Lucy and Connor have finally tied the knot and she's now Mrs. Lucy McNeil. Everything went beautifully with the exception of her soon-to-be ex-sister-in-law showing up with her new boy toy, sharing a table with the eccentric Aunt Joyce and her surly companion, Wayne. When Wayne's body is found in a supply closet in the hotel the next morning there is no end to the list of people who might have wanted to see the last of him.

I love this series more with each book! I have to admit, I was concerned that the series would lose its charm when Lucy was no longer ensconced in her Lighthouse aerie, but their once derelict and now partially renovated beach house has its own appeal. There are also always fun things going on like the reading club meetings, Louise Jane's paranormal research, coffee and dessert at Josie's, and this time we see Theodore swept up with the wave of romance and Bertie's friend Eddie back in town.

Because of the different things that happen throughout the series, I think it's best to read this series in order. I don't think one would struggle to follow along if reading out of order but some of the backstory would be lost.

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

Book Title: Death Knells and Wedding Bells
Author: Eva Gates
Series: Lighthouse Library Mystery #10
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: June 6, 2023
My Rating: 3.5 Stars!

Although this is #10 in the Lighthouse Library Mysteries, it is only my second read. True there are recurring characters but not difficult to catch up.

Lucy is the Librarian at Bodie Island Lighthouse Library. She and Connor have planned the perfect Nags Head wedding.
However, since this is a mystery you know someone is going to get murdered.
Yep, Lucy discovers the body of a wedding guest strangled in a locked closet

Aww YES! The plot thickens!!

Personal note: The Outer Banks were always our “go-to Vacation Destination Place” for years ~ well until we moved to Southern California. Still has a soft spot in our hearts as we always had a wonderful time.
We usually stayed in Kill Devil Hills and Yes! We did visit the Lighthouse at Cape Hatteras. When I saw the lighthouse pictured on this adorable cover I thought ~ that Lighthouse looks like Nantucket not Cape Hatteras which I know has diagonal stripes. Awww but there is indeed another Lighthouse at Bodie Island and that is the pic on the cover.
In the Author’s Notes, Ms. Gates tells us more about the Bodie Island Lighthouse. She tells us that the library is her imagination. Having been in the Hatteras Lighthouse I couldn’t image it large enough for a library but it makes for a fun story.

Aww I love this story on so many levels.
Eva Gates is the pseudonym name of another of my fav authors ~ Vickie Delany!

Want to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this early e-Galley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for June 6, 2023

This is the second book in the Lighthouse series that I have reviewed. The author hasn't lost her touch. The characters continue to entertain.

In this one, Lucy and Connor are celebrating their marriage. The wedding goes well, but the next day is a killer. One of the guests is found dead. It turns up that the victim was a blackmailer, leading to lots of suspects.

My only beef with the plot is that what are the odds of four residents of New York City, who have all been blackmailed by the victim, show up in Nags Head, North Carolina? Not real good odds on that one. But, if we suspend our believably for a bit, the mystery hangs together.

The writing is good and the characters are enjoyable. This books makes a fine cozy mystery.

I've been enjoying the whole series of Lighthouse Library mysteries series, it has a great concept. I enjoyed this entry in the series, it does a wonderful job in being a mystery and I was glad this series continues. The characters were what I was hoping for and I was invested in solving this mystery going on. I'm glad I was able to read this and look forward to read more.

"You don’t know the half of it,” Aunt Ellen said. She then, with Gloria’s active participation, entertained the table with a vivid description, complete with sounds and arm and fist actions, of the fight at the library. “Quick-witted Lucy here drove the cart directly between the two primary combatants and forced them apart. Heaven knows what might have transpired if she hadn’t.”

Death Knells and Wedding Bells is the tenth book in the Lighthouse Library Mysteries by Eva Gates. This installment opens as Conner McNeil and Lucy Richardson have finally gotten married and are at their wedding reception. The following morning the body of the man who escorted Lucy's aunt Joyce to the wedding is found in a closet at the hotel where the reception was held. As the investigation proceeds, several people who were at the wedding come under suspicion due to their previous connections with the deceased and Lucy and Connor subsequently start digging into the investigation especially when it appears that a new member of the local police department has set his sights on one of their close friends as the culprit.

Throughout this series, the author has done an exceptional job of character and plotline development. She has also maintained consistency for the characters while still introducing new characters to continue to build the community. In this installment, many of the characters who graced the pages of one or more of the previous stories are brought back for the wedding celebration and become involved once again in the investigation. Within this book, the author creates several side plots that lead to mistaken assumptions but in the end she brings the mystery to a surprising revelation and conclusion that keeps the reader's attention until the very end. I hope to see additional stories in this series to enable Lucy, Connor and the rest of the crew to explore many more mysteries in their future.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books and am leaving this review voluntarily.

I received this advance reader copy via Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books, in return for an honest review. This is the tenth book in this series and easily read as a stand-alone. I enjoy this series so much and am always happy to visit Lucy, Connor, and the Lighthouse Library on the NC Outerbanks. This time, it’s Lucy and Connor’s wedding with all the drama that entails. Plus, a murder! I look forward to the next book already.

Oh how I wanted this book to never end! I have followed this series from the first and have loved each one. This last in the series doesn't disappoint. Great story plot, excellent well developed characters and such a joy to read! Kudos to the author! The Lighthouse Library will forever be a favorite!! Thanks#netgalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

This is another very solid entry in the series. A fun visit with returning characters and introductions to some intriguing new ones. As always, the library scenes are on point and family relationships are realistically portrayed as complicated and at times, humorous. Recommended.

The Lighthouse Library series by Eva Gates is among my very favorite cozy mystery series and this 10th installment in the series is among the very best books in the series.

After a perfect wedding, unfortunately, the body of a guest is found the very next day at the hotel where the wedding took place. As always, Lucy the Librarian spends her time trying to solve the crime.

An interesting plot and all the recurring characters are here, once again, making for a wonderful mystery for cozy fans.

Highly recommended!!

Lucy and Connor had the perfect wedding, unfortunately the next day they find a dead body at the hotel. When a friend of her boss Bertie becomes the main suspect Lucy starts asking questions. Even though she says she's not getting involved, she can't stop wondering who had it in for the victim.
I love that the characters have grown and changed, we've had new people brought into the series. The mystery is good and the atmosphere is the definition of cozy.

This was another great entry in the Lighthouse mystery series. This time there is a dead body found the day after Lucy and Connor's wedding. This then starts them into investigating. Was it someone from town or someone from away that brought their problems with them? There are some secrets uncovered and the ending will be a surprise. This was a nice afternoon read

Thank you NetGalley for the free advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

This is my favorite series just after Harry Potter, no doubt. I cannot describe the magic in Eva Gates writing. You just dont want to stop reading. This one might be in my top 5 in the series. I maybe wished the book started at the wedding ceremony, but this is my only complaint. I loved meeting Lucy's brothers and their wives (or ex...). It just consolidate Lucy's background, to understant better where she came from. And most important, I did not guess the murderer beforehand.

I cant wait to have the next instalment, but it's going to take a while, so I'll be crying until I'm back at the Lighthouse library.

A well-crafted mystery with interesting and likable character. Would recommend.
Thank you to Eva Gates, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the arc of this book.

This last cozy mystery book in a delightful series featuring a library inside of a lighthouse is one of my favorites. It is # 10 in the series. Somehow, the author seems to bring her characters alive starting from page one. I can almost picture each person, and when I hear their names, I feel like I know them. I have read every one of them with much anticipation, and read them way too fast...

The plot in this book is thrilling, and twists and turns at every corner await...and you probably won't be able to guess whodunnit until the very end.

Congratulations to author Eva Gates a/k/a Vicki Delany for brilliantly bringing exciting, fun and intriguing stories to life. They will live in our minds long after we read your books.

Thank you to Net Galley and to Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to read an advance copy of this excellent book.

Another entertaining entry in the series.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review

This was my first introduction to the Lighthouse Library Series by Eva Gates. The book takes place in beautiful Nags Head, NC. Lucy who is our main character and librarian is getting married in the beginning of the book. At the wedding reception, one of the guests gets murdered and Lucy sets out to figure out who had done it. It was an enjoyable book from beginning to end with likable characters. I got to know so many of Lucy's relatives and the townspeople and their connections to each other. There were funny moments sprinkled throughout the book as well. Overall, it was a 4.5 star read for me.
I will be reading the rest of the books in this series because of how much I enjoyed it.

Lucy and Connor have finally gotten married, and they couldn't be happier. The wedding came off beautifully, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Everyone, it seems, except a small few who probably shouldn't have attended anyway. But before Lucy can enjoy married life, she receives a call from her boss Bertie James -- and Bertie is worried about her friend Eddie, who never returned from the wedding after telling her he needed to find his tie.

This wouldn't be a big thing except another one of the wedding guests has been found murdered by Lucy and Connor, and even though this shouldn't affect them at all, Lucy can't help but wonder who killed the man. Was it Eddie? Or another disgruntled guest? It's obvious that either another guest or staff at the wedding did the deed, but with so many people, it's going to take a lot of questioning by Detective Sam Watson and the new detective in town, Kyle North.

Lucy doesn't like Kyle or his way of asking questions, and tries to stay out of his line of fire. He's got his sights on a certain person, and she's sure he's wrong. Now Lucy might be in the fight of her life, finding the truth, and protecting those she cares for...

This is the tenth book in the series and I have read them all. I love this one the best. It has plenty of action, and we get to meet more of Lucy's family, albeit some more than others. Gloria, Lucy's Aunt Ellen's mother-in-law, is back once again, and making everyone crazy around her. I don't know why, but I find her hilarious (sorry, Ellen). There are also a couple of minor subplots that are interesting, and I don't want to say any more so as not to spoil the book for others (you must read this one!)

But finding the killer this time out isn't going to be as easy as before. Lucy has to use all her powers of observation and asking the right questions to put things together. I did know who the murderer was before her (but then again, as I've stated before, I read a lot of mysteries, so there's that). I still enjoyed Lucy sifting through clues, and watching her do so was the best part of the book. I also loved that Connor tried to protect her as well, which sat right with me.

When the ending comes, the climax is almost pulsating, and definitely worth waiting for. Lucy pulls all her wits about her, knowing that she needs to if the truth were to come out. As I stated above, this, I think, is the best book in the series so far, but it can be read as a stand-alone. Highly recommended.

I was given an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

Death Knells and Wedding Bells is the 10th Lighthouse Library Mystery written by Eva Gates, a pseudonym for Vicky Delany, a prolific cozy mystery writer. I've read almost all her work under both author names and will keep picking up more as she writes. I always enjoy the setting, characters and plot. In this latest installment, Lucy and Connor have just gotten married; at their reception, a guest is strangled and found the next day. He was someone only their aunt knew, but as the story plods on, we discover many more connections. What an enjoyable way to celebrate a ten-book series where we've come to adore so many characters and moments. For most the story, I had an inkling of who might be hiding something, and it turned up to be true. But I wavered a few times in the middle. Overall, a highly recommended series, and I settled on 4.5 stars for this one. I struggled a bit with the killer's motivation, and the history we'd come to learn a bit late in the game. That said, it definitely had a killer chase scene! :)

Death Knells and Wedding Bells is the tenth book in a series, staring a librarian and a cat, as primary characters. I have not read any of the previous books in this series, by Eva Gates. It was, however, easy to read this novel without having read the previous books. Gates does a nice job of filling in just enough background to prevent the new reader from getting lost.

The plot of Death Knells and Wedding Bells holds up relatively well, with only a few places that did not work as wel, but I do not want to provide spoilers. Other readers might not be critical readers and so might not notice those small areas. Although I was not totally surprised by the identity of the culprit, I did not guess his identity ahead of time, which was nice. Gates creates an engaging selection of characters, who have enough variety and sufficient quirkiness to keep readers interested. The cat, Charles, was really the central character in most scenes, except for the wedding that opens the book. I am not a cat owner, but I thought Charles might have a touch of terrier in him?

I want to thank the author and publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I do appreciate That NetGa;lley has introduced me to so many new and interesting authors.

Lucy and Connor finally tie the knot and of all Nags Head is invited, alongside Lucy's family who's got a few hidden skeletons of its own. When her Aunt's escort is found dead, her honeymoon turns into a murder investigation.

I enjoyed that just fine! I've read quite a few books in this series and while it's not my personal favourite - not enough details I think, the characters or town don't really come to life for me and the library bits are too few and far between to be a real draw - it's an enjoyable way to pass the time.


My endless thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy.