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Another book in the Lighthouse Library series by Eva Gates, Deadly Ever After

298 pages Crooked Lane Books Publisher May 11, 2021 publish date

About The Book

Librarian Lucy’s wedding is at stake when a murder interrupts her engagement celebrations. To make it down the aisle, she’ll have to find the killer to save the date in the 8th book in the Lighthouse Library mysteries.

They’re getting married! Lucy Richardson and Connor McNeil have announced their engagement. Their friends throw a party for the couple at Coquina Beach, close to Lucy’s beloved Bodie Island Lighthouse Library.

As they’re packing up the presents and the (few) leftovers from Josie’s Cozy Bakery, who should arrive, but Richard Eric Lewiston III, Lucy’s former almost-fiancé and his overbearing mother Evangeline. Push comes to love when Evangeline makes no secret of why she’s here: to get Lucy and Ricky back together.

Lucy isn’t temped in the least, and Ricky is nothing but embarrassed at his mother’s desperate ploy. Before returning to Boston Evangeline throws a dinner party at Jake’s Seafood Bar for a reluctant Lucy and her family. Lucy hopes to get the dinner over with and see Evangeline and Ricky returning to Boson. But when a body is found at the restaurant’s kitchen door, Lucy is again forced to unwillingly put on her detective’s hat and do what she can to save her family and her engagement. Meanwhile, the classic novel reading club is reading The Hound of the Baskervilles, and open war breaks out in the Lighthouse Library when Lucy agrees to temporarily take care of a dog named Fluffy, but Charles the library cat has other ideas.

My Thoughts

I will have to admit really enjoying reading the Lighthouse Library series.
I did read them out of order though reading more current ones in the series before this one but now I have answers on a few things and how they happened from more current books.
One thing that really makes it in this book is it taking place in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. For those of you who've visited there you know what I'm talking about. It's such a beautiful, relaxing area. A lighthouse with offices, a living area and a library? Yes please! I actually visited the lighthouse portrayed in this story and it's still in operation though sad to say it's not large enough to house all the extras. It was worth climbing the over 200 stairs for the view though. In this one Lucy and Connor announce their engagement and get shown a house on the Outer Banks that they decide to buy. If you'll remember in a more current book I reviewed, they discover this house is haunted and the body of an unknown to them man is found in it.
After a celebratory night at a Seafood Bar a body is found at the restaurants' kitchen door. Lucy once again dons her sleuthing hat and gets to work. There are many references to The Hounds of Baskerville as this is what the classic book club is reading. When Lucy decides to temporarily watch a little yappy dog, well let's just say Charles the library cat makes a quick disappearance.
The dog does play an important role in the story though, it would probably surprise you how it does. The outcome surprised me. Quick paced, I read this in an afternoon, and I'll be looking forward to the upcoming release.

Pub Date 11 May 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Grab A Copy Here

About The Author

Eva Gates is the pen name of Canadian author Vicki Delany. As Eva she writes the national bestselling Lighthouse Library cozy series for Crooked Lane Books, the latest of which is DEATH KNELLS AND WEDDING BELLS, coming June 2023.

Have a super day and thanks for visiting today.

Have you read this series? Do you have a favorite in this series?

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First Line Friday

Happy Friday & welcome to First Line Friday hosted by Reading Is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line. Today I’m featuring the first line of Death Knells and Wedding Bells by Eva Gates. I love that her books take place on the Outer Banks of North Carolian, it’s such a beautiful and relaxing place to visit.

And the first lines are………….

“I can’t remember when, if ever, my feet hurt this much,” my husband said to me. I leaned my head on his shoulder and attempted to smother another burp.

About The Book

Librarian Lucy’s wedding is nearly perfect—aside from a missing guest and the strangled body she finds. Now, she must vow to find the killer in this 10th Lighthouse Library mystery.

Lucy and Connor planned for the perfect Outer Banks wedding—and that’s exactly what they got. Aside from typical rumblings of familial tensions, the late spring weather allowed for a beautiful day, the food was delicious, and everyone had a good time, until one of the guests goes missing.

Before Lucy can look forward to the rest of her life in Nags Head and the work she does at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, she gets a phone call from her boss, Bertie James. Eddie, Bertie’s friend, never made it back home after the reception. Initially, Lucy doesn’t think anything of it—sometimes wedding guests simply have a little too much fun. But this quickly turns to something darker when she discovers the body of a wedding guest strangled in a locked closet, and the police immediately start asking questions about Eddie. Lucy must figure out if the two are connected before it’s too late—both for Bertie’s friend and the rest of her wedding guests.

With the Classic Novel Reading Club reading the Selected Works of Edgar Allan Poe—Lucy wonders if the master of the macabre can assist her investigation or if the hunt for the killer’s identity will remain as nothing more than an unsolved mystery.

Let me know the first lines of the book closest to you.

We are having rain for the second day in a row, hopefully it’s sunny where you are.

Enjoy your weekend.

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Death By Beach Read-OBX cozy mystery, Lighthouse Library Mystery #9 By Eva Gates-Review

280 pages Crooked Lane Books June 07,2022 publish date

About The Book

Librarian Lucy’s new historic house comes with a lot of baggage and family secrets. Can she put them to rest or will a killer bring Lucy’s family to their downfall, in the 9th Lighthouse Library mystery.
 

It’s spring in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and Lucy and Connor have moved into their new home at last, a historic cottage on the Nags Head Beach. The house needs a lot of renovations, but they worked hard over the winter to get it ready. Lucy is now happily immersed in her work at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, planning her wedding, and decorating the house. That is, until a dead body disrupts their peaceful new abode.   
 
The first night Lucy’s alone in the house, with the company of Charles the library cat, she hears sounds. Investigating they see footsteps in the dust of the unfinished living room, and the door to the outside is open. Lucy’s reminded that the house is said to be haunted: forty years ago the teenage daughter of the owners fled in the night, and never again stepped foot inside her family home.
 
But the sounds have an all-too-human origin and one evening Lucy and Connor find the dead body of a man they don’t even recognize in their kitchen. They soon realize he has a long-time connection to their house. Lucy’s forced to find out what happened all those years ago and why it’s threatening her happiness today.
 
Meanwhile, the Classic Novel Reading Club is reading The House of the Seven Gables by Nathanial Hawthorne, a book about another old house full of secrets. Can Lucy find parallels to her own situation in Hawthorne’s fiction before the killer strikes again?

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My Thoughts

Death by Beach Read is the ninth book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series.
I enjoy reading books about places I’ve visited, and this takes place on the Out Banks of North Carolina, Nags Head and Bodie Island Light House. Such a beautiful area. While the lighthouse in the story houses a library, living quarters and offices from visiting I know there is no room for this but its fiction so allowable it is.
Having read and enjoyed others in this series I am familiar with the characters Lucy, a transplant from Boston and Connor, the very busy mayor. They have moved into a newly renovated beach house and are settling in with her library cat Charley.
Her first night alone in the house provides to be too spooky with sounds coming from the closed off upstairs area and footprints in the dust.
When a body of a man the homeowners don’t even know turns up in their house it’s time to take into account the old rumors about the house being haunted.
Will the cat’s nosing around turn up anything but mice in the empty and dusty areas of the home?
Action, suspense, wedding planning, a library, a cat, sleuthing this book has all you need to be satisfied with a great cozy mystery.
I am enjoying this series and a lot of the same characters in each book. Wonderful, easy to follow plot. Some cozies can confuse you with too much going on, not so with this one. Recommended!

Pub Date: 07 Jun 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

About The Author

Eva Gates is the pen name of Canadian author Vicki Delany. As Eva she writes the national bestselling Lighthouse Library cozy series for Crooked Lane Books, the latest of which is DEATH BY BEACH READ, coming June 2022.

Have a great day. Thanks for stopping by.