This action type of adventure and intrigue novel is a new genre for me and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Carpet Cipher. Book does refer to other stories and adventures that Phoebe has been on but this is shown as book number 1.

Phoebe McCabe is an art and textiles expert and her team work with different police forces to track and capture art thieves. A murder has been committed in Venice and a priceless painting has been stolen. Phoebe travel to Venice to assist. When Phoebe examines a photograph of the missing painting, she notices something very special is illustrated in the painting. So begins the adventure around Venice and Marrakech.

this was a great start to a series, the characters were great and I really enjoyed reading it. I look forward to more from this series and the author.

Well, I need to disclose that I didn’t get to the vivid souks of Marrakech. I was so bored and uninterested that I gave up before Phoebe had left Venice – in fact, I don’t think she’d actually spent her first night there, before I decided I couldn’t be bothered! (But I had already got through more than 25% of the book, so I felt I’d given it a fair go.) And this is what is so strange – there was intrigue and action galore in the first chapters, with a feisty heroine, and a beautiful setting, but – YAWN, who cares?

The main reason I was so bored, however, was because I was actually confused – there were so many references to people from Phoebe’s back story, and references to previous events of lives being saved, and crimes being committed, and artefacts being stolen and recovered, that I believed I had started to read the third or fourth book in a series – I was very surprised when I came to write this review and found it was sub-titled as A Phoebe McCann thriller Book 1. Lord preserve us, I thought, there’s more of these to come?! And – was there another series of books where Phoebe was involved, as she’s had one hell of an exciting life before now!? (I discover from another reviewer that yes there is. Jemima R writes: “An action-packed novel full of adventures that will keep you wanting to read the whole Crime by Design Series. I can’t wait for the next book in the Ancient Lost and Found series!” (I hate to tell Jemima R that this neither kept, or even kindled, a desire to read anything by this author!) But I think to call this “Book 1” in a series, and then continually refer back to events in other books is a really unintelligent way to market it. It clearly is not Book 1 in Phoebe McCann’s story and shouldn’t be marketed as such.

This ended up being a confusing, tedious read – or at least the first 28% of it – which left me noting down the author’s name to avoid in future. Two stars. And I feel I’m being generous.

I chose this book because I am a fan of history, art and textiles (especially carpets) so I had high hopes for the Carpet Cipher.

I should have read the reviews more thoroughly; I have to agree with the other reviewers, there were so many references to previous incidents and characters, it felt like there must have been previous books that we should have read to understand the relationships and history of these people.

The writing was strong in places (I loved the descriptions of Venice which were very realistic) but very weak in others, for example the dialog and the musings of the main character, Phoebe - these go at length, with a few hints at what is happening dropped in various conversations, most of which get interrupted.

I found Phoebe a bit hard to take seriously, a young woman with just a BA in art history, suddenly becomes 'specialist' in Renaissance art and textiles called in to decipher something experienced professionals couldn't find, doesn't seem very realistic to me. In fact, I found most of the characters superficial and not very engaging.

Pretty much everyone was toting guns and bugging everything in sight, but by the end of Chapter 9, there wasn't much of substance, so although I really wanted to like this book, for me it was a 'did not finish.'

If you are looking to delve into some action and solve a mystery- then this could be right up your alley, and you cannot help but love Phoebe's resilience and when it seems like time is not her side, things fall into place with her quick thinking. I loved the first two chapters- and somewhere in between, I felt the pace slow down and this threw me off, however it did not deter me from finishing the story.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

In this first book in the Ancient Lost and Found series, and first spin-off book of the Crime by Design Series, Phoebe McCabe and her team work to solve the mystery of an ancient carpet.

Will Phoebe be able to face her greatest enemy?

Did anyone say adventure?

This is an all-around book with great descriptive narrative that will take you from Venice to Morocco, and make you feel as if you were right there with the characters.

The main character, Phoebe McCabe is strong, witty, and clever with a great sense of humour. Her interaction with Evan gives enough hint of a romance story without taking away from the mystery. And what a mystery this is!

An action-packed novel full of adventures that will keep you wanting to read the whole Crime by Design Series. I can’t wait for the next book in the Ancient Lost and Found series!

Disclosure: I would like to thank BooksGoSocial Group for a copy of The Carpet Cipher. This is my honest review.

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While the story of this book originally intrigued and did at some level capture my imagination, I'm afraid the execution and writing style wasn't to my taste. I'm not saying that it wouldn't be someone else's cup of tea, it just didn't really have me tearing up the carpet in excitement (pun wholly intended). I'm not one for spoiling the story in a review so I'll just say I found the book a bit predictable, similar in general format to other thrillers (which given the sheer volume of them these days, can't really be avoided I suppose) and I'd guessed the ending by the middle of the book. But I give 3 stars for the idea. it genuinely was interesting.

I want to start by saying I have not read the previous novels by this author, and that may make a difference in how I viewed this book. While I love the premise of this book and the interest in art, textiles, and history, especially since I'm an archaeologist, that is where my love for this book ended.

The constant references about the previous adventures and misadventures of the characters made the book extremely hard to follow and did not serve to forward the plot. These near constant mentions took away from the story and made me want to put down the book.

The conversations seemed like the author was trying too hard and none of it seemed natural. All in all, I was a more than a little disappointed. The bare bones were there, but the final result was lacking for me.

At the beginning of The Capet Cipher we are introduced quickly to a whole range of characters and previous adventures that I almost found it hard to keep up. It is a lot of information to take in within the first few chapters and I felt it took away from the main story a little bit.
The references to textiles in this book are amazing and very well-researched.
It is enriched with detailed descriptions throughout that engages the reader immediately. The way Jane Thornley illustrates the story so vividly makes it an easy read (once you get up-to-date with past events).
Apart from the confusing, it is a great read with plenty of action and I will definitely be trying to keep up with Phoebe & friends.

“Think Robert Langdon meets Lara Croft with a side of textiles.” Are you kidding me? To me, this would be one of the greatest pairings since Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers sang Islands in the Stream! This is the bit that made me hit that ‘read now’ button! I was expecting BIG things from this pairing/strapline and reader… I was fooled.

To start with, there’s the usual murder in the prologue. This I can cope with - it happens. Except here, we get told exactly what time and place the murder happens, then all of a sudden in chapter one, we are left wondering whether we are still in the same time and place of the aforementioned murder. Turns out…we weren’t – cue: head scratching.

We are also rapidly introduced to a whole bank of characters (including the protagonist Phoebe McCabe) and what feels like an entire spider web of backstories and events at how all of these people seem to know each other. For what is supposedly the first book in this new Agency of the Ancient Lost and Found Series, I feel like I’ve stumbled in halfway through. As it turns out, I actually did – cue: more head scratching. Going back to do a quick Goodreads search and it turns out that Phoebe McCabe & Co. have been in 5-book series before which is why I felt like there was a bit of reliance on my prior knowledge of these characters’ escapades and a lot of info-dumping in the first few chapters. Whilst this awareness of the characters’ histories is not essential to the plot of The Carpet Cipher, the continuous references to past events from a different time/series made my reading experience feel a little disjointed, as if I couldn’t fully invest myself in all of the characters.

Phoebe herself, has a remarkable passion for textiles which bounces off the page. The references to carpets and clothing throughout the book is well-researched and clearly evident of the writer’s enthusiasm for this subject.
When I was still trying to work out what nationality Phoebe is (she works at a gallery in the UK), some of the vocabulary she used only sought to make me think she was American. Phrases like, “stuck in my craw”, “Crud, Phoebe, stop it.” and talk of ‘phyllo’ instead of filo didn’t marry up with what I would expect a British person to be saying, so is she British or is she American? Cue: even more head scratching.
She also has an over-reliance on calling the bad-guys ‘bastards’ which did grate on me towards the end. This very male-bashing attitude that radiates through her narration felt quite passive aggressive as if she has a chip on her shoulder and I found it difficult to warm to her as a character overall [from further text deduction, previous boyfriend from previous series ‘Noel’ definitely has something to do with this].

There are a whole host of other characters who feature in this story (Max, Evan, Serena, Noel, Nicolina, Seraphina, Zara, Agent Walker, Foxy, the ‘bastards’, June & Joe) but a special mention must go to Peaches. Her comedic quips and zesty attitude breathed some much-needed humour into the dialogue towards the end of the novel. I loved her Jamaicanese speech and all-around eccentricity. “Muscle Man’s coming here with Hottie on the roof?” was one of her defining moments.

The plot behind this story is based around two real-life pieces of artwork; the main piece by Bartolo becoming a painting for the purposes of this story, rather than the fresco that it really is. Having looked into the real representations of these pieces of art, the author admits to taking artistic liberties with some of the elements and symbology within the pictures. The passionate historian in me was left slightly longing. Nevertheless, the conspiracy and mystery at the heart of The Carpet Cipher and the puzzle which needed to be unlocked was engaging enough to just about keep my attention span going to the end.

Lastly, my e-book notes are crammed with 39(!) highlights containing grammatical/spelling errors, alongside my own utterances of questions, queries and all of the head-scratching moments that made me shout ‘huh?’ or ‘why would you do that?’. Here are some of my favourites:
• “That alone was enough to induce conniptions.” – I had to use a dictionary for the word conniptions.
• At 37% of the book it’s finally carpet time!
• “I changed into my only non-jeans pants – leather,” - Why does everyone wear leather ‘pant-suits’ in this book?
• “Let’s assume that everybody is innocent until proven guilty and discuss what we know together.” – Phoebe McCabe channels her inner Poirot.
• “Seemed like a bad time to mention my mold allergy so I just coughed for effect.” – Are you kidding me, someone who works with mouldy old textiles is allergic to mould?!
And my personal favourite: "I've been your lead to the next heist all along, you (insert colourful expletive) butt-licking bastard!"

Overall, it is abundantly clear through the writing that The Carpet Cipher is a work of fiction. References to real historical facts and attitudes are minimally skimmed across the surface of the text. If you’re looking for a thrill-ride full of the common tropes found in historical mystery/thrillers then this could very well be the book for you; however, if you’re looking for a narrative that is so deeply entrenched with historical accuracy that you could genuinely believe that the conspiracy is real, then perhaps this may not quite capture your imagination for long enough.

The Carpet Cipher takes us from the UK to Venice to Morocco as Phoebe McCabe pursues answers after the death of family friend. Phoebe is an art & textiles expert who recognizes some oddities in a painting that was stolen in the events surrounding the mysterious death.

This book had a lot going on. There were a lot of characters with a lot of back story and a lot of twists and turns. It was almost bit too much for me. This reads like a book that is in the middle of the series, but the listing indicates it is the first in a series.

I requested this book because I saw the plot involved carpets and our family has a carpet business so I have my own in-house carpet expert. :) This book would appeal to people who liked The Da Vinci Code as it is a similar idea of hidden secrets with clues provided in works of art.

This IS a modern, female Indiana Jones in a well written story with great characters and a very good plot. Mystery and lots of action in a very entertaining book.

First book in the series or FIFTH book in the series? With so many references to previous adventures (yes, really, "that time when...") , and after a quick check on the author's works so far, I'm leaning towards fifth book.

The past adventures references didn't help the story. They made me wonder what I had missed, and whether the actual first adventure was much more interesting.

What was hailed as Robert Langdon meets Lara Croft made me hope for a fast paced mystery/thriller, which this book, unfortunately, wasn't.

Once again, the blurb promises a very compelling read while the book offers a somewhat tiresome narrative. Unfortunately, the premise is inspired, but the actual delivery misses the mark. The interaction between the two main characters, Phoebe and Evan, is well developed, but the overall pace is painfully slow.

308 pages

4 and 1 / 2 stars

The beautiful city of Venice is the setting for this story.

Action, adventure, intrigue and a hint of romance are the hallmarks of this great story.

Phoebe McCabe and her team work with Interpol, among other things, to track and capture art thieves. When she gets a phone call about a friend in Venice who badly needs her help, she goes there.

A murder has been committed, a priceless painting has been stolen. Phoebe is on the case. Looking at a photograph of the missing painting, she notices something very special is illustrated in the painting.

So begins a rollicking chase around Venice and Marrakech. Aided by friends and with a remarkable sense of timing, Phoebe manages to outwit and (mostly) evade the nasty group chasing her. Will Phoebe track down the mysterious clue? Will she be alright? Will she reconnect with her long lost love?

Very good book. I truly enjoyed Phoebe's adventures and will read her again. The book is well written and plotted. The book is engaging and reads quickly. Phoebe is a character for sure. There are a couple of spots where the plot goes a little awry, but all in all Ms. Thornley does a remarkable job in telling the story.

I want to thank NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for forwarding to me a copy of this very nice book for me to read, enjoy and review.

Mystery set mostly in Venice,interesting characters. Dashing heroes and intrepid heroine,some twists along the way.