A DARK AND STORMY MURDER is Book 1 in Julia Buckley's "Writer's Apprentice" mystery series. I love Gothic mysteries, and A DARK AND STORMY MURDER has a great combination of cozy and Gothic elements. Lena London gets the opportunity that readers dream about -- to work and live with a favorite author. Camilla Graham is an acclaimed writer of Gothic mysteries, but as she's gotten older she finds she needs a collaborator and someone as a sounding board to help spark new ideas. Not long after Lena arrives at Camilla's, she finds herself in a situation that could be the plot of one of Camilla's mysteries.

The small town of Blue Lake, Indiana is beautiful, quaint, and has the added attraction for Lena of also being the home of her best friend Allison. In spite of having all these attractive qualities, I like the way Julia Buckley frames the town and the characters in such a way as to show unsettling hidden depths beneath the placid surfaces. A DARK AND STORMY MURDER is reminiscent of an Agatha Christie novel in the way that nobody is above suspicion, and you can't help but start to see a possible sinister side to all the seemingly harmless townsfolk you meet. Julia Buckley's descriptions help the reader visualize the settings, like Camilla's beautiful and mysterious stately home, as if you're watching a movie. I like Lena as a main character and unexpected sleuth. Lena falls into the role of investigator in a very organic way when she discovers a body. Julia Buckley does a wonderful job of integrating some humor and a dash of romance into a story full of danger.

A DARK AND STORMY MURDER is a riveting mystery that will appeal to both cozy and suspense fans. I enjoyed having two mysteries to try and puzzle out in A DARK AND STORMY MURDER -- the murder, and also the strange disappearance of Sam West's estranged wife. I normally don't enjoy love triangles, but the one in A DARK AND STORMY MURDER doesn't distract from the mystery. I look forward to reading the next Writer's Apprentice mystery to see what's in store for the main characters, and what intriguing mystery Julia Buckley can devise next.