Cover Image: Death By Beach Read

Death By Beach Read

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Member Reviews

The ninth in the series, Death by Beach Read. Another great book in the series. I really liked the mystery in this one, perhaps one of my favorites. It kept me guessing and I was happy with the outcome. This author's writing style is one of my favorites. I read a lot of cozy mystery series. When I started the book, I kept marveling at the sentence structure. I had to keep telling myself to focus on the story. It's pure delight reading anything by this author. I read another one of her series too. There are a lot of wonderful descriptions of the historic house they are remodeling. The supporting characters are great (Louise Jane is still my favorite). The new characters introduced in this book (particularly Jo & her gardens) were wonderful. I hope to see more of them in future stories. I hope there are many, many more to come in this series! I recommend this series to everyone.

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Death by Beach Read is the ninth book in one of my favourite cozy mystery series. You can read them as standalones, but I recommend you start at the beginning as so much happens in the character's lives that you would miss out on. In this book Lucy and Connor have moved into their new home, one that had been empty, but owned by an old family from Nags Head Beach. It needs a lot of work, but Connor is sure that it will be an amazing home. Of course that means Lucy has to move out of her apartment in the Lighthouse Library. The owner had history with Connor's parents and that leads to some issues. At night Lucy hears sounds and sees things that have her scared to be alone. When a dead body is discovered in their kitchen one morning, they have to figure out what is going on and why does it seem like someone is trying to sabotage their renovations.

There is a lot going on and Lucy has her hands full. She is helping Sam plan her wedding, trying to find the murderer, driving back and forth to work, dealing with Diane, a nasty character from a previous book who is back in town, and trying to help Charles get used to living somewhere else besides the library. We meet some new characters in this story that add some interest to the library book club and to give us some suspects in the murder. I really liked Jo, the recluse who finally began to come out of the house. She has secrets and a past that have held her hostage for years. Of course Lucy asked lots of questions and followed her instincts to put together clues. She also gets help from Louise Jane. She is one character that has grown and changed so much as the series has gone on. She used to be really obnoxious and mean to Lucy, and I am really pleased with the direction her character has taken. Lucy almost has it figured out, and then there is the showdown. A great mystery with several suspects, motives and red herrings. I recommend it to cozy mystery lovers.

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Wow, I was not expecting that person to be the killer, well done!

I love this series. Who wouldn't want their town library to be in an old lighthouse. Looking forward to Lucy and Connor's wedding in a future book.

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Because of the setting of the lighthouse turned into a library, I quickly became a fan of this series. Charles, the library cat has a personality of his own. The characters have grown through out the series. Great character arcs. The murder suspects are as nasty as ever. The due to the lack of light on the library, focusing instead on Lucy's home with her fiancé, Connor made the story not so interesting to me. I look forward to reading more books in this series.

Thank you Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy of this book.

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Another glorious cozy set in Outer Banks, NC.

Lucy Richardson is very happy. She is engaged to the Mayor, Connor McNeil and they are moving into their gorgeous new home on the beach. In the midst of home renovations, Lucy keeps hearing what sounds like creaking floorboards but when she investigates, no one is there. Until a dead body turns up in their kitchen, who just happens to be the wayward twin of the man they bought the house from. This is a bit of a locked room mystery and how the past can interrupt the future. Lucy just wants to figure out whodunit so she can get her home and her life back.

Without giving spoilers I thought the resolution was a little on the goofy side. I have only read a couple of these and not in any particular order so I may have to go back to the beginning of the series for full understanding. However, that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. I look forward to more in this series and Ms. Gates' alter ego Vicky Delaney's continuing series.

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I was sold by the cover of this book alone. But I loved it even more when I opened it and read this great little murder mystery. This is a great summer read for anyone who loves to play detective!

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Lucy and Conner have bought a house. It's an old house, unloved in for over 15 years. There's a lot of repairs to be made and Conner and his father start to work. But when Conner is out of town one night, Lucy is alerted to an intruder in the house by Charles her cat. Ahw i convinced that it was only her imagination.

But then when they discover a body in the kitchen and a secret entrance into the house.....

Lucy has to deal with problems at the library including the return to town of a troublesome woman named Dianne. And there are more secrets uncovered than just an entrance to the house.

There's just too much good stuff to put in a review. You need to read it yourself!
I've read one other Lighthouse Library Mystery but really need to go back and read all the others. These are good!

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This is one of my favorite cozy series and Eva Gates (Vicki Delany) is one of my favorite authors. I make a point of reading all her different series. She never disappoints.

Lucy and Connor are engaged to be married and have found a perfect home-it’s a fixer upper but the location is wonderful and is a historical property and they were lucky to get it. The house had been empty for 15 years or so, when the owner passed away and her remaining children didn't want to live there because they thought it was haunted. Ralph Harper sold it to Lucy and Connor at a great price as he felt they would take care of it.

When Connor is away at a conference, Lucy hears strange noises and finds the patio door open and footprints in the dust. Since they had decking materials delivered that day she decides the workmen must have done it The next night she is again wakened by noise. She shares her concerns with Connor upon his return and learns that there is a trapdoor to the attic. They go up there and find more footprints in the dust They call the police but can't be sure its an intruder or workmen who may have been up there or if wind caused the pattern,

However, when they return from dinner with Colin's parents, Lucy discovers a dead body in her kitchen.
They discover the victim had a connection to the house and to people in Nag's Head but what was he doing in their house and what was he searching for. Did it relate to his murder? And is the house really haunted?

A well plotted mystery with a great cast of characters.

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Cozy mysteries are the perfect summer reads! I loved that this one look place in the Outer Banks. It was a quick and entertaining read. I didn’t realize until I started reading that it’s part of a series, but it can be read as a standalone. The book was fun and it took me a while to figure out the killer. I definitely recommend!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

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What I Loved:

The Mystery. A dead body in a haunted home, no evidence of how the person got in, and an eerie parallel to House of Seven Gables. Can it get much better? I loved the murder and subsequent mystery in this installment. I didn’t guess the murderer, but it also wasn’t an “out of the blue” killer. The perfect balance.

The Setting. One of my favorite themes about this series is the rich descriptions of the Outer Banks beach living, the historic homes, and the lighthouse. Death by Beach Read certainly didn’t disappoint! Beautiful beaches, loving descriptions of restoring the old beach homes, the very real fear of fire in beach communities, all wonderfully described.

The Tone. Sometimes, cozy mysteries can be a little flippant with death, with the death being an afterthought to push the character development or show off detective skills. However here, the murder is in every scene: it is in every creak of the stairs, the fear permeating Lucy, Connor’s paranoia. It actually felt like a murder was committed instead of a plot pushed.

What Didn’t Work as Well:

Lack of Character Development. I know, not every single book in a series can provide groundbreaking revelations for our characters. Lucy and Connor are moving in together and Lucy is planning their wedding, but not much goes on between them or the side characters. The mystery takes precedence (as it should), but sometimes that means our favorite characters get a little short changed.

The Length / Pace. Not sure if it was due to the lack of character development, but there were times that this book felt lagged, and overall felt a bit too long. The exposure of the murderer happened too long after the crime, and the crime happened too long into the book.

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I really like the Library Lighthouse series and this is the latest one and it was really good.

Lucy and Conner are buying a house and it looks like a great house till they find out it comes with a lot of baggage. A lot of people think that it's haunted and there have been some strange things happening while Lucy was there. Then Lucy finds a dead body in their kitchen who happens to be a kin to the guy who sold the house to them and that is when they find out about the odd history surrounding the house.

Lucy tries to not get involved that much but of course she does get involved because she needs to find out what exactly happened as the sister to the dead guy was spooked in that house a long time ago and has never been back into it and it seems strange that she has been seen hanging around the house.

There was a lot of good suspects and it took me a while to figure this one out, but I did figure out who the killer. That didn't bring down the enjoyment of the story because it took me a while.

I recommend this series if you enjoy cozy mysteries.

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What a pleasure this cozy mystery was! Set on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, just a short drive from my home in Virginia., loved the familiarity of place it gave.. Cozy mysteries are always a good plan when you just want to sit back and read a quick, fun, entertaining story. Bonus...I didn't figure out whodunit before the reveal! Death by Beach Read is the 9th in the Library mystery series and the first I have read by Eva Gates...I will definitely be back for more! I highly recommend...and double your fun by actually reading it on the beach.

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This may be the 9th in the Lighthouse Mystery series, it is the first that I have read. Upon finishing, I now can't wait to ready the prior ones. Death by Beach Read is a balancing act of cozy and thriller mystery. Thank you @netgally

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Thank you @netgalley and @crookedlanebooks for an ARC of Death by Beach Read by Eva Gates, Lighthouse Library Mysteries, number 9. This is one of my favorite bookish cozy mystery series.

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. Lucy is busy with 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 home.

Book 9 was a solid entry. I love revisiting this cast of characters. And Lucy is a character that gets stronger each book. I read slowly because I didn’t want to leave Nags Head. So enjoyed it!

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I love this series. It's always been on of my favorites. I love Connor and Lucy and even Louse Jane is growing on me. I love when books connect the present with something that happened in the past and that was this book. Very entertaining and hard to put down!

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Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the gifted ebook of Death by Beach Read! All opinions in this review are my own.

Despite Death by Beach Read being the ninth book in the series, it is the first one that I read. I love the town it is set in and the people that populate it!

For a cozy mystery, Death by Beach Read is pretty spooky! I really liked the mystery in this novel and how much action happens in it. I feel like Death by Beach Read really blurs the line between cozy mystery and thriller!

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This is a Cozy Mystery, and this is the 9th book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery Series. I love this series, and I have read the other books in this book series before picking up this book. I love the characters in this book. I loved the mystery/suspense in this book, but I did miss her living in the lighthouse. I hope the next book in this book series will have more of the lighthouse library in it. I am glad she has Charles the library cat at her new house. I cannot wait for her wedding. I did enjoy getting to know Connor's father. I did not guess the killer or who was messing with Lucy's house. Great Fun Read. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Crooked Lane Books) or author (Eva Gates) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

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Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest and personal review. I really enjoy the writing of Eva Gates (also known as Vicki Delany). She draws you in and makes you feel like these characters are old friends. Lucy Richardson is a small town librarian to a library located in a lighthouse. She is engaged to Connor McNeil, the town mayor, and she takes care of the library cat Charles. Lucy and Connor are moving into a new home and one night when they return, a body is found on the floor. It's up to Lucy (with some help) to untangle to the mystery and solve the murder. Another enjoyable addition to this series, can't wait for the next one!

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I really enjoyed this book. I don't think I have read any other book by this author but was able to follow along with the story line and not feel the least bit left out or confused. So if you are new to the series it doesn't matter you will still enjoy the book.

Charles., I think, was my favorite character in the story. He is Lucy's cat and he is a good judge of character. He also alerts Lucy if there is danger. Which seems to follow her wherever she goes. I enjoyed Connor and the other cast of characters and think you will too.

Check out the book you will be glad that you do. I am thinking I need to read the other books in the series because I really enjoyed this one.

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Death By Beach Read by Eva Gates is an ode to book lovers and cozy mystery fans. I read and listened to this 9th stand alone book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery.


Newlywed librarian Lucy's new beach house is perfect until she finds a dead body in it. Some think it's haunted but Charlie the library cat knows it's human foul play.

Narrator Elise Arsenault.actor is a fun storyteller making Lucy as endearing as any Hallmark Mystery Movie heroine. This series needs to be on their channel.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Dreamscape Media via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own

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