On Flashback Fridays I will share with you
the books I was not able to review
when they were first released that have been screaming at me
from my To-Be-Read bookshelf.
By Book or By Crook (A Lighthouse Library Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – North Carolina
Berkley (February 3, 2015)
Paperback: 352 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0451470935
Kindle ASIN: B00LMGLZW8
Get bound up in murder in the first Lighthouse Library mystery!
For ten years Lucy has enjoyed her job poring over rare tomes of literature for the Harvard Library, but she has not enjoyed the demands of her family’s social whorl or her sort-of-engagement to the staid son of her father’s law partner. But when her ten-year relationship implodes, Lucy realizes that the plot of her life is in need of a serious rewrite.
Calling on her aunt Ellen, Lucy hopes that a little fun in the Outer Banks sun—and some confections from her cousin Josie’s bakery—will help clear her head. But her retreat quickly turns into an unexpected opportunity when Aunt Ellen gets her involved in the lighthouse library tucked away on Bodie Island.
Lucy is thrilled to land a librarian job in her favorite place in the world. But when a priceless first edition Jane Austen novel is stolen and the chair of the library board is murdered, Lucy suddenly finds herself ensnared in a real-life mystery—and she’s not so sure there’s going to be a happy ending…
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Two of my favorite things, libraries, and lighthouses, so when they are combined it really gets me excited.
Lucy Richardson is the newest librarian at The Bodie Island Lighthouse Library but her hiring has some people quite twitterpated. One thought the job should have been hers, others didn’t think the position was necessary, and even the head of the library board wants to get rid of her. The head librarian and the staff at the library are thrilled to have her join them, especially with the Jane Austen exhibit and programs starting.
An event took place for friends of the library to see the exhibit before it was opened to the public. Just as Bertie, the head librarian, is ready to announce a special addition to the exhibit the head of the board is found dead. Because of his position to get rid of Lucy, she becomes a suspect but Bertie is the one that leaps to the top of the police’s list. Then one of the Austen novels goes missing.
Did Bertie remove the book to throw suspicion away from herself? Or is the real killer a thief too? Or are there 2 criminals on Bodie Island? Lucy hopes to close the book on the case by answering all those questions.
First, the author starts the book saying there would not be enough space in a real lighthouse to include all the books, staircases and rooms she has written into this book, so on the basis of the library’s structure the reader must suspend reality and I was fine with that. I just imagined a huge lighthouse, bigger than I have ever seen. Think of it – each level has a special purpose. The main floor for the usual adult fiction and non-fiction with a special alcove and program areas. The next floor is filled with children’s books and programs. The third level for rare books, maps, etc. And the fourth floor a unique living space where Lucy has made herself at home. There is also a working lamp at the top. What a glorious setting with wonderful views! I would love to suspend the reality far enough to take me there.
Ms. Gates introduces us to fine characters. The library staff is made up of Bertie, Lucy, Ronald, the children’s librarian, Charlene, research librarian, and Charles, the library cat in residence. Lucy’s aunt, uncle, and cousin, along with the mayor, a nice detective and a not so nice detective round out what I assume will be the regular supporting cast. We also meet some unique friends of the library. Some were easy to like, others took some warming up and others were written to be not very likable. The author did a great job with this cast.
The murder mystery was not easy to solve. There was an entire room of suspects with an opportunity to commit the crime. The missing book mystery was also difficult because it could have been anyone from library regulars to someone off a bus that brought tourists in for the Austen exhibit. The library really should have had some kind of security person watching over the priceless items, but I don’t think there ever imagined the number of people that would pass through their doors for this event. I had a certain library patron at the top of my list but it was just a feeling. As the proof was all revealed I was surprised I actually was right.
I enjoyed everything about this story. Thee characters were very engaging, the mystery was very well written, and the setting was to die for.
I am late to the party on this series, but I am going to get all caught up before the fourth installment, The Spook in the Stacks
Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than twenty-five books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. She is currently writing three cozy mystery series: the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series for Crooked Lane, the Year Round Christmas mysteries for Penguin Random House and, under the pen name of Eva Gates, the Lighthouse Library series, for Crooked Lane Books.
Vicki lives and writes in bucolic Prince Edward County, Ontario. She is the past president of the Crime Writers of Canada. Her work has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards.
Visit Vicki at www.vickidelany.com. On Facebook at www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor. Twitter @vickidelany @evagatesauthor
Written as Vicki Delany
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I love cozy mysteries and lighthouses! When we took our bucketlist trip to Maine, seeing the lighthouses were top on our list of things to see and do. “By Book or By Crook” by Eva Gates sounds right up my alley. Thanks for the review and the chance to win a copy.
2clowns at arkansas dot net