Castle Deadly, Castle Deep - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads:  Castle Deadly, Castle Deep (Dinner and a Murder Mystery #2) by Veronica Bond

Rating:  Really Liked it!
Source:   Publisher

Description:  Autumn has arrived at Castle Dark, and Nora Blake has settled into her role as an actor in Derek Corby's castle murder-mystery troupe. She is troubled, however, by the setting of Derek's fall mystery: the catacombs in the depths of the castle. Yes, these catacombs are part of a set, the skeletons and cobwebs mere props, but Nora feels uneasy in the shadowy passages beneath Castle Dark. When a man is killed during one of their first shows, the eerie catacombs become a place of terror.

Joined by her castle companions, Nora attempts to find the motive for killing a seemingly innocent victim. Some of those answers appear to lie with the local community theater, the members of which Nora has come to know because she has joined Derek's latest town production. As Nora practices her lines at Wood Glen's Blue Curtain Theater, she realizes that everyone around her is an actor, and all of her suspects are perfectly capable of convincing others of their innocence. Nora soon discovers that someone else is in danger and that she may also be in the sights of the killer. With the help of her handsome boyfriend, Detective John Dashiell, Nora will have to go off-script to prevent a murderous encore. . . .

Genre:  Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  The first book in this series was one of my favorite reads last year so of course I couldn't resist this one!

My Impression:  I thoroughly enjoyed this read.  I love Nora and really enjoyed that her relationship with Dash had some realistic bumps in the road and they dealt with it in fairly sensible ways.  Ibsen's The Doll's House has long been one of my favorite plays and I would not be surprised if it is one of the author's favorites as well as she very much brings it to life.  I loved adding in the community theater as a natural way to bring in new characters from the town that surrounds the castle.  

The town of Wood Glen is delightful with a number of interesting stores and baked treat mentions that made me wish I had a snack at hand!  While I did  love the parts in town and meeting the new characters my favorite was when the castle and the castle's residents had page time.  I did miss the focus on the dinner theater but Nora's adorable kittens the Brontes got enough page time that it almost made up for it.  

Between the play, the dinner theater, Hallween decorating, kittens, family visits, and money problems the mystery did at some points seem to drift to the back.  I loved the other things enough that it didn't bother me in the slightest but this might be better if this series is read in order so that you can really connect with the characters and the setting.  I don't think you'll be disappointed!  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely!  I've really enjoyed this series and now I want to reread Ibsen.

Would I Recommend this Book?   If you enjoy cozies with a fantastic setting, likable characters, and a dramatic flair this series is really a must read!

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *