This is the epitome of cozy mystery. Something to cozy up sit down to enjoy a snack with. Not super high stakes but fun all the same. Wont have your heart rate shooting through the roof and anxiety to read alone, but will keeping you thinking "whoodunnit"! Thank you to Netgalley for this arc

Murder and mystery greet Lucy and new husband Connor on their return to Nags Head in North Carolina after their honeymoon in Europe. Having spent time visiting art galleries and viewing internationally revered paintings Lucy is delighted to be asked to organise her own display in the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library. With a critically acclaimed art show taking place nearby, the library's educational display which includes only reproductions and quirky items the show is a great success.

One of most interesting pieces of work belongs to library worker Louise Jane's grandmother who has loaned a painting by one of their ancestors of which they are both extremely proud. When a body is found during the glitzy opening night of the impressionist art show and one of Lucy's exhibits disappears she knows the overworked police department will be glad of her help. As she tries to discover if there is a link between the two cases the danger grows ever closer. Will Lucy identify the killer or will Connor's happy ever after be over almost before it begins?

I love this series and it's always good to return to Nags Head. Lucy is a great main protagonist and everyone else works so well together. The new characters cover the gamut of anyone who could be involved in the art world from artists and dealers through to patrons and buyers all of whom have secrets to hide.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Crooked Lane Books, but the opinions expressed are my own. This is another great addition to a series it's easy to recommend.

Thank to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. I love this series and this is a great addition. This story follows Lucy as she delves into the art world as she works to solve the case of a missing picture and a murder. I love this series because the characters a great and the mystery is always fun and complex. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, then you will love this book.

I enjoyed this romp into impressionist artwork. Lucy is a fun sleuth and Gates' plots are enjoyable to read.

Outer Banks librarian Lucy is working on an art show at the library when paintings–and people–start to go missing, in this 11th Lighthouse Library mystery from national bestselling author Eva Gates.


Lucy and the rest of the staff at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library are busy setting up a display about art to go along with the Impressionist Show coming to town. The display is a success, or so they thought. But the next morning they discover one of the paintings that Louise Jane’s Grandmother let them use, a reproduction, is gone.


Why in the world would someone steal a reproduction? There is more confusion when said painting turns up on the library’s doorstep. With parts missing!


And who is this mysterious “Tom”, that Louise Jane is so giddy over? Could he be a thief? Or a murderer?


Lucy and company won’t rest until this mystery is solved, and a killer is brought to justice.


Always a pleasure!


NetGalley/ Crooked Lane Books June 04, 2024

Another fantastic addition to the Lighthouse Library Mystery series.

This story is a fast paced mystery with rich characters and events to keep you guessing, all written with the beautiful backdrop of the Outer Banks. I really like how all of the Lighthouse Library Mysteries are in conjunction with a book being read by the Library book club. I was excited to read this story and it did not disappoint.

In this story, Lucy has jut returned from her honeymoon all aglow. She is very excited to bring some the knowledge she has acquired about art to her new display in the library to run in conjunction with a fine arts exhibition that will be in town. This display is discussing art, as well as showing some pieces of from the masters, all reproductions of course, or are they?

One of the pieces goes missing seemingly while the library is all locked up tight. While pondering the missing art work, Lucy and her husband Connor attending the opening night of the exhibition only to finish out the night finding the dead body of one of the Art Experts, Tom.

The detective on the case, Sam Watson, who has grudgingly taken help from Lucy in the past, is shockingly not only open to her input, but asks for her to join in on some of his interviews. It is up to Lucy to unravel the mystery of who killed Tom, and what happened to the missing library painting.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC.

A traveling art show has come to Nags Head and Lucy has put together her own art show at the library. When the opening of the art show is brought to an early close when the body of the organizer is found in the koi pond outside the gallery. There are a lot of strange things going on, a missing painting, a stranger in disguise, a goth artist who seems to be pointing the finger at everyone. Can Lucy sort through all the clues and figure out what is going on?

This series was kind of hit or miss for me for a while, there have been some great books in the series and some that I didn't enjoy as much. The series seems to have hit its stride and the last few books have really been good. I was afraid when Lucy left the lighthouse that the series would lose something but I love the beach home that she and Connor are remodeling.

The art angle in this mystery was very interesting and I loved how there were multiple mysteries that all wove together around the whole art theme. Also, not to spoil anything, the ending is very exciting! If you're a fan of this series you'll love this book!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

I found it easy to pick out who was the culprit even if I didn't know why in this mystery. There were clues leaning towards it. I have enjoyed this series in the past. In this book, I enjoyed the side story more that the actually murder. There is some intrigue and romance that is fun to see for Louise Jane. She has become a better character. The relationship between her and Lucy made for a good read.

The 11th Book in the Lighthouse Library Mysteries. I enjoyed this book but wasn’t precisely wowed by the mystery. Great character development and each co-worker seems to have their own story within the series. This story focused more on Louise Jane, who seemed likable than usual. We find that the changes in Louise Jane are because she has fallen in love with one of the suspects Lucy and the staff of the Lighthouse Library have set up an educational display about art history to correspond with a traveling show of impressionist art. The display was a success, but Lucy noticed in the morning that the painting Louise Jane’s Grandmother lent them was missing. Even though the painting wasn’t valuable, Lucy wants to know what happened to the missing painting. After the opening of the Art Show Lucy comes across the dead body of the organizer of the traveling art show, Mark Farrago. Now Lucy and her co-workers are up to their necks to try to find out who killed Mark and what happened to the missing painting. We also find that the changes in Louise Jane personality are because she has fallen in love with one of the suspects. Will Lucy and her co-workers solve this murder, will they find the painting and will Louise Jane find her true love. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

ty netgalley for the free copy!! ♡

this was a fun read! i found Lucy and Louise Jane to be very likable characters, the mystery aspect was well done and kept me interested all the way to the end.

the writing is a lot more casual/light-hearted for something tagged as a thriller, considering what i'm used to. still, i wasn't annoyed by it in any way. the pacing was a little slow for me at the beginning considering there was a lot going on during the first chapter, however it was a good introduction to the story and the context needed.

also the cover is super cute :)

Books that take place in libraries or bookshops or anything bookish are always a hit or miss for me. I was hoping that this would be a hit, but I couldn't care less about the story or characters. I tried to keep reading to make sure that I wasn't DNFing too soon, but at almost 10%, my opinion isn't changing, unfortunately. I am sure other people will like this, as the writing is solid and it is setting up a mystery I think readers will like.

The Stranger in the Library is the 11th book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series. It takes place in Nags Head. Lucy O'Neil is the main character who works as an assistant director at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, She and her husband, Connor who is also mayor, have just come back from their honeymoon. Lucy, Bertie James, library director, Denise Roberts, academic librarian, Ronald Burkowski, children's librarian and Louise Jane McKaughnan, volunteer are having an openhouse cocktail party for their showing of reproduction artwork. It is the night before the historical society's invitation only cocktail party of original artwork. Lucy's cousin, Josie Greenblatt is catering both parties. She owns Josie's Cozy Bakery.

Louise Jane's family is an old family in Nag's Head and are showing their reproduction painting. Stormy Seas that her uncle George did of his brother, Robert O'Callagham's original. Robert was a prominant artist from Nags Head. Tom Reilly is a collector and art dealer is very interested in the painting.

The next day after the party Lucy gets to the library and finds that the picture is not hanging on the wall. She calls the police and reports it missing. It is later returned with the back paper sliced. What was the person looking for?

CeeCee Watson is incharge of the the invitation only artwork showing. All important people were attending. Mark Farrago's company is putting on the coctail party and art show. Ethan Livingston is Mark's assistant. Lisa McMaham, a volunteer is also there. Everyone is waiting for Mark as he is late. Later in the evening, Josie, Lucy and Louise Jane go the garden and find Mark dead in the fish pond. They notify the police.

This is where the story takes off. There is so much going on in the story that I will leave it to the reader to enjoy to the surprising ending,

I have read this series from the beginning and have enjoyed it. I look forward to the next adventure that Lucy and her friends get themselves into.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC.

This is a good addition to the Lighthouse Library Mystery series. This time around, Lucy has to deal with art theft and possible forgeries. It seems like this series might be coming to an end soon since the characters seem to be settling down and going in their different directions.

The Stranger in the Library is the 11th book in the lighthouse Library mysteries. Lucy organizes an art and history show at the library to coincide with the traveling Art show in town. Unlike the show at the library, this show features some very pricey paintings and has plenty of security as a safeguard. There is lots of tension between the event organizers, a mysterious man interested in Louise Jane, and an angry local artist. Despite all the security, a man is murdered in a shallow fish pond on the grounds. Lucy agrees to help the short staffed police with their investigation. I enjoyed this book, even the larger role of Louise Jane who seemed more likeable than usual. My thanks to the publisher and netgalley for sharing this book with me.
5/5 STARS!!!

This was the first book that I've read in this series - this is Book #11! I have a lot of books to catch up on but it was easy to read and to understand the characters, even though I've never read a book in the series.

Louise Jane (LJ) has always been a friend/enemy of Lucy's, the MFC. But they have had to work together in this book. I loved the different tangents the plot went down.....always kept me guessing with all the red herrings! I also enjoyed that the police are working with Lucy - most cozy mysteries they want the amateurs far away from the investigation.

Looking forward to reading more in this series. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

#TheStrangerintheLibrary #NetGalley begins with Lucy and her husband, Connor, settling into married life while Lucy prepares for the traveling show of impressionist art coming to their Nags Head lighthouse library.
Lucy and the staff at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library are inspired to create an educational display about art history. Their display is a huge success, but the morning after, they discover that the piece by a distant relative of Louise Jane has disappeared.
The painting isn't valuable, but its sentimental, and Lucy teams up with Louise Jane to locate it.
Whenever Lucy finds herself wrapped up in an investigation, a dead body is never far behind, so it came as no surprise to find out someone has secrets they want to keep hidden, even if murder is the only option to keep the silence.
I liked this story, it was nice to see Lucy and Louise Jane getting along, and even nicer to see a more gentle side to LJ.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of the book.

Lucy and her friends …Nags Head, NC…fun realistic characters and a cool fun setting…cool as in great not cool as in cold…a place to enjoy…a library…best place…a stranger…all of this adds up to a recipe for mayhem with a cast of quirky characters. This talented author has written a page turner. Thanks Netgalley.

This was a cozy read! The characters were likable, the writing was fun, and it held my attention! I’m excited for the release date to purchase the tangible copy!

This series is one of the first cozy mystery series I really enjoyed and 11 books in I'm still really enjoying it. Louise Jane has always been a frenmey of Lucy's but I've always enjoyed her and her ghost. She plays a larger role in this book and I really enjoyed it. There is a lot of investigating in this book that takes Lucy away from her library in this story and I was okay with that. The mystery was quite solid. I didn't guess the who or why and I liked that the police are working with Lucy very actively in this book after the events of the previous book. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

"Stranger in the Library (Lighthouse Library Mystery#11)" by Eva Gates aka Vicki Delany explores the art world. When a painting with seemingly no value (other than sentimental) goes missing and a guest of honor is found dead, Lucy gets pulled into figuring out what is going on. She teams up with Louise Jane quite a bit in this one, since it's her family's painting. It was nice to seem them really getting along and more friendly of a banter rather than Louis Jane being overly competitive or bragging.

The mystery was a bit different. Lucy did more digital leg work this time it seemed. It was more a happenstance that they finally figured out who the murderer was. With that, I did kinda suspect at least one part of what happened but it didn't quite happen like I was thinking.

This series is kinda starting to feel like it's reaching an end. It could keep going for a while, but more characters seem to be reaching a "happily ever after" moment.