to his nephews that he has been forced by circumstances to sell the castle as the upkeep of the whole estate has become impossible despite all the money making ventures that he has started. In this mix is a French chef Pierre who is part of the money making efforts of Fergus.
Things get more and more complicated as bodies are discovered of whom one is of Duncan! Kate discovers that Duncan and Lucy are looking for a Faberge egg that is rumored to be hidden somewhere on the premises of the castle.
As Kate's investigations to discover and eliminate the peril to Fergus proceed, she seems to get snagged in more and more obstacles involving more and more convoluted schemes by different people!
How she overcomes all hurdles with the help of Inspector McMahon, housekeeper Mrs. D, groundkeeper Lachalon all wonderful characters forms the essence of this delightful, enchanting book that keeps the reader glued to the book eager to know what comes next!
How a brilliant blend of death predicting auras, clue providing visions and simple courage motivated with a strong motive to save lives helps Kate in achieving what she sets out to do has to be read to get the full enjoyment of this book!
This is book four in the series, and my favorite so far. Josh, and Kate have come to the castle owned by his Uncle Fergus, for his sixty fifth birthday party. Kate sees twirling aura' s on his uncle, and then in his older cousin. This was a clever, and thrilling mystery that caught my interest , and didn't let go. I really loved the story line, and the characters,, except for Duncan who was unpleasant. The story had several mysteries to solve, and even though you kept guessing, as clues were discovered, the master mind was difficult to pin down. It put me into the castle, the traditions, the small town, and the pubs, plus the beautiful country landscapes. I didn't want to leave. It also gave us some history that I found fascinating. More than one person got hurt, and lives were threatened. I loved Uncle Fergus, and his dog. plus the everybody housekeeper, and the man who protected his master, and was grounds keeper. It gave you a real look at what a castle' s upkeep would cost, and how they were started, and added on to, over generations. plus how many outside jobs they provide. There is no crass language, or explicit sex scenes. The moors, the fog, and the atmosphere all added to the mystery. five stars.
I enjoyed the Scottish Connection because I love castles and the folklore that surrounds them. I have always enjoyed history as my father did before me. Naturally this book incorporates the castle in the modern times. It includes that there is an enormous amount of up keep which takes money. Now the folklore has been told that a very important object might be in the castle. This brings in several different people who may or may not be after the object in question. The owner of the castle has an aura above his head signaling to his nephew's girlfriend that Uncle Fergus is in danger. As the story evolves, we hear a lot of excuses to what is going on and who killed 2 men...
Thoroughly enjoyable. I enjoy paranormal mysteries, though it's sort of a new genre for me to read. I'm writing a new series of paranormal mysteries and started reading them to get a better feel for the genre. I was happy to find this novel was heavy on the mystery, though there were enough paranormal elements to titillate the reader's interest. I enjoyed the history and geographic elements. Enough detail to prove the author did sufficient research without getting bogged down in it. The whodunnit was solvable a bit early, but there were still many details of the puzzle that were still to be unraveled. All in all, I recommend it, and will probably read more by this author.
Maybe it’s the Scottish setting and castle, which I know I have a weakness for, but I couldn’t put this book down until I absolutely had to. It started a little slow, mainly to outline the characters and the history of the aura, which is normal in book series. It started speeding up immediately when we had a plot twist of the castle being sold and the aura, as well as an argumentative character. It was too obvious, of course, but I was hooked. I’m done with the series for now, as I’ve finished what I already own, but this book made me think about buying the rest of the series (next year when I’m not on a buying ban).
I'm happy to have found this series. The plot is intricately woven and not easily unravelled. The characters are fully developed except for the mysterious Lachlan. Does he have the second sight? Hopefully, he will appear in more Kate Benedict stories as well as the irrepressible Fergus. Of course, now I will have to read the rest of the series. And I'm sure they will be well worth the reading.
I love mysteries, totally addicted to them. I thought this was going to be a cozy mystery but it was even better! The characters were so real, and the dialogue ( I really don’t like soap opera dialogue). I was able to imagine a wonderful image of the estate - except for the wing that had been damaged that part was hard to picture. The twist the story took just made it all the more exciting. Wonderfully written I will read more from Carrie Bedford,
This is book four in a bundle "Kate Benedict Cozy British Mysteries Vol 1-4" that Goodreads can't seem to find, but which exists on my Kindle. I guess I'll have to enter each volume separately.
Kate & Josh visit his uncle Fergus in his run-down castle in Scotland. He reveals that he is in talks to sell the castle to an American because the upkeep and repairs are more than he can afford. Josh's cousin Duncan is the heir, but it is not clear if he cares more about the castle and its people, or the money. When auras appear over both Duncan and Fergus, Kate and Josh go into overdrive trying to protect them and determine where the threat to them is coming from. Duncan's girlfriend Lucy is there with him, and they are searching for something - is it the Faberge egg or the valuable codex book, both rumored to be hidden somewhere in the castle? Lots of suspects, lots of red herrings. I thought this was the best of the 5 Kate Benedict books that I've read so far.
Kate and Josh are in Scotland to visit his uncle Fergus, The Laird with an Aura.
Kate and Josh have been invited to Scotland for his Uncle Fergus’s 65th birthday. Where they discover he has a new and rapid twirling Aura. The investigation to save him involves a couple murders and new visions. Very exciting story and again really well written keeping you on the edge of your seat.
I’m giving a spot to stars because as much as I did not enjoy it. I will admit that it is well written and a good story overall. This just wasn’t for me and I think it’s great for people who like this type of story, but I honestly just wasn’t that drawn into the mystery.
This is a nice easy read. Enjoyable cast of characters with a plot line that's feasible and easy to follow. I like the way Carrie Bedford writes, fluid prose that pulls you in.
There was enough twists and turns to keep me interested. Not a thought provoking story line just a nice enjoyable easy read.
Nice solid piece of writing that includes mystery, murders, mayhem, and a bit of romance to season the story.
Just a bit of paranormal aura seeing throws the whole story into gear, leaving the hero of the book and her fiance trying to save first his uncle then his cousin as well as the family mansion.
I have now read the whole series and I enjoyed it very much. Having visited Scotland, I liked the setting and the tight knit atmosphere of both the family and employees. The story moved along and kept me engaged. I'm hoping that there will be more books in the series.
This is book 4 in this series. I have not read any other books by Carrie Bedford but I will be in the future. I don't usually read Paranormal mysteries but this one takes place in Scotland and it caught my eye. I am so glad I read it. Kate and Josh are great characters and the story was different and very intriguing. I have already downloaded more in this series.
This is another example of the type of prose Ms Bedford is capable of. Her books keep me fascinated and waiting with baited breath for the next chapter. I had never read about it believed in Auras before but she made a beiliever out of me. I invite you to join me in reading her Amazing And Thrilling Books you want be disappointed!
I was in the mood for a well written mystery story that wasn’t full of profanity and/or graphic sex. I started to read this book and couldn’t put it down until I had completed the story. It was just what I wanted. I will have to read another story by this author.
A mesmerizing gothic tale of a creepy old castle, windy rainy moors, a death (of course), a faithful hound and a musty dusty closed off wing of the castle. I stayed up much too late to learn who was the guilty suspect. A few editing errors but none really distracted from the tale.
Nice, light reading. I don’t believe in the paranormal, but it was a good mysterious read. A four star is better than I normally give, but punctuation, spelling, etc., were excellent. I get irritated w/sloppy writing.
The bad guy was not evident throughout. I enjoyed the book more than I expected I would. It was relaxing.
Kate Benedict is an architect with gift for seeing paranormal events surrounding people she meets. This time around she is determined to save her boyfriends uncle from an untimely end. A nice clean plot without the usual romantic bedroom scenes. Murder, arson, ghostly events centuries in the making add to this quaint yarn.
On visit to Kate's boyfriend, Josh's uncle's birthday party, in the Scottish Castle, that was a family estate, Kate sees an aura over the uncle. Off course, the problem was whether it related to health issues or something more sinister. Espionage and skull duggery on the highest level, gives one very entertaining and enthralling tale.
The story was interesting enough but it seemed to amble on forever without anything really happening. It just misses being an engaging, gripping novel. The kind of story that is interesting enough to keep reading in order to find out what happens, all the while you're wondering "when is this going to be OVER".
Kate is at Josh's family home (a castle), his uncle is going to sell it to an American. Kate sees the aura over Fergus' head.Kate sees a vision and then a body. Now now she has to figure out how to save Fergus and who killed Nick. This story has a lot of twists making you change your mind about who the threat and killer is. Really enjoying this series and the characters. Terrific stories and writing.
I couldn't put this book down. So much intrigue, death, loss and so much more. I enjoyed the story line and the characters. I never guessed who'd done it at all. I hoped the items were behind the bear in the fireplace that was mentioned at least 5 times. Fun read. Great mystery.
Got intrigued by book 3 and wanted to see what's up. This story had a lot of historical intrigue in it. Hard to tell exactly who the baddies were in this story. Lucy was well-drawn, very consistent personality, but this time Kate was all over the place, way too hysterical and upset -- hungry but upset stomach -- just not like her previous books. Maybe this aura thing is affecting her personality.