I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I have read all the previous books in this series and loved them. This book, though, started out very slow which made me wonder if I should continue to read it. I did and about one quarter of the way through the writing was much more concise and like previous Eva Gate's books. The plot was great, character development excellent but as I stated the beginning was slow and slightly confusing. Enjoy! 📚

This is the 5th book in the Lighthouse Library series and is an awesome addition to the series! Lucy works at a library that is in a lighthouse in NC. Lucy' s cousin Josie is engaged and they are planning a small wedding. Josie's grandmother and a couple of cousins show up to help but are getting carried away. Lucy is hosting a bridal shower at the library when a guest becomes sick and dies. Josie becomes a suspect so Lucy delves into the investigation. I wish Lucy's boyfriend, Connor, had a bigger role but at least it's better in this book. I wasn't sure who the culprit was until the end. This book and series has everything I love about cozy mysteries- interesting likable characters, an intriguing mystery (not graphic or intense), family, friendship and a little romance.

Lucy Richardson, assistant librarian, and Charles, the library’s cat, always make reading the latest Lighthouse Library Mystery a pure delight.

This adventure opens with the news that Lucy’s cousin Josie, of Josie’s Cozy Bakery, is soon to wed Jake Greenblatt, of Jake’s Seafood Bar, in a small, simple ceremony. This plan is soon subverted by the intervention of Grandmother Gloria and her Louisiana Mafia (daughter, Mary Anne, grandniece Mirabelle and wedding planner Florence Fanshaw) who arrive with the intent to give the upcoming nuptials a more elegant and traditional touch. Before long, Josie’s family is embroiled in disagreement over the plans with Grandmother Gloria and Mirabelle pushing for expensive features that Josie doesn’t want.

Things really go sideways when Mirabelle is poisoned by gluten free pastries Josie made for her bridal shower. So now the bride-to-be is a suspect and Lucy must find the killer if she wants the wedding to take place.

A major distraction, especially since Lucy and Charles live is a small third floor apartment in the Lighthouse, is the discovery that the lighthouse foundation needs over $100,000 in structural repairs and Nags Head only has $5,000 to contribute.

Balancing her sleuthing with trying to find money to, literally, save the library, proves challenging for Lucy. Something Read, Something Dead is the fifth Lighthouse Library Mystery by Eva Gates and is a strong entry in the series. Ms. Gates is a skillful storyteller who fabricates absorbing mysteries with warm and relatable characters. A suspense driven pace keeps readers engaged.

This is the fifth book in the series, and the first I’ve read. I get the distinct impression you need to have read the preceding books because at first I felt I was drowning in a sea of names and a bewildering conversation. I had to keep stopping to work out which character was which and how they were all connected.
That wasn’t a great start. I persevered, however, and began to get on top of things, although I did find there was an awful lot of criticism and one-upmanship in the many group conversations. Not a particularly pleasant atmosphere.
The story, once it gets going, is fun and interesting. I love the idea of the lighthouse library itself but it was very much in the background. This book is essentially a character-driven mystery and I really didn’t like many of the characters! Not for me, this one.

I love my cozy mysterys, but a cozy mystery that also refrences a Lord Wimsey novel, even better. I enjoy this mystery series even if it did feel as though some of the finzl pieces wrapped up a little too quick. It does however tic all of the necessary cozy mystery boxes: lovable characters, a community you would like to live in and a non gory crime. Worth my time all the time.

Something Read, Something Dead is the 5th book in the Lighthouse Library mystery series. I enjoy the series for its characters, humor and mystery plots....but also because the series is set in Nags Head, NC. I love to visit Nags Head! I've been to the Bodie Island Lighthouse -- climbed to the top, bought the t-shirt, love the place! So, being a Carolinian, I love this cozy mystery series!

I will say that I do have to suspend reality while I read these books. Bodie Lighthouse in the books and the real deal are quite different. Bodie Lighthouse is not big enough to house a library and an apartment...not even close. It's basically big enough to house the winding staircase to the top, and that's it. But I'm willing to forget that and enjoy imagining what it would be like for the tall, magestic, black and white striped landmark to house a library. :)

In this 5th visit to the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, Librarian Lucy Richardson has a lot going on. Her cousin Josie is trying to plan her wedding, but apparently not fast enough for her Grandma Gloria. Gloria shows up with wedding planners in tow, expecting to take over the arrangements. Fussing about the venues, caterers, menus, dresses, etc ensues. All that fuss alone causes enough commotion all by itself....but it gets fundamentally worse when one of the planners drops dead at the wedding shower. Then a contractor finds major foundation damage to the lighthouse. Lucy is beside herself trying to investigate a murder....and save the library.

Great addition to this fun series. I love the mix of humor, mystery and NC coast quirkiness. :) I highly recommend both reading this series and visiting Nags Head! :)

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Crooked Lane via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. This review is gluten free.**

Lucy is excited about Josie's wedding. The love between the couple is obvious and they are going to have a simple wedding with a small reception. At least they were. Then Grandma showed up and tried to take over the wedding. She wants to direct everything and she has brought wedding planners with her to make it happen. Sometimes wedding planning can get traumatic...

Crooked Lane Books and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published March 13th.

As Josie tries to keep her original plans, Grandma won't be dissuaded from her plans. She thinks her plans are better.

Since Lucy works at the Lighthouse Library, she agrees to hold the reception there. As Josie fights with her family to control her own wedding, Lucy decides to distract one of the planners by encouraging her to work on a wedding onboard a yacht. Josie isn't going to do that but it keeps one of the folks butting in busy elsewhere so they can continue to plan the original wedding they still want to do.

Then one of the guests at the reception gets sick and dies. The gluten free baked goods were only for the one lady's use and they'd been doctored. They take Josie in because she was the baker. Lucy is pretty sure the woman that died was not the victim that was intended. Is it the old girlfriend trying to get Josie out of the way? Might the poisoner have been going after Lucy? Even if they weren't going after her, Lucy still almost gets drowned in the hot tub at a friend's house. Who did that?

With a temporarily assigned detective in charge, Lucy decides she's going to have to solve the case herself. He's trying to put words in people's mouths and is not interested in who is the real killer, he just wants to solve the case. She's got her work cut out for her.

I enjoyed this one a lot. There's plenty going on, there's danger everywhere and the author ends the story neatly. Give it a try, I bet you'll like it.

Lucy Richardson's cousin Josie is finally getting married. She and her friends are planning the wedding, which will be a simple one. But they aren't counting on Josie's grandmother Gloria to come swooping in and change everything to the way she wants it. Along with Gloria is her daughter Mary Anna, and nieces Mirabelle (who is in the wedding) and Florence. It seems Florence and Mirabelle have an events business, and Gloria has decided they will plan the wedding.

Mirabelle is nothing if not obnoxious, and begins changing things to her liking, including changing the "colors" to one Josie can't stand. It doesn't help when Mirabelle meets Josie's fiancé Jake she immediately begins flirting with him. After a disastrous meeting between everyone, Josie gets angry and storms out. Later on, she mentions how she'd like Mirabelle to be 'bumped off' in front of Lucy and her boyfriend Connor, who is also the mayor.

But during the wedding shower Mirabelle is taken ill and dies at the hospital. Suddenly Josie's words come back to haunt her and it looks as if she might be the only person of interest. It doesn't help that the library has a problem with its foundation and needs to be repaired but the money just isn't there, so it's in danger of being permanently closed. Now Lucy has two things to worry about, but first and foremost is finding out who killed Mirabelle so the wedding can get back on track.

With Lucy and her friends hot on the trail of a killer, she'll need to stay on her toes if she wants to find out the truth and keep herself alive...

The first thing I have to say is when a story begins by irritating you, it doesn't bode well. Josie's grandmother is past overbearing, and during this, her mother is worthless. After years of being married, she still won't stand up to her. First of all, if I was getting married and someone decided to “plan” my wedding, I’d ask them who was getting married. If they said, “you are” then I’d tell them, “Glad you remembered that. Since you acknowledged the fact I’m the bride, you can also acknowledge the fact that I will do the wedding my way, and if that doesn’t sit well with you, you know where the airport is.”

I'm not saying the book doesn't get better and eventually someone doesn't stand up and take control, but it goes on far too long for my liking. Not to mention Lucy doesn't have a backbone either. I've never understood why books need to have an "evil nemesis" in them to be a good book. Yet Louise Jane comes in, pushes Lucy's buttons, and Lucy winds up apologizing - for doing nothing. It's time Lucy grew a spine where Louise Jane is concerned. It doesn’t make the book an enjoyable read; it's just annoying.

As for much of the rest of the plot, let's put it this way: Would you want to be in a room listening to a bunch of catty women sniping at each other, while one of them constantly spent her time pointing out your many flaws and doing whatever she could to get rid of you? Add to that weepy women who proclaim how much they love each other? Well, I don't. And that’s much of what this book is, unfortunately. (Trust me, I'm all for strong female friendships, but everyone sitting around while one is getting pushed around and not saying anything? Nope.) I also didn't understand why Aunt Ellen didn't tell Florence to leave her home immediately after she found out that Florence was telling tales to the police about her daughter. A woman like that wouldn't sleep one more night under my roof. See what I mean? No backbone.

As far as discovering the murderer, I found that pretty easy. I knew who it was by the second chapter of the book; but watching Lucy put it all together took quite a bit longer. While the ending of the book was satisfactory, and it all came together nicely, I just didn't care for the fact that some of the women were allowing themselves to be pushed around by others. A decent book, but I felt that it could have been better.

In this latest installment of the Lighthouse Library mysteries, Lucy is entangled in her cousin's wedding plans. It begins with a simple bridal shower and a dead body. But was it murder or an accident? Added to the confusion are many of cousin Josie's interfering relatives. As Lucy tries to find out what really happened and smooth over then contention among the relatives, she also discovers a problem with the library itself. The story begins with action and keeps moving the whole time. It kept me involved with no slow parts. The characters were well developed and seemed like real people to which you could make a connection.

Another incredible mystery to add to the lighthouse library mystery series! As always the characters were well developed and enhanced the storyline very well. In this installment, Lucy's cousin Josie is finally going to marry Jake....or is she??? The mystery around the wedding and of course murder is quite well thought out and plotted with multiple potential villains to untangle in order to reveal the ultimate culprit. A bit of an Angela Lansbury reveal at the ending, but very well done. I'm looking forward to the next book and will definitely give it a read!

Sidenote: I will say that if you have an autoimmune disease or gluten intolerance that you may want to skip this book as this author definitely feels that gluten free lifestyles are nothing more than a "fad." I noticed this in the last book when the author wrote into the outdoor party a scene where an attendee asks for gluten free treats, is told no and then takes more than one regular treat and stuffs her face, a trivial scene that was unnecessary to the book at all. However, this book really drove home the authors' disdain for the gluten free diet. While I agree that it is treated as a fad by ignorance, it is frustrating for those of us who have no choice to read that gluten free food is a worse than regular food and is nothing more than a fad which perpetrates the ignorance. I really love this series and the characters, but was very disappointed to see the gluten free fad attitude not only continued, but extended. I'm hoping the author will find a way to weave her mysteries in the future without taking potshots at those who are gluten free.

The Lighthouse Library series is a wonderful series of cozy mysteries set in an idyllic oceanside town which features amateur sleuth/librarian, Lucy, who lives in a mystical lighthouse. The fifth novel of the series, Something Read, Something Dead, does not disappoint.
The story read very well, and I enjoyed the time that the author spent introducing the relatives and laying out the plans and mis-plans for the upcoming nuptials of Josie and Jake. We are then faced with a murder, as well as necessary repairs to the lighthouse. There were plenty of red herrings, and I had thought many times that I had solved the mystery, only to be proved wrong. I always recommend the Lighthouse Library series to fellow readers as Gates consistently provides well developed and likable characters, plenty of clues, a fantastic setting, and excellent pacing.
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for review.

Another delightful installment in the Bodie Island Library series. All the beloved characters are in place. The book was very quick-paced and I was finished before I knew it.

SOMETHING READ, SOMETHING DEAD is the fifth book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series by Eva Gates (aka Vicki Delany) and I’m so happy that this series has continued to flourish with its new publisher. The protagonist, Lucy Richardson, lives and works in the coolest spot imaginable: a lighthouse turned library! This Outer Banks setting in Nags Head, North Carolina is brought to life by the author, who weaves a tale of murder, stalking, and a disintegrating lighthouse into wedding celebrations. The backdrop is set amidst unpleasant out-of-town family descending upon the town to sow their discord. The drama that ensues is enough to make the bride, Josie, want to follow through on her wishes to elope, or hide out until the disagreeable guests have left town. Ms. Gates has created well-developed characters and allowed her protagonist to shine in the face of adversity as Lucy supports her cousin/best friend, Josie. Some of the out-of-town guests are nasty people and it wasn’t hard to think that someone, or even many people, would want to do away with one of them.

Ms. Gates also weaves in a few subplots that effectively kept me guessing about who the culprit was with a unique twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. The entire town is also pulled into the drama when a huge crack is discovered at the lighthouse library and the safety of the building is questionable. It provided an uplifting way to showcase the small-town spirit and the heartwarming conclusion left me cheering for Lucy and her friends and counting down the days until the next book!

Another excellent edition to a wonderful series! Full of twists and turns that leaves you wanting more and enjoying each moment until the end when the killer is caught.

Something Read, Something Dead is the fifth book in Eva Gates’ Lighthouse Library Mystery series. In this story, librarian Lucy Richardson is helping her cousin, Josie O’Malley, plan her wedding to restaurant owner Jake Greenblatt. Josie wants a simple wedding with just close family and friends.

But then the Louisiana mafia comprised of her grandmother Gloria O’Malley, her Aunt Mary Anna, and more distant cousins Mirabelle and Florence arrive. Gloria will not hear of a simple wedding for her only granddaughter and cousins Mirabelle and Florence have an event planning business and want to take over the wedding planning. Their new plans skyrocket the expenses and balloon the guest list. Josie and Jake have both been greatly helped financially by their families and therefore want to take on the wedding and its expense themselves, but they none can shoulder such extravagant plans.

The simple shower Lucy is throwing in the Lighthouse library for Josie, her Aunt Ellen, and their friends, many of whom are also library volunteers, does not meet Gloria’s expectations but she is cordial. The afternoon event goes smoothly until the very end when Mirabelle says she isn’t feeling well and collapses, dying a little later at the hospital. As Lucy prepared the food and Josie furnished the desserts, including a special plate of gluten free for Mirabelle, they move to the forefront of the investigation when it is determined Mirabelle was poisoned.

With many twists and turns, outside characters adding to the fray, and a state police investigator set on his perpetrator and working to get the evidence to support his theory, it appears to be up to Lucy to use her logic skills to put the puzzle pieces together to clear her cousin. And Lucy does rise to the occasion, even after her own close call.

As with the previous books in this series, this is a well plotted mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. I did enjoy this book and I do recommend it.

This is the fifth installment in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series. I really like this series, it's well written and the characters are fun without being too silly.

In this book, Lucy Richardson is helping her cousin Josie plan her wedding. Josie owns the Cozy Bakery, so she's making all the treats for her shower, even for her rude family members from New Orleans that showed up out of the blue. Unfortunately, one of them turns up dead at the shower and Josie is the main suspect.

Lucy has to investigate to clear her friend. I recommend this book and the other books in the series. Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Something Read, Something Dead is the fifth installment of the lighthouse library series, though I was able to enjoy this book without having read any of the previous books in the series. Lucy's cousin Josie is planning her wedding, which should be a fun and exciting time for her, however Josie's distant relatives have arrived from Louisiana for the wedding with plenty of unwanted advice and criticism. Lucy offers to host the bridal shower at the lighthouse library, even though the foundation is cracking and in desperate need of repairs. When one of the obnoxious cousins ends up dead at the bridal shower, suspicion instantly falls on Josie. It seems Josie made the gluten free snacks the victim ate just before being poisoned. Lucy sets out to clear her cousin from suspicion and find the real killer, a task easier said and done. This was a fun read set in a town I am ready to pack up and move to. The mystery provided lots of clues and suspects along the way to the surprise ending. I recommend this book to fans of the author's numerous other delightful novels or for those looking for a well plotted mystery in a charming setting.

I love this series! This is the fifth book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series. I really enjoyed catching up with Lucy and library cat Charles. As a librarian, working at a lighthouse library sounds amazing! Great mystery and very engaging. I'm so glad that this series is continuing.

Something Read, Something Dead: A Lighthouse Library Mystery by Eva Gates

This is a 5th book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery Series.

I have never read any of the other books in the series and it didn’t seem to matter, I was able to catch on with what was going on and who the characters are.

The first paragraph drew me in and sets the stage for the story. (I love first liners or paragraphs of a book and the author did not disappoint.)

In this book Lucy Richardson and her friends are helping Lucy’s cousin Josie with her wedding plans. Josie and her fiancé Jake want a small, simple wedding. But when Josie’s Paternal Grandmother Gloria feels the wedding is not progressing fast enough since they only have a month to prepare, Gloria and her squad (3 women) fly out to Outer Banks and do their utmost best to take over the wedding plans stressing out Josie. Josie gets mad at her cousin Mirabella who is changing a lot of things in her wedding and is flirting with her fiancé. The next day, Josie makes a threatening statement about Mirabelle at her bakery. A few days later Mirabella is dead.

The author did a great job on the Gloria character being mean, rude and clueless on how her words effected the family or she just didn’t care. It made me feel sorry for the family who had to put up with her.
Mirabella was not a likable character, but I think the author made sure we didn’t like her for she is the victim.

I like the main character Lucy. She is smart, nice and is a librarian. Who cannot like a librarian? I will say she tends to ask questions when it’s not the right time… But, who doesn’t?

What I want to mention about the book was that the time frame of how long Lucy been in Outer Banks confused me. In Chapter 5, Lucy informed the readers she only been in Outer Banks a few months. Now in my opinion, a “few” to me is about 2 to 3 months…maybe 4 months. I know there are 4 previous books in the series meaning 4 different murders. I guess Lucy solves a murder a month? I do know she solved this murder before the wedding takes place in 4 weeks, so it is possible… I guess I need to read the previous books to find out! Haha!

Also, the ending was anticlimatic. And the way Lucy figured it out was also anticlimatic. But, I guess when you solve 4 murders in the previous books, you get to now solve them Agatha Christie Perot style.
I will say I did not figure out who the killer was and was not surprised when the killer was revealed, only that it made sense.

What I liked about the book was that it was a fun, easy read. I read the book in a couple of days. Even with some of the scenarios being predictable, the author did a great job on character development and made me feel like I was one of the girls! The storyline held my interest and I kept flipping the pages to find out what will happen next. Will the family finally grow a backbone and send the Granny Gloria to a home? Who wanted to kill Mirabella or was her death an accident? Will Josie and Jake have the wedding of their dreams or will one of them call the wedding off?

All in all, the mystery and storyline has an unwavering 4 stars.

This book has no sex, graphic violence or profanity.

A Big Thank You goes out to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with an advanced digital read. The opinions expressed on this review are my own.

Quotes:

I suppose, to a man, a wedding is just a wedding. Not something requiring deception to a degree that would make a James Bond villain proud.

“Tell me that’s not an omen” Great Expectations, by Charles namesake Mr. Dickens. A doomed engagement; an abandoned bride gone mad.

Grandma is a southern lady of the old school. Manners are everything to her. You can literally get away with murder if you’re gracious about it.

Spoiler:


Towards the end of the book, one of the characters makes a statement that made me feel it could be a small hint of what the next book in the series could possibly be about…. we will have to wait and see!

Lucy Richardson is assisting her soon-to-be-wed cousin with her wedding plans. When the relatives descend on them with plans of their own, Lucy has to make a strategy to keep them out of the way. But, someone has gone too far and one of the relatives is poisoned. Can Lucy find the clues to bring this culprit to justice?
This was a great cozy mystery. The plot was so absorbing and compelling that I stayed up late to find out whodunit. The characters were dastardly created and kept me guessing. Lucy is one of those main characters I enjoy reading about, and I can’t wait for the next one. I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.