Veronica Bond (1)

Castle Dark, Castle Deep by Veronica Bond is a 2022 Berkley publication.

Another murder has taken place at Castle Dark. If that is not shocking enough, the victim was a young man with no apparent enemies. The motive remains elusive as Dash takes over the case, while Nora fends off a new cast member that rubs her the wrong way and worries about the distance that has grown between her and Dash. The case is at a standstill until Nora and Dash make a shocking discovery that changes the entire dynamics of the investigation- and could bring danger to more than one of the cast members- Nora included…

The large castle, spooky catacombs, Halloween, and an Ibsen play is the perfect backdrop for a good Autumn themed mystery. I enjoyed the first book in this series because of the Gothic undertones- and the author continues with that theme in this second installment.

The mystery is solid, but light, with the romance getting a little more attention this time around. There were a few niggles, though, as one of the characters that ended up being central to the mystery barely said a word throughout the entire book. I thought that was little odd, considering the circumstances, and it sort of nagged at me a little.

That said, I loved the spirit animal segments and the beautiful fall scenery described in the story and, of course, I loved hearing about the ‘Bronte’s’- Nora’s three cats- and how they are growing, and the way the story ended so peacefully and full of winter promise.

Overall, a very nice follow-up to ‘Death in Castle Dark', and a good book to curl up with this fall.

3.5 rounded up… (más)

Castle Deadly, Castle Deep is the second entry in A Dinner and a Murder Mystery mystery series featuring Nora and the fun castle in which she lives and works. The first book in this series was my favourite cozy mystery last year so I was looking forward to reading more about Nora and her friends,s, but I wasn't as crazy about this instalment as Nora's angst over her relationship with Dash frankly annoyed me to no end, and I thought the mystery was lacking the depth and the twists and turns of the first book.

One of my favourite aspects of this book is the castle and the mystery dinner/theater idea. The hidden passageways are definitely intriguing and the word 'catacombs' just opens up a whole world of possibilities in my eyes. Unfortunately, there were few mystery dinner scenes as it was shut down almost from the beginning of the book due the 'murder', so what we get are extra-long scenes of the community theatre practices. Yes, you learn a lot about the lives and relationships about the various people involved, but it seemed the focus was on trying to bolster Nora's self-esteem and to show the reader the brilliance of Derek as a director. And as I wandered in the sentence trying to explain how boring it was, that was exactly how it was done in the book; a whole lot of nothing just to explain a whole lot of nothing.

The mystery itself was almost non-existent. Someone got killed, very little investigation was done, but somehow Nora managed to figure out who the culprit was by witnessing a romantic attraction between two people, and then suddenly she is in grave danger and the hero comes to her rescue. Nope, not a fan of how this all played out. Very little sleuthing was done, with no twists or turns, so when Nora suddenly figures it all out, I spent my time rolling my eyes.

There was a secondary mystery that looked to be pretty interesting, but unfortunately, that one too seemed to be more about Nora walking in during a fortuitous moment and putting the clues together while the actual culprit had already solved most of the puzzle. I wish there had been more to this mystery, or this was the mystery the author had developed instead of the other one as it would have been far more interesting. Naturally, Nora saves the day and the castle.

I really enjoyed these characters in the first book, but I almost DNF this book about a third of the way in because Nora's jealous behaviour towards Dash drove me nuts. I felt like I was reading a YA novel instead of about two mature people who could actually TALK to each other. All Nora whined about for pages and pages on end was how great her relationship was about a month ago and now Dash no longer has time to every minute with her. And then stares longingly at Derek and his girlfriend, who naturally have a moment, EVERY SINGLE TIME, she moans and whines. Nope, nope, nope!!!

Verdict
Castle Deadly, Castle Deep was not a worthy follow-up of the really amazing first book of this series. I was incredibly disappointed in the characters, the plot, and the overall story. I personally loved the secondary story line as I thought there was so much potential there to develop something really interesting, but the author chose to focus more on Nora and her whining. And what I especially loved? THE KITTENS!!! They saved this book. I will happily recommend the first book of this series, and while I was not a fan of the second book, I am glad to see a lot of people were. I would definitely take a chance on the third book as I enjoyed the first book so much, just to see if the author can work the same magic again.… (más)

Death in Castle Dark by Veronica Bond is a 2021 Berkley publication.

Nora lands a dream job at an old castle as part of a mystery troupe. She lives on the premises, and immediately hits it off with the other actors and is having a world of fun…

Until one of the other actors really is murdered…

If a series had my name on it, this one would! An old castle, huge libraries, Gothic books, suspense, a promising premise- a lovable DOG 🐶.. And KITTENS! 🐈‍🐈‍🐈

I thought this was a very solid, entertaining ‘first in a series’ mystery. I enjoyed it tremendously and already have the second book queued up and ready to go!

*Veronica Bond- if you see this- I’m glad you are back! 😉💖… (más)

Death in Castle Dark is the first book in a new mystery series by author Julia Buckley under the pen name Veronica Bond. I was intrigued by this book as it was set up as a Gothic mystery, featuring a castle and a troupe of actors who perform mystery dinners for their guests. I thought the idea would be fun, and I always love the idea of castles, secrets, and hidden passageways.

I really enjoyed the main character, Nora. The owner of the castle hires actual actors for his elegant mystery dinners and the guests actually become 'inspectors' during the dinner. Nora, as one of the actors, gets to live in the castle as part of her salary. Although she wasn't sure about taking the job at first as she was hoping to score a big Broadway role, the appeal of the location and the different roles she could play convinced her to give it a shot. And what I really liked about her character was her common sense. One of the things that often turns me off these books is the lack of common sense in characters as well as the disregard for privacy and the actual police investigation. While Nora was useful during the investigation, she didn't actively go nosing into places she shouldn't go and actually discovered information through listening to people, what they said and how they said things. And, anyone who likes the movie 'Spy' , names her kittens after the Bronte sisters, and then picks up Mistress of Mellyn (during a murder investigation) for pleasure reading is definitely my soul sister.

The secondary characters were quite interesting as well, and I like how the author took the time to flesh them out and develop their individual personalities. I am looking forward to learning more about them in future books.

The book itself was well-written, and Nora was not one of those main characters who frustrated me by being a super nosy person, but was someone who actually listened to what people had to say and paid attention to body language. As an actor, that is something to which she would be familiar. And while the mystery wasn't too difficult to solve, it was still fun, and I enjoyed the various interactions with the other actors as well as with the townspeople. I thought the author did a great job writing about Nora's apprehension as she had to continue working with, as well as living with, people who could possibly be murderers.

Verdict
Death in Castle Dark was a fun first book in a new series. I liked the story, the characters, and the setting was definitely appealing. And while the ending was definitely the weakest part of the book as it lost some of its suspense through the story telling, I am intrigued as to what's in store for these characters in the next book, Castle Deadly, Castle Deep. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a fun, cozy mystery.… (más)