Death By Beach Read (Lighthouse Library Mystery, #9)

by Eva Gates

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?

• ISBN10: 1643859102
• ISBN13: 9781643859101
• Publish Date: 7 June 2022
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Crooked Lane Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 288
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781643859101

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Death by Beach Read is the 9th Lighthouse library mystery by Eva Gates. Released 7th June 2022 by Crooked Lane, it's available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out second quarter 2023. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a clean cozy mystery with book recommendations in the text throughout, cat (a Himalayan called Charles), a soon-to-be-married librarian main character, a library in a lighthouse (which doesn't really feature centrally in this story), and a landmark house which might be haunted and which certainly has a tragic past. Although it's part of a series, there's enough backstory woven into the plot that it works fine as a standalone. The ensemble cast is full of eccentric small town characters, but the author is skillful enough and the writing technically adept enough that the whole works well enough. The plotting proceeds at a good clip, and although the dialogue is a bit trope-y in some places, it's not intrusive enough to yank readers out of their suspension of disbelief.

The language is squeaky clean, no cursing whatsoever. The denouement and resolution were satisfying and there were some last minute twists which added a nice coda to the ending. Since there are 9 books extant in the series, it would make a good candidate for a light binge read.

This is simply a well written, readable, and enjoyable library cozy (with cat). There are also a number of fun bonus reading prompts referenced in the book which will lead the reader to other books and series. I also liked that the author highlights the fun and social aspects of book clubs. Talking about books with other book lovers adds another whole level of enjoyment. It's well worth a look for fans of the genre.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.