Something Read Something Dead: A Lighthouse Library Mystery

Eva Gates

Mar 2019 · A Lighthouse Library Mystery Book 5 · Crooked Lane Books

About this ebook

National bestselling author Eva Gates’s fifth Lighthouse Library mystery will carry fans of Miranda James and Jenn McKinlay to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Dark deeds in the Lighthouse Library threaten to send Lucy Richardson’s soon-to-be-wed cousin Josie to an early ‘til-death-do-us-part.

Winter falls on North Carolina’s Outer Banks as Lucy Richardson and her friends joyfully help her favorite cousin, Josie O'Malley, plan her wedding. The owner and head baker of Josie's Cozy Bakery and her fiancé, chef Jake Greenblatt, want a small, simple wedding.

But to their horror, Josie's imperious grandmother, Gloria, descends with the “Louisiana Mafia”: a gaggle of aunts and cousins who intend to take control of the wedding plans. Gloria doesn't do small and simple, and cousin Mirabelle has her own ideas for Josie's wedding, something grand and lavish—and paid for by Josie's parents, of course—that will kickstart her fledgling event planning business and get her work shown on the covers of wedding magazines. To make matters worse, Mirabelle focuses her full Southern charm on the prospective groom...and Jake doesn't seem entirely adverse to her attentions.

To smooth the waters, Lucy hosts a bridal shower at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library. But it turns deadly when Mirabelle collapses—soon after eating the gluten-free treats Josie prepared specifically for her. Now, to save her favorite cousin from prison, Lucy will have to bring a crook to book in this fifth festive Lighthouse Library mystery from national bestselling author Eva Gates.

Ratings and reviews

Something Read, Something Dead can be read as a standalone if you have not indulged in the previous books in A Lighthouse Library Mystery series. I always enjoy Eva Gates descriptive writing which brings the story to life. I can imagine the beautiful library, the town, the characters, and Lucy’s adorable apartment inside the lighthouse. There are a variety of new characters as Grandma Gloria descends on the town with a group of relatives. Gloria is a Southern lady who believes in proper etiquette and extravagance (which she expects Josie’s parents to pay for, of course). Gloria brings along her own wedding planners to carry out her instructions (oh dear). Mirabelle has her own agenda and is happy to cause mischief wherever she goes. The adorable library cat, Charles is back, and he provides some laugh out loud moments. After Mirabelle’s death, Lucy is not about to let Detective Yarmouth pin the crime on Josie. Lucy immediately starts asking questions so she can quickly close the books on this terrible incident before Josie begins a new chapter of her life married to Jake. The mystery has multiple suspects (all with good motive to harm Mirabelle) plus misdirection to send readers down the wrong path. I was able to identify the killer long before the reveal, but it did not hinder my reading pleasure. There are references to Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers and her main character, Lord Peter Wimsey sprinkled throughout the story. The Outer Banks sounds like a beautiful place to live and work. I believe many of us would want to work and live in a library that is inside a lighthouse (it must be a large lighthouse). It is such a shame that Bodie Island Lighthouse Library is suffering from foundation issues which will be costly to repair. Let us hope that the townspeople will rally around and help with the expensive renovations. I liked the reference to Daryl Wood Gerber and her French Bistro Mystery series (entertaining cozy mystery series). Something Read, Something Dead will delight cozy mystery readers with its engaging characters, charming library, delectable sweet treats, and a bewildering whodunit.

This novel is fifth in the Lighthouse Library Mystery Series, and the best I’ve read by Eva Gates! Such a delight it is to be back in the Outer Banks, visiting the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library! From Charles, the loving library cat, to Lucy, the Assistant Librarian, it is a wonderful place where Lucy lives in the tiny fourth floor apartment and works in the library housed in now a non-working lighthouse. Lucy’s best friend and cousin, Josie, is getting married in a few short weeks, and there are still decisions to make and tasks to complete. Including Josie finding a wedding dress. As she and fiancé Jake are keeping the wedding small, they emailed invitations to their friends and family. When learning that her granddaughter was not sending proper engraved invitations, her grandmother Gloria flew in from Louisiana with her entourage of Mirabelle, a cousin who will be a bridesmaid, Florence, one of Gloria’s nieces, and Gloria’s daughter Mary Ann. Mirabelle and Florence are in the event planning business together. With their expertise and Gloria’s experience, they want to do the wedding of the season. One little thing holds them back; Josie and the budget she needs to stay within. When the “Louisiana Mafia” meets Jake, Mirabelle shamelessly flirts with him while Gloria and Florence make suggestions for the wedding and reception. Hard as it is to forgive and move on, Josie does so. Next on the schedule is a small bridal shower that Lucy hosts. Josie bakes the sweet treats, including a separate plate of gluten-free goodies for Mirabelle, who recently changed her diet. The shower starts out beautifully but ends with Mirabelle extremely ill and being rushed to the hospital, where she later died. State police take over the investigation, and Josie’s Cozy Bakery is closed for inspection by the police and health department. To top it off, a wannabe journalist tweets terrible photos and potentially damaging info for all to see. A heavy wind and rain storm brought water in the library through a crack in the wall. The crack goes through the foundation, and only major, costly repairs might be able to save the lighthouse if the work is done soon. The city will give only 10% of the estimate, and the cost is too steep for the usual methods of fundraising. The author, primarily using actions and conversations, show our favorite people as three-dimensional folks. I envy Lucy’s job! I love how she left challenges behind in Boston and went to her favorite place in the world to stay with her favorite people, and begins a new life. She enjoys the friends she made during the years she spent summers there and is now dating the mayor. This is one of the best cozy mysteries I’ve read so far this year. The beautiful east coast setting is described very well. The mysteries and the underlying struggle to find a way to repair the lighthouse make it a riveting read. With Josie a murder suspect, her business and her marriage may already be doomed. Plot twists move the mystery in different directions. It was a challenge to find out who the real killer is, who attempts to kill Lucy, and why. I never would have figured out one of the motives! I was very pleased with the solutions to the crimes and the library needs, and highly recommend this to fans of the author, love east coast lighthouses, cats, libraries, and the folks connected with them. From a grateful heart: I received a copy of the through the publisher and NetGalley; a positive review was not required.

cozy-mystery, library-cat, murder-investigation, law-enforcement, lawyers, family-dynamics, friendship, amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths ***** A lighthouse on the Outer Banks where the town library is housed along with a library cat and a very interesting woman who is a good friend, has some real characters for relatives, and a gift for sleuthing/snooping. The publisher's blurb is pretty extensive so there's no need to recap or do the spoiler thing, but it's all about the characters, plot twists, and red herrings isn't it? Especially when dealing with local law as well as the state police detective! It kept me reading late into the night and enjoying every bit of it! Did you know that it's part of a series? I didn't know until after I read it and I went to see what else she's written! I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

About the author

Eva Gates is a national bestselling author who began her writing career as a Sunday writer: a single mother of three high-spirited daughters, with a full-time job as a computer programmer. Now she has more than twenty novels under her belt in the mystery genre, published under the name Vicki Delany. She lives in Ontario. This is her fifth Lighthouse Library mystery.