L.J. Aldon’s RIDDLE OF THE JEWELED CIPHER is a paranormal mystery with a highly spiritually gifted heroine. Pucci Riddle’s day job involves blogging about rare and interesting whiskeys, and she spends her spare time talking to ghosts and dealing with paranormal forces. When she comes into possession of one of three parts of a magical jeweled cipher, she knows somehow that she needs to find and protect the other two at all costs. She has to outrun the vicious Pirate (a diamond-smuggler and ruthless killer) and his extremely dangerous patron, who are desperate to find the legendary treasure the cipher unlocks: one that will give them control over the powers of evil. But she too has allies, living and dead: ghosts of Templars and noble ladies, two close female friends, a handsome and charming Scottish Earl, and a mysterious organization that has guarded the treasures for generations. She also has Police Detective Olan Lathan and their intense mutual attraction, but he has his own evil spirits to battle—both psychic and alcoholic.

Aldon has lovingly put a lot of beautiful scenery and mystical history into this book, with magical tales and ghosts with grudges, hopes, fears, and deep-seated devotions. (Particularly enjoyable is the ghost of the first female distiller—an actual person—who will be quite content to pass on to the afterworld only after she has haunted her successors into fixing their errors in the distilling process.) The villains are appropriately ruthless (with both each other and outsiders), and it’s made very clear how dangerous they could become if they ever got their hands on real power. There’s enough action and drama to make the tale exciting, and the reader can see a juicy little love triangle starting to develop—which hopefully will add some delicious tension in future books.

The story does get somewhat bogged down in exposition; much of the dialogue involves people expounding upon historical events or notable places, which drags down the action a bit. Pucci’s psychic powers also sometimes make things feel too easy. She and others get key pieces of information handed to her from ghosts and past-life memories at key moments, thus taking away the tension and drama involved in research, exploration, and solid mortal detective work. Additionally, the idea of Templars protecting a mystical religious treasure has been somewhat overused since The Da Vinci Code was published, and this book doesn’t offer much of a novel take on that plotline.

Still, for those looking for an entertaining and not-too-demanding adventure with historical tones, supernatural notes, and a bit of romantic spice, THE RIDDLE OF THE JEWELED CIPHER may well fit the bill.

L.J. Aldon’s RIDDLE OF THE JEWELED CIPHER has a lively protagonist, a gorgeous Scottish setting, and a vigorous race for a magical prize. However, it gets bogged down in exposition, and the heroine’s psychic powers are overused to the point where they feel like a cheat.

~ Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader