The Cipher

By Diana Pharaoh Francis

Lucy Trenton is a minor member of the ruling family of Crosspointe and a customs official. Crosspointe is a place where magick flows wild and free and is a threat to those who perchance encounter it. Since she was a wee child, Lucy has had the unique ability to sense the presence of what is called a cipher, a kind of magic spell disguised as a common object. No one believes her when she points out the presence of these ciphers and so she grows up keeping her talent hidden.
Lucy works as a customs agent at the harbor. She has another secret, besides her hidden talent. She has a highly illegal collection of true ciphers. She is drawn to these ciphers and is unable to resist their attraction. If anyone found out about her collection not only will she be exiled but she would bring down disgrace on the royal family.
While working one day, Lucy is drawn to the presence of a true cipher. When she approaches it, it erupts out and fastens itself to her arm. Most of these true ciphers are bad news and result in death and destruction to those to whom they attach. Lucy knows she is in big trouble. The news keeps getting worse, though, because now Lucy finds herself being blackmailed by someone who knows about her illegal collection of ciphers. Lucy, with the help of a few friends, has to rid herself of the attached cipher and cope with its deadly powers, get rid of her collection, save the royal family and her country from invaders and find her true love, all in one book.

This is a big story and pretty interesting although somewhat of a mishmash. It was diverting following the trials and tribulations of intrepid heroine, Lucy Trent. Unfortunately, Lucy's trials seem to involve a lot of vomiting and soiling and injuring herself. After awhile, I got pretty tired of that. I also thought the ending was disappointing in that Lucy never gets to directly confront her blackmailer. But other than that, I enjoyed reading about Lucy and her odd little world.

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New Word:
Archivolt: A decorative band or molding around the face of an arch. "FARADAY was inlaid in small flowing brass letters in the archivolt above the polished oak doors of the shop."