An aspiring suspense author finds herself writing mysteries by day and solving them by night in the second Writer’s Apprentice Mystery by the author of A Dark and Stormy Murder and the Undercover Dish Mysteries.In the quaint town of Blue Lake, Indiana, Lena London is settling into her dream job, but someone is making her life a nightmare… beginning to go right for Lena. She’s got a new job assisting suspense novelist and friend, Camilla Graham. She lives rent-free in Camilla’s beautiful, Gothic house. She even has a handsome new boyfriend, Sam West.
After being under attack by the media and his neighbors, Sam has recently been cleared of suspicion for murder. Journalists and townsfolk alike are remorseful, and one blogger would even like to apologize to him in person. But when she’s found dead behind Sam’s house, Lena must dodge paparazzi as she unravels the many mysteries that threaten to darken the skies of her little town and her newfound love with Sam.
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As winter settles over Blue Lake, Lena London is thrilled to have her new boyfriend Sam West back in town. He’s still trying to keep their relationship a secret so the press won’t start hounding Lena. However, that becomes more difficult when Lena finds the body of a woman who had come to town to apologize to Sam. The press are quick to believe Sam was involved. Can Lena prove them wrong?
I was thrilled to return to this series. The new murder often takes a back seat to a storyline introduced in the first book, but I didn’t mind because I found the entire thing entertaining. Lena may be our viewpoint character, but there is a large stable of characters, some of whom often bring the clues to the group. I love this group, and they all are interesting. With how this book ends, I already can’t wait to find out what happens next to these characters.
Lena can finally be with her new boyfriend now that they proved he didn’t kill his estranged wife. They are still trying to find her when the town fills with reporters and she stumbles across a body. Who is the murderer and will they find his wife?
Great story. I enjoy how in this story is the writing process of how books are made, with all the editing stages. It’s cool to see a “fan” get to work with her favorite author, and become friends/family with her. Helps make authors feel more relatable. It’s fun seeing the characters develop more in this second book. Wondering how things will develop in the next. Can’t wait to see.
This is now one of my favorite series. I love the way the story they’re writing reflects the mystery they’re living.
Death in Dark Blue is book 2 in Julia Buckley’s A Writer’s Apprentice Mystery series. Picking up where book 1 ended, Lena and Sam are still trying to find the whereabouts of his missing ex-wife Victoria. He was cleared of her murder, with the help of Lena. There are some out there who still don’t think Sam’s innocent but one blogger in particular feels awful for condemning him. Set to apologize to Sam, everyone is shocked when her body is discovered near Sam’s house. Lena knows Sam wasn’t involved and works to figure out who took the poor girl’s life.
I enjoy cozy mysteries that have more than one mystery. This one has two; the continuation of Sam’s missing ex-wife and the death of the blogger. Separate, yet smoothly written, both mysteries co-exist without overshadowing each other or falling flat.
The setting is interesting and there is continued, wonderful character development. I befriended the characters and felt like I was in the story with them. I was excited for the addition of Belinda, a research librarian. She was such an asset to Lena. There were twists and turns that keep me on the edge of my seat. The author did a fantastic job with book 2 in the series.
My review copy came from my public library’s interlibrary loan program.
Another fun Writer’s Apprentice mystery from Julie Buckley.
I’ve read everything by this author and am waiting with baited breath for her next book. I can’t say enough good about this book and the series in general. A blurb I read when I purchased the first Buckley book said “if you love the Mary Stewart type of gothic mystery, you’ll love Julia Buckley”, and that is spot on. Romance is there, but doesn’t overshadow the plot and isn’t obtrusive.
Hard to put down.