Julia Buckley

Lena London is a recent grad-school graduate with no job, no boyfriend, and nothing to look forward to. That is, until her friend Allison calls her and tells her that Lena's idol, writer Camilla Graham, is in her knitting class and needs an assistant. Lena is over the moon, and after a telephone interview with the author, is hired on the spot.

But Lena's not going to find it all peaches and cream. She meets a reclusive, rude neighbor, and later on finds a dead body on the beach in front of show more Camilla's home. Now she's stuck in the middle of a murder investigation and wondering what it is that makes the neighbor so attractive to her. But will she find out before the killer finds her?...

I should have known right away about this book when the author (no offense intended) mentioned she loved Mary Stewart books. Mary Stewart, for those who do not know, wrote Gothic mysteries. To wit: a young, innocent woman stumbles into suspense and terror, and there is always a dark, brooding stranger that's hiding secrets but turns out to be 'the one' when All Is Discovered.

So...this is just like that. The 'dark, brooding stranger' turns out to be Sam West, who may or may not be married because his wife just...disappeared, and everyone in town (including the hunky Chief of Police) think he's guilty. So of course, Lena decides that romance with Sam would be so much better than the upstanding, cute, loyal, Doug. Why would you even get involved with someone who might still have a wife somewhere? Lena is stupid.

Not to mention, Sam was extremely rude to her when they met. That's his personality. If a man has it in him to be nasty to a perfect stranger (regardless of his past) then who's to say he's not going to snap at you at some point in the future? No thanks. I also didn't like Sam at all. Doug seemed so much nicer, and more realistic.

Unfortunately, I lost interest in the book right about the time Lena is having breakfast in a crowded cafe and Sam, seeing she's alone, just goes over to her table and sits with her, knowing how the town feels about him. For some reason he doesn't care that she's new in town, and association with him could taint her with the same brush (if these people are that nasty, they would think the worst of her, too).

Also, why were people calling everyone else by their first and last names? Did the author need the word count? It got annoying fast. Since there was only one Sam and one Lena, did she think we’d get them confused with other characters? One can only hope Sam’s wife comes back and they move somewhere else, but I don’t think so. I’m honestly sorry I even started this book. There’s two hours of my life I’ll never get back.

But the worst part was - this is the first in the series and the author ends on a cliffhanger! Or as I call it, holding the reader hostage. It’s as if authors think they won’t sell the second in the series if they don’t do this. This isn’t a TV show where you can see what happens next week - it’s a freaking book, and you might have to wait a year to see what happens. Then, what’s to stop the author from doing it in the next book? Or the next? Nope. I not only won’t read any more in this series, I won’t read any of the author’s other series, either. Once you pull the 'you-have-to-buy-the-next-book-to-find-out-what-happens' at the end of a book, you’ve lost this reader for good.

Luckily, I don’t care enough about the characters to even care. Lena's an immature idiot (throwing nuts at Doug because she's upset?); Sam's boring and too broody, Camilla's only there as a plot point, and the poor cat Lestrade is just there - Lena spends very little time with him, and he has practically no reason to be in the book at all. The only one remotely interesting is Doug, who's halfway intelligent, and Lena’s too dumb to figure it out. show less

Although I've read several cozy mystery series by Julia Buckley I didn't realize that there are also several stand-alone titles. I was intrigued and as I've loved all of the author's writing to date I had to give this novel a try.

I began reading and finished it in one day as I simply had to know how this suspenseful tale would end. I was riveted from beginning to end. This was different than any story in the author's cozy mystery series. The emotions seemed deeper, raw, and unfiltered. As a show more reader I was riveted to my seat on a wild roller coaster ride and at times it seemed there was no end in sight. I couldn't determine if I wanted to follow Anna Ashford's thinking that her father had indeed been murdered. Is Anna crazy? Is Anna dreaming? Was Anna anchored in reality or simply a lost soul grieving the loss of her father? All I knew was that I had to follow along page-by-page as I didn't want to miss a clue to the answers that would unfold.

I know that Julia Buckley is best known as a cozy mystery writer but this is a story that simply shouldn't be missed! I highly recommend this book! show less

I really enjoyed Death in a Budapest Butterfly, so when I saw book two in An Hungarian Tea House Mystery, Death of a Wandering Wolf by Julia Buckley was coming out, I knew I wanted to read it. And book two was just as good as the first one, which often isn’t the case in cozy mystery series.

Buckley continues with her excellent character development. We get to know more about Hana and her family, along with their psychic abilities and we get to meet some new characters, including Det. show more Wolf’s sisters, whom I hope to see in future books. And talking about psychic abilities, Hana is starting to explore hers more, which I absolutely love.

And I adore that Det. Wolf continues to believe in Hana’s powers and share information with her in regards to the case. So many cozies have the police presence or even the heroine’s family and friends discourage her from investigating, so when I find a cozy mystery series that encourages the main character, I get very happy.

In this book, as in the first book, we learn a bit about Hungarian folktales and a lot about Hungarian cooking. Death of a Wandering Wolf inspired me to look up a recipe for a Hungarian casserole that turned out delicious and helped to encourage me to try more of the recipes at the end of the book.

As for the mystery itself, there were lots of suspects and at no point was I absolutely certain who might be the killer. Another fantastic book in An Hungarian Tea House Mystery series and one that I highly recommend. show less

From the moment I read the author's dedication, "For my father and mother, in gratitude for Christmases past." I felt the possibility that it would be the month of December as I turned the pages. Two wonderful quotes led me to Chapter 1 entitled, "The Man in the Snow" and I was already entranced in the magic of the holiday season. I loved the opening to learn of Hana's memory of her grandmother explaining that "snow is friendlier than rain" as "snow sits on your shoulder and tells you the show more truth: that life is cold, but it warms us with beauty."

That is just one of the enchanting treasures of reading novels by Julia Buckley. In the midst of conversations, remembrances, and events there are beautiful descriptions that not only create charming settings where her characters live, work, and play but her writing transports the reader and his or her own imagination to feel like they have an inside view to all that occurs within the story. As I remember Hana purchasing a snow globe as one of her Christmas gifts for her grandmother it gives me another way to describe the author's writing. At the beginning of her story, the reader has shaken the precious globe and as the snow is dancing and glittering with beauty inside the globe there is delightful anticipation as to what will transpire in this special setting. As the snow settles, another mystery begins.

Hana, her mother Maggie, and grandmother continue to delight their customers with beautifully created events for the Christmas season and share many customs held dear in the Hungarian culture. Even as one event becomes a memorial tea for the gentleman that had planned the event and looked forward to the event as host there are traditions shared that remind me of the wonderful Christmases past hosted by my father and mother for our own family and many very similar in nature especially the holiday menus. I also found strength in these words that would be a blessing to give to all we meet on our life journey not only at Christmas but all the year through.

'When we think of grace,' she said, we think of something that allows us to regenerate, to sanctify, not just what we feel within, but what we see without. We seek our moments of grace, and we find reward in them. And in its most powerful form, grace gives us strength to endure any trial. I wish for you a Christmas filled with holy grace, and a year filled with opportunities to bring that feeling to others.'

For all who love this series it is a wonderful continuation of the relationships of all the characters we love. If you haven't yet started the series, I would encourage you to read the series in order as then the progression of the relationships is even more precious to enjoy. I hope this series has many more stories yet to be told. show less