Review: A Dark and Stormy Murder by Julia Buckley

Review: A Dark and Stormy Murder by Julia BuckleyA Dark and Stormy Murder on July 5, 2016
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
five-stars

Lena London's literary dreams are coming true—as long as she can avoid any real-life villains...

Camilla Graham’s bestselling suspense novels inspired Lena London to become a writer, so when she lands a job as Camilla’s new assistant, she can’t believe her luck. Not only will she help her idol craft an enchanting new mystery, she’ll get to live rent-free in Camilla’s gorgeous Victorian home in the quaint town of Blue Lake, Indiana.

But Lena’s fortune soon changes for the worse. First, she lands in the center of small town gossip for befriending the local recluse. Then, she stumbles across one thing that a Camilla Graham novel is never without—a dead body, found on her new boss’s lakefront property.

Now Lena must take a page out of one of Camilla’s books to hunt down clues in a real crime that seems to be connected to the novelist’s mysterious estate—before the killer writes them both out of the story for good...

I checked this book out from the library to read. My review is not influenced in any way. This post contains Amazon affiliate links; thank you for supporting Brooke Blogs.

My Review

A Dark and Stormy Murder by Julia Buckley is the first book in the Writer’s Apprentice Mystery series. This is one of the absolute best cozy mysteries I have ever read. Seriously. It is so good.

Lena London can hardly believe it when she gets the opportunity to interview for a position with her favorite author of all time. Lena is an author also, and it turns out that she and Camilla Graham are the perfect pair. I absolutely adore Lena and Camilla. They write so well together and they are great amateur sleuths.

There are two mysteries in this modern cozy twist on a gothic mystery. A young man is found murdered on the beach near Camilla’s house. Camilla’s neighbor, Sam West, is a suspect in his wife’s disappearance. Though unrelated, the two mysteries unfold side by side. I was totally wrapped up in A Dark and Stormy Murder. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series, Death in Dark Blue. Death in Dark Blue will be available May 2, 2017. My calendar is marked!

Incredible characters, a quaint setting, and two concurrent mysteries make this cozy a smash hit. Main characters who are mystery writers (turned amateur sleuths) really ups the ante. In addition, the supporting characters are well-developed and really help tell the story. Because the book is so engaging, you won’t want to put it down until you reach the conclusion.

Rating Report
Plot
five-stars
Characters
five-stars
Writing
five-stars
Pacing
five-stars
Cover
five-stars
Overall: five-stars

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