BOOK REVIEW: Death Waits in the Dark by Julia Buckley @JuliaBucks @BerkleyMystery @BerkleyPub #cozymystery #writersapprentice #deathwaitsinthedark #bookreview

Nothing cools off a summer heat-wave in Blue Lake, Indiana quite like a chilling murder! In Julia Buckley’s fourth installment of her Writer’s Apprentice cozy mystery series Death Waits in the Dark, a long buried secret surfaces and murder soon follows.  With a menacing presence looming over the novel, readers will find this suspenseful cozy to be a perfect weekend mystery!

About the Book

Writer’s apprentice Lena London is back and better than ever when her friend bestselling suspense novelist Camilla Graham needs help solving a town murder that hits a little too close to home…

It’s summertime, and Lena and Camilla are busy working away while a town vandal runs amok. Things get even more complicated when Jane Wyland pays Camilla a not-so-friendly visit and gives her an ultimatum: reveal Camilla’s husband James’s family secret, or she will. Lena assures Camilla that nothing will come of the woman’s threats, since the family has no secrets to hide.

When Jane Wyland is later found dead, they’re convinced that whatever secret she was planning to expose led to her death. With Lena’s assistance, Camilla is determined to solve the case before the finger points at her…

Reflection

Bestselling author Camilla Graham and her writer’s apprentice Lena London are settling in as roommates. It is hot in Blue Lake and they are a bit stumped on their current book. When an old acquaintance of Camilla’s Jane Wyland shows up unexpectedly, Lena finds Camilla in a state of deep distress. Jane Wyland is threatening to reveal an old secret about Camilla’s late husband James, and she won’t be reasoned with.

First of all, before we get to the murder, it is incredibly rude to just show up at someone’s home and threaten to reveal secrets. Poor Camilla! I must admit, I was so puzzled by this catalyst to the mystery. But things only get more bizarre when Jane Wyland is found murdered not one day after this mysterious visit. Now you might think, well that solves the problem! A murdered woman can’t reveal a secret!

Unfortunately, that is the exact logic that the police take when they learn about Camilla and Jane’s meeting. The most troubling part (besides the murder) is that Camilla has no idea what secret Jane was threatening to reveal. But the more Lena helps Camilla investigate, the more troubling it seems. The secret may be one Camilla herself doesn’t want to know—unproveable, dark, and ruining her memory of her late husband.

But someone else doesn’t want them to get to the truth either…

I found Camilla to be such an intriguing figure in this novel. She’s reserved, talented, and distant. Yet she also seems to be charmed by the most simple of life’s pleasures—pizza, for instance, is a novelty to Camilla. She’s so used to being cooked for, a simple takeout pizza is a newer experience. A party with friends is another novelty Camilla seems to not let herself experience. I loved seeing her wonder as she branched out a bit!

Lena herself has a fascinating storyline this book. It is less to do with her boyfriend in the fourth book and more focused on herself and her thoughts. When an accident occurs and it appears it may not have been so accidental, mysterious events follow. Lena finds herself hovering just on the edge of the answers they seek, but still out of reach. And Lena also begins to doubt herself. Was it a memory or a fabrication?

This was ultimately a slightly different, but no less engaging, type of cozy. The murkiness of memory and the past seem to cast a shadow over the characters, giving it a somewhat ethereal feel. The mystery, though firmly grounded in reality, had a haunting feel to it, made more prominent by Lena’s accident and reaction to her medication. And then there is the notion of a secret long buried in the past coming to light that really brought the mystery home.

A fresh twist on a cozy mystery that left me delighted!! Thank you to Berkley for my copy. Opinions are my own.