Pro:
* good narration
* Familiar friends, the library, Charles
* Nods towards Poe’s work
* Book club
Con:
* too many characters too soon at the beginning
* Formulaic in places
* Mystery is too easy to solve.
* Familiar friends don’t have much of their expected quirk/endearing limelight.

Thank you to Eva Gates, Elise Arsenault, Crooked Lane Books, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the 10th installment in the “Lighthouse Library” series by Eva Gates and it starts with what loyal readers of the series have been waiting for: Lucy and Connor’s wedding! Of course, the wedding weekend celebrations end with a dead body being discovered in a locked storage room of the hotel, and Lucy can’t help herself but to start asking lots of questions. The book is filled with family drama, raucous episodes in the library, and wonderful descriptions of the Outer Banks. I love the characters, the frequent references to classic literature, and the beach town setting of this series. Because the wedding involves out-of-town guests there are new characters in this installment and that adds to the intrigue. The ending was thrilling and somewhat unexpected. I found the audiobook the perfect way to enjoy this fast-paced cozy mystery and I’m already looking forward to the next book in the series. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook.

I love the Lighthouse Library mystery series; this series has an eclectic collection of characters. I am happy that Lucy and Connor are finally married. Leave it to the two of them to have a guest disappear during the reception. I was able to guess who the killer was but I still enjoyed the journey to find out the "why".

Elise Arsenault did a great job narrating this novel and I hope she continues narrating future novels in this series.

Another great addition of the Lighthouse Library mystery series! I was kept in suspense until close to the end on who the killer was, and I’m glad it was an unlike-able character! I look forward to more from this series, it’s one of the most enjoyable cozy series!

Death Knells and Wedding Bells

This is book 10 in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series. The book takes place in beautiful Nags Head, North Carolina. 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. Connor is her now husband who is the mayor and the local dentist. Lucy has a habit on sticking her nose into solving cases. Kristen Richardson the soon to be ex of her brother, Kevin has come with her new boyfriend, Roy Croft. Lucy's aunt Joyce, her mother's sister who is not close to the family came with her plus one, Wayne Fortunade. They are both at the same table in the back. While coming back from the ladies' room Lucy overhears two people talking. Wayne comes out and sees her.

This was a quick read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you like lighthearted cozy mysteries this series is for you. I also like Charles the cat. Lucy even though she promised her new husband that she will not insert herself into cases after they married, she sticks her toes into this one.

I was not expecting the ending it surprised me who the murderer was and for what reason. For that this was a soldi for star read for me. It was Narrated by Elise Arsenault who does great at bringing this murder mystery cozy to life with its many characters it was easy to listen to and follow along.

Thank You to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for a free copy of Death Knells and Wedding Bells for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Lucy and Connor are at their wedding with all the accompanying family, friends and drama. The following morning, a guest is found dead in one of the hotel's closets. Naturally, Lucy can't help herself and begins to asks questions, beginning with where did Bertie's friend Eddie disappear to after the wedding? Accompanying Sam Watson in the investigation is a new detective, Kyle North. North believes that Sam is too close to everybody on the case and that Lucy is some kind of psycho looking for notoriety for solving crimes. While he has a good point about Sam being close, this IS a small town and North is a bit of an ass. Or a lot of an ass. Naturally, Lucy proves him and everybody else wrong, and gets to the bottom of the murder, while putting her safety in jeopardy. Again.

Lots of fun, but I was pretty sure of the culprit fairly early in the story. All in all, another fun book of the series.

Lucy and Connor have married and the wedding was perfect…until Lucy finds a body in a closet after their reception. A new detective has been hired and resents Lucy’s helpful meddling. Detective North seems intent on pinning the murder on Lucy’s friend Theodore. So Lucy is determined to solve the mystery.
Lucy finds herself in grave danger when the killer focuses on her. It really becomes quite tense until the killer is arrested. Then the cozy story of the lighthouse library friends continues to a happy ending.
The narrator of this audiobook was very easy to listen to and kept it interesting.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ARC.

Death Knells and Wedding Bells is the tenth cozy mystery in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series. When’s body is discovered following Lucy and Connor’s wedding, librarian and amateur sleuth, Lucy is on the case.

This is the first book that I have read in the series, but I am definitely going to be going back and starting this series from the beginning. I loved this book! The characters were likable and engaging, the mystery gave the perfect amount of twist and turn and the Nags Head setting was idyllic. This book was the perfect cozy mystery for me right now and I really look forward to reading more mysteries in this series!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC audiobook version of this book! The narration was great!

I love a good book about books! This series is one of my favorites and I love that it can be read standalone if you want. I jumped into this series at the end after reading the 1st book a while ago and now b/c I love it so much I am going back to the beginning to find out how the characters got to where they are in the current book!

#DeathKnellsandWeddingBells
#NetGalley

Death Knells and Wedding Bells by Eva Gates made for a great listen. This story is number 10 in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series, and though I've only listened to books 9 and 10 in the series, I feel that they can easily be read as standalone stories. One of my favorite parts of this series is that it's set in the Outer Banks, one of my favorite places, and a great setting for any story! In this cozy mystery, we find ourselves at the wedding of Lucy and Conner...and like in any good mystery, someone ends up dead. There's a bit of a chase to find out the true story about what happened in this murder case, and many theories will be presented as possible solutions. I wasn't sure what would happen until the very end! If you enjoy cozy mysteries, this is a series you'll want to read!

Book 10 in the Library Lighthouse mystery series has been worth the wait. By wait I’m talking about Lucy and Connor’s wedding. Having read each book as it has published, I have been looking forward to Lucy and Connor getting married.
All the main characters make appearances and play a role in making the story a fun read.
We meet more of Lucy’s family - her brothers, wives and Aunt Joyce. Gloria adds her two cents even though she’s not technically related to Lucy.
Aunt Joyce’s companion is murdered. As the story moves forward, we find he wasn’t the best guy. Blackmail anyone?
There is a new detective on the scene, North. I didn’t like him. Maybe because he suspected Lucy of creating the murders.
Lucy keeps saying she isn’t investigating only asking questions, and she isn’t keeping secrets from Connor. To which I say keep telling yourself that sweetie. Lucy can’t seem to help herself and she’s in denial about it.
There are some interesting suspects. I kind of suspected the killer, but didn’t know exactly why.
A fight breaks out at the library. It’s definitely humorous but also ridiculous.
A chase scene rounds out the story.
Death Knells and Wedding Bells is a great title and a fun read.
I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narrator.
Thanks to Netgalley, Crooked Lane Books and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to enjoy reading this book.

Death Knells and Wedding Bells and AUDIO by Eva Gates (Vicki Delaney) opens at Connor and Lucy’s long awaited wedding. Although not exactly what they had wanted, it had turned out perfectly. Only a couple of family members’ boyfriends had marred the reception and even then, not badly. All is well until the next morning a body is found in a hotel cleaning closet: the guest of Lucy’s aunt. Curiously, at the same time, Bertie’s friend, Eddie is also missing. As it turns out, the murdered man was a blackmailer with several of his subjects present at the wedding. North Carolina is far away from New York City, his base of operations, but not far enough. Of course, Lucy has to start asking questions, but she does locate Eddie three days later: he was one of the blackmail victims, and the new police detective immediately decides he is the murder. Things go from bad to worse in a trice.

I love this series. Lucy and Connor are perfect life mates and having all their family and friends present was a gift. They are so many and varied and have appeared often in the series. It is a true cozy mystery. Charles, the library cat, now travels back and forth with Lucy as she and Connor have remodeled the beachfront home they purchased and are living there. Sam Watson, Nags Head detective, is accused by the new detective of being too close to all involved in the crime and he ruminates on that accusation, thinking it may be correct. It was a good mystery, with the solution popping up out of nowhere. Lucy is an endearing sleuth and Charles, the cat, is the perfect partner for her in this pursuit, probably saving her life. This is a wonderful series, very character-driven with the plethora of interesting characters to support that. I think I prefer reading to listening, in this case. I recommend the story.

Elise Arsenault is the reader and she gave Connor a Southern accent, appropriately probably, but I had never thought of it as I read the books. No one else had any sort of accent: other long-time Nags Head residents or the many from Boston or New York. I thought that odd. All-in-all she did a credible job with the manuscript.

I was invited to read an e-ARC and listen to an e-AUDIO of Death Knells and Wedding Bells by Crooked Lane Books and Dreamscape Media, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions were my own. #Netgalley #CrookedLaneBooks #DreamscapeMedia #EvaGates #EliseArsenault #DeathKnellsAndWeddingBells

Death Knells and Wedding Bells is the 10th in a series. This was my first read or listen of Eva Gates books. I really enjoyed this cozy mystery. I liked the setting the most. The characters were well developed as it is a book in a series but jumping in, I did not feel that I missed much from prior books. The story dragged a little in the middle but started off fast like most cozy mysteries. Lucy and Connor are getting married when a guest is strangled and found the next day after their wedding reception. The storyline was easy to follow and engaging.

The narration was done well and accents or change in tones are done correctly to keep a listener focused and listening throughout the audiobook.

Lucy and Connor get their dream wedding, but they also get another murder investigation as a gift as well! I love that Lucy is portrayed as such a strong, smart young woman who uses logic and reasoning to get to the answers with the support of her family, friends and the local detective. It is a modern twist on Sherlock Holmes! The author has crafted a cast of characters that you love and connect with, yet she also crafts characters that you definitely don't like and don't want to connect with just as well. A great mystery wrapped in wonderful stories of the characters lives that keeps you wanting to come back for more! I absolutely love this series and can't wait to see what is next for our newlyweds and their friends! The narration is great as well as it truly brings the characters to life and enhances the plot!

Love this series! I’ve recently discovered it and love all the characters and especially the author’s writing style. It is a cozy mystery series but feels a little deeper than the traditional cozy. Highly recommend, but read it from the beginning of the series, otherwise you will miss out on the character development.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I enjoyed this light cozy mystery audiobook. I have not listened to the rest of the series but it was still easy for me to jump in and enjoy this one.
I’ll definitely be checking out the other 9 books in this series.
Narrator did a great job.

This series has always been a favorite - what's not to love about a library set in a lighthouse in the Outer Banks with a library cat! The mysteries are consistently well plotted and fast paced enough to keep your attention the whole way through but not too quickly that you miss out on the Southern charm and the wonderful characters. Bonus points for the wedding - finally! I can't wait to see what they get up to next.

I love the Lighthouse Library series. It never fails to deliver a solid cozy mystery. Even with it being a murder mystery, it’s still relatively lighthearted and the characters are always great as well. This one kicks off with Lucy and Connors wedding and a body is found the next morning in the hotel where the reception was held. When Lucy realizes the man had been a guest of her wedding, she can’t keep her nose out of the case, even after being warned away by the new detective in town.

We get a good dose of all our favorite characters, including Charles the library cat, and even though Lucy no longer lives in the library we spend plenty of time there anyway. We still get a book club meeting, and Lucy is still detecting even if she’s in denial about it. It’s cute, it’s cozy, if you like the series you’ll enjoy this too!

Thanks to NetGalley for the audio and ebook copy of this one!!!