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A review by booksuperpower
Death in Dark Blue by Julia Buckley
4.0
Death in Dark Blue by Julia Buckley is a 2017 Berkley publication.
Good, solid mystery with a side of romance!
I have been trying to fit this second installment of the 'Writer’s Apprentice' series into my reading schedule for a very long time. After realizing there were now four books in the series, I thought I'd better get busy before I fall too far behind!
As the story opens, things are really looking up for Lena. She’s living rent free in a gorgeous Gothic mansion, working as an apprentice for her favorite author, Camilla Graham, and her new boyfriend, Sam West, was finally cleared of murdering his estranged wife, Victoria.
As it turns out, Victoria is alive, but she’s still missing. Sam must find Victoria so they can properly divorce, but as time passes, it becomes clear that something isn’t quite right about Victoria’s disappearance and Lena is convinced she's in danger.
With some members of the press feeling contrite after accusing Sam of murder, one blogger, in particular, has offered to travel to Blue Lake and give Sam a personal apology face to face. No one believed she would really do that, but apparently, she intended to make good on her promise-
However, she never got the chance to follow through. Unfortunately, she was found dead in back of Sam’s property and Lena was the unlucky soul who discovered her body.
Now Sam and Lena are back in the spotlight as once again, as they try to discover who the murderer is while dodging the ever -present paparazzi.
I love the atmosphere surrounding Blue Lake and of course I love that Gothic house featured in the book. The pets, especially that lovely cat, is a great bonus- but they aren’t as prominently featured as one may think based on the book cover.
This is not your usual cozy style mystery and I think any pure mystery lover might enjoy this series. The romance is a bit more front and center than some would like, perhaps, but of course, that certainly doesn’t bother me. I liked it!
If I had to complain about something, it would be the heavy- handedness in which the press is portrayed. While certainly realistic, the theme was hammered on to the point I started to think the author had a personal agenda going on.
Other than that, the mystery is a good one and I never even suspected who the murderer was! Because this is a series, there are some developments that will have to be addressed and explored in upcoming installments and I’m looking forward to seeing how everything plays out.
4 stars
Good, solid mystery with a side of romance!
I have been trying to fit this second installment of the 'Writer’s Apprentice' series into my reading schedule for a very long time. After realizing there were now four books in the series, I thought I'd better get busy before I fall too far behind!
As the story opens, things are really looking up for Lena. She’s living rent free in a gorgeous Gothic mansion, working as an apprentice for her favorite author, Camilla Graham, and her new boyfriend, Sam West, was finally cleared of murdering his estranged wife, Victoria.
As it turns out, Victoria is alive, but she’s still missing. Sam must find Victoria so they can properly divorce, but as time passes, it becomes clear that something isn’t quite right about Victoria’s disappearance and Lena is convinced she's in danger.
With some members of the press feeling contrite after accusing Sam of murder, one blogger, in particular, has offered to travel to Blue Lake and give Sam a personal apology face to face. No one believed she would really do that, but apparently, she intended to make good on her promise-
However, she never got the chance to follow through. Unfortunately, she was found dead in back of Sam’s property and Lena was the unlucky soul who discovered her body.
Now Sam and Lena are back in the spotlight as once again, as they try to discover who the murderer is while dodging the ever -present paparazzi.
I love the atmosphere surrounding Blue Lake and of course I love that Gothic house featured in the book. The pets, especially that lovely cat, is a great bonus- but they aren’t as prominently featured as one may think based on the book cover.
This is not your usual cozy style mystery and I think any pure mystery lover might enjoy this series. The romance is a bit more front and center than some would like, perhaps, but of course, that certainly doesn’t bother me. I liked it!
If I had to complain about something, it would be the heavy- handedness in which the press is portrayed. While certainly realistic, the theme was hammered on to the point I started to think the author had a personal agenda going on.
Other than that, the mystery is a good one and I never even suspected who the murderer was! Because this is a series, there are some developments that will have to be addressed and explored in upcoming installments and I’m looking forward to seeing how everything plays out.
4 stars