Lucy and Connor planned for the perfect Outer Banks wedding—and that’s exactly what they got. Aside from typical rumblings of familial tensions, the late spring weather allowed for a beautiful day, the food was delicious, and everyone had a good time, until one of the guests goes missing. Before Lucy can look forward to the rest of her life in Nags Head and the work she does at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, she gets a phone call from her boss, Bertie James. Eddie, Bertie’s friend, never made it back home after the reception. Initially, Lucy doesn’t think anything of it—sometimes wedding guests simply have a little too much fun and Eddie was the epitomy of the "absent minded professor". However, this quickly turns to something more when she discovers the body of a wedding guest strangled in a locked closet, and the police immediately start asking questions about Eddie. Lucy must figure out if the two are connected before it’s too late—both for Bertie’s friend and the rest of her wedding guests.

This is the 10th installment of this series, and I have read each one and loved them. The author always keeps the stories fresh, and describes the lighthouse library with such detail that I can picture it in my mind as I am reading. The author continues to develop the characters with each new installment. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting my request to read the newest in a series I love.

I love Eva Gates’ Lighthouse Library series. This is number ten, and the reader finds themselves at the wedding reception of our amateur sleuth Lucy Richardson, now McNeil, and Connor. It appears that everything is going well until Lucy overhears a worrying conversation, but only recognizes one of the voices, her Aunt Joyce’s date Wayne. The next morning Bertie James, Lucy’s boss, calls to ask her if she saw Bertie’s date Eddie. At the family breakfast at the hotel, Wayne’s body is discovered. With one guest missing and another dead, Lucy becomes worried about her friends and family, and what an investigation might uncover.

There were two things that threw me off right away. One was the ending of the wedding. I was hoping that the reader would get to experience it more, because I felt that it would be a great introduction to the rest of Lucy’s family. In this case, we get what felt like snapshots of two of her brothers and their wives. The third brother is given a little more attention, but it still felt like an overview. There was no in-depth conversation, nothing to indicate familial feelings whether negatively or positively.

The other was that Josie and Jake had their baby. Wasn’t this just announced in book nine? So, there is a major timeline job from book nine to book ten with limited to no mention of anything happening in between. I’m not saying we need a day-by-day playback, but there doesn’t appear to have been a fallout from the last novel’s ending.

The mystery and investigation were well written as was the original round of suspicions. However, I did find the solution to be far-fetched, because what are the odds? I honestly wanted more in that department. A couple of my pet peeves were instigated with this novel, which is unusual as Eva Gates writes the characters as calmer and smarter.

Overall, I rate this novel 3 out of 5 stars.

I absolutely love this series and have watched Lucy and Conner's relationship grow throughout the series. They finally get married and have a great wedding with perfect weather and lots of friends and family helping them celebrate.. The next morning Lucy finds the dead body of the man who was her Aunt Joyce's plus one. Now some of the guest are murder suspects and on top of the list is her boss, Bertie's, friend, Eddie. Can Lucy help clear Eddie's name before it's too late?

Death Knells & Wedding Bells (Lighthouse Library 10)
Eva Gates


We return to Nags Head in the Outer Banks of North Carolina for Lucy and Connors’ wedding!

Ocean Side Hotel, the premier venue is hosting the event. As you know with Lucy’s mom in charge and Josie baking, it’s going to be amazing! Kristen, Kevin’s soon to be ex-wife, makes a mild spectacle of herself. Sadly, she isn’t the only one miss behaving. Our murder victim also ticks off quite a few people before his demise! Plus we have Ms. Gloria, returning for the wedding.

The Bodie Island book club voted before the wedding to read a classic Poe tale, Detective North, surprises the group with an appearance. The day after the meeting Kevin comes to say goodbye only to end up in an altercation with Kristen’s “new” beau! At this point, the story picks up the pace, slightly.

I figured out the murder about halfway through the mystery. So, not quite as compelling as Death by Beach Read. It was still a fun and interesting read because while I knew who did it I couldn’t discern why or how the victim and murderer came into contact!

Overall, I would recommend this book to any mystery reader of any age. 4****
Clean well written mystery!





Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is the first book in the Lighthouse Library Series I have read and I like it. Overall it's a clever and good book definitely a cozy mystery in my opinion. There are so many characters in the book which makes this a great whodunit story. It's not as fast-paced as I would have liked, but the story moves and it's fun putting the pieces together to catch the killer, It was a good book to just relax and read. Definitely could see myself reading it in the spring or fall. I recommend it to fans of cozy mystery books.

Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read and review this book. The book will be available on June 6th, 2023

Death Knells and Wedding Bells by Eva Gates is book #10 in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series. It was a beautiful wedding. It's the day after the wedding when problems ensue. Librarian Lucy Richardson marries Conner McNeil. A wedding guest gets murdered. No way is Lucy not going to try to help solve the murder. I really like Lucy. She is fast thinking and good at puzzling things out. I really like all the characters in this book. Well the good guys! There's quite a trail of clues that Lucy follows. It was fun reading along as Lucy figures out the killer. I look forward to the next book in the series.

At long last, Connor and Lucy’s wedding day has arrived. There are a few minor snags - most notably that Lucy’s soon to be ex-sister-in-law unexpectedly shows up bringing with her a man who may or may not be a paid escort - and then fails miserably in her quest to make Lucy’s brother jealous. And then there’s Lucy’s “free-spirited” Aunt Joyce and her date, Wayne Fortunada, a enigmatic and aloof man whom Lucy overhears making what sounds like a veiled threat to another wedding guest and is the next day found dead.

The morning after the wedding, Lucy’s friend Bertie tells Lucy that her friend Eddie, who was her plus-one at the wedding, has gone missing after failing to return to Bertie’s house the night before after he returned to the hotel where the reception had been held, claiming he had accidentally left his tie there.

The only thing known for sure is that both Fortunada the victim and the unknown suspect were at the hotel at the time of the wedding. Enter Detective Sam Watson, who had also been a guest at the wedding and is now investigating Fortunada’s murder. Detective Watson is joined by Detective Kyle North, who has recently been hired by the local police department and may or may not be harboring secrets of his own.

Suspects abound and Lucy can’t help inserting herself into the middle of the investigation to do some sleuthing herself, despite her ever-patient husband Connor’s concerns about her safety in doing so. In the end, Lucy figures out who killed Wayne Fortunada and what the motive was for killing him and ends up targeted by the killer herself.

This is the tenth book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series. It’s a series that just keeps getting better and better. I very much enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the next one in the series.

The wedding day has finally arrived for Lucy and Connor. Family and friends gather to celebrate the union. After the church service everyone celebrates at the Ocean Side Hotel and has a wonderful time. Well, almost everyone - Lucy's soon-to-be ex- sister-in-law is in attendance with an eye to causing trouble. Flamboyant Aunt Joyce is wondering why her escort, Wayne who was charming and friendly the night before at the rehearsal dinner has turned into a rude, morose wedding guest.
When Wayne's body is found in a hotel utility room the morning after the wedding police begin questioning the wedding guests. Bertie's friend, Eddie is nowhere to be found and jumps to the top of the suspect list. Could the gentle professor be a killer? How could he be connected to Wayne?
Newly married Lucy runs her own investigation much to the displeasure of the new hot shot detective. Once again Lucy finds connections and a killer. Once again she finds herself in a dangerous situation.
This is the tenth in the series and all the usual characters show up including Charlie the cat who plays a key role.
Despite figuring out the killer early on, I enjoyed this latest romp with old friends.
Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

This is the 10th book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series. This has been one of my favorite cozy series, and I enjoyed this new volume as well. This story dragged a little more in the middle for me. I also felt pretty neutral about the wedding since Connor is constantly disappointing me. If he loves Lucy he should support her with the crafty sleuthing he has to know she’ll do even when he tells her to leave it to the police. I thought this was an interesting mystery and while my hunch was right I am not totally sold on the motivation of the killer. Lucy and Connor have finally gotten married and this book starts at their reception dinner. There is lots of family drama but Lucy and Connor are having a great time anyway. Of course the next morning a body is found and of course Lucy has thoughts about why one of her wedding guests (although one she didn’t really know, a plus one) had been murdered. Overall I gave this 4,5 stars which I rounded up because of Charles the library cat.

This was a cute cozy mystery about a lighthouse librarian Lucy who just married the Mayor of Nags Head Connor and before they can even have their first day of married life a guest of their wedding is found dead in the closet of the hotel where the event was held. Lucy can’t help but try to investigate and help the chief of police but they have a new transfer from NY that doesn’t like her interfering with the investigation. The villain was a pretty predictable but it was a fun read and I liked how everything came together at the end and even though this is the 10th in the series you can definitely pick it up and read it without having read any of the others in the series.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

Another great addition to this cozy mystery series! I've read the series from the beginning (started when I was living in the Outer Banks and the author was at the bookstore for a signing) and I always love catching up with Lucy, Connor, and the rest of the townspeople as they set out to solve another crime in their small community.

When I heard about a new book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series, I knew I had to get my hands on it. I was over the moon to receive a free copy to read in advance, to provide an honest review.

It's become a favourite cosy series of mine, and I knew it would be amazing.

Unfortunately, it wasn't amazing. It felt flat. Sure, the book did tick a lot of the boxes on the cosy front. We had great character interaction and a few dramas. We had some lighter moments, and some comic relief. Thank goodness for Louise Jane, my favourite character, adding that is spades. We even had a return of another favourite character of mine, Gloria. I've been waiting for her to return for so long. And she didn't disappoint. Eva Gates should be congratulated be creating some memorable characters.

While the cosy parts were great and hit the mark, the mystery didn't this time. It comes down to two main things. The discovery of the body and the subsequent suspicions felt like we'd been there and done that before. Then, the discovery of the culprit felt too far out of left-field, even for a cosy. I'm no stranger to culprits being uncovered with little evidence in books. It happens more than we'd think. But, this did seem that little extra extreme.

Gripping scene at the end, but not sure I buy into the whole Lucy rushing off find Sam, when she felt uneasy about doing so. It's a regular running into danger trope. A little overused, but it did give us a gripping scene towards the end, which this book needed.

I need to say one more thing, because I'm a cat person. Why would you have a cat on an open balcony, wearing a harness and leash. The cat could easily leap from the balcony. The stuck out of me in this book, and I found it a bit shocking.

Will I be looking forward to the next book in the series? You bet I will. One little blip in the series isn't going to deter me from wanting more.

Thank you the publisher and Netgalley for a free copy of this book for an honest review. All views are my own.

Outer Banks, library, life-changes, lighthouse, library-cat, family, family-dynamics, friction, friendship, frustration, relationships, relatives, small-town, cozy-mystery, murder, murder-investigation, law-enforcement, amateur-sleuth, librarian, unpleasant-guests, series, detective*****

Lucy (main character) works for Bodie Island Lighthouse Library in Nags Head, Outer Banks and Connor (the groom) is the mayor and dentist.
Nags Head PD has a new detective to be mentored by the soon to be retired current police detective just in time to investigate the murder of a man who was the guest of Lucy's aunt at Lucy/Connor's wedding the night before. Very shortly another middle-aged guest disappears.
Let the sleuthing begin! Complete with awful situations, zany characters, nosy friends, an opinionated cat, and red herrings. A fast-paced, easy read.
I requested and received a free e-book copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Eva Gates writes stories that are one step above the typical cosy mysteries. Death Knells and Wedding Bells is the tenth book in her Lighthouse Library Mystery series.
We start at librarian Lucy’s wedding to Connor and, with so many family members and friends present (and all the tensions that causes), it is a night of celebration. That is, until she finds a strangled body and a guest goes missing.

With a new detective in town – one who doesn’t take kindly to Lucy’s quest for information – Lucy simultaneously celebrates her new married life while trying to make sense of the murder. The story is set against the backdrop of a busy Bodie Island Lighthouse Library and the reading club’s examination of Edgar Allen Poe’s mysteries.

While I enjoyed this story, I was overwhelmed by too many characters detailed in the first couple of chapters. Perhaps the details of inter-relationships could have been spread out as required. Nevertheless, Lucy is a likeable character and the details of library goings-on add to the feeling of a well-rounded story.

Although they're postponing the Paris honeymoon due to other obligations, Lucy and Conner's wedding is perfect. Well, aside from the body in the hotel closet after the next morning's wedding breakfast. Who killed Wayne Fortunaba? Aunt Joyce was already regretting asking him to be her plus one at the wedding but surely she didn't dislike him enough to kill him? Where did Eddie go? Could the stereotypical absent-minded professor have killed him and shoved him in the closet before disappearing? Why is Lucy asking questions? She's supposed to be enjoying married life and planning the killer, er, bad word choice. Make that dream Paris honeymoon. And, hmm, is she already trying to hide her overwhelming drive to investigate from Conner? As she keeps reassuring herself, she's just asking a few (few?) questions. Yet, somehow, she always winds up in danger.

Nags Head is a lovely setting. You'll feel like you're in the car riding along as Gates describes the scenery Conner drives Lucy and Bertie through to Rodanthe. You'll enjoy meeting Lucy and Conner's extended circle of family and friends, not to mention Charles (for Dickens) the library cat. Romance and troubled romance rear their heads, too, There are multiple suspects and, of course, red herrings, not to mention detective Sam is somewhat distracted dealing with a new to the area detective. Nothing like complicating things, huh? And, hmm, how many coincidences are too many? What the heck does Edgar Allen Poe have to do with anything? Who....oh, enough hints. Eva Gates never disappoints with well drawn characters and the spider's webs that often connect them one to another. Give this one a read.

Thanks #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for inviting me to Nags Head once again. Looking forward, I hope, to seeing Paris through Lucy's eyes next visit.

Death Knells and Wedding Bells by Eva Gates is a cozy mystery taking place in a beautiful beach setting. You have it all: a gorgeous wedding, a light house, a large family and a mystery when one of the guests goes missing. Unfortunately I had not read the first 9 books in the series, so I was a bit lost at the beginning - there are a lot of characters to keep a track of, but for someone having read the previous books that would not be a problem.

I really liked the way the mystery was introduced and how the investigation proceeded. The writing was fantastic. Pacing started off a little slow for me personally, but picked up once the mystery elements started. Overall an interesting read with a nice premise, however I could not connect with the characters as much as I would have liked. Possibly because I hadn't read the other books in the series. I did LOVE the library in the Light House though, which for a bookworm like me is a dream.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with a free digital copy to review this book.

Another great cozy mystery read with many twists and turns leading readers on a wild ride from start to finish. While I haven't read any of the books in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series before this one, I found I managed to follow along with the multitude of characters enough to enjoy the book. Though, I would definitely recommend this as a series to read from start to finish.

This was a NetGalley review.

Ms. Gates’ tells a tale of a couple, Lucy and Connor getting married while working, handling an influx of relations …..and figuring out why a guest was murdered at their reception.
They start out wondering who had a motive...until they found out the motive, leading to multiple suspects. It’s written with humor, romance, bits for bibliophiles as Lucy works in a library.
It is an enjoyable read and I recommend.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC to peruse gratis and offer my opinion in the same.

One of the most enjoyable mysteries I have read all year! The ending was totally unexpected (to me anyway). I would definitely like to read the rest of this series. I have the idea that it will become a firm favourite.

Lucy and Connor are finally getting married! After a great wedding, one of the guests ends up murdered and stuffed in a closet at the hotel. Lucy finds herself investigating to clear her family and friends from being suspects.

Another great entry in this series! I’ve always enjoyed Lucy and her library capers.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.