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.

Booked for Trouble (A Lighthouse Library Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in the Series
Setting – North Carolina
Berkley (September 1, 2015)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0451470942
Kindle ASIN: B00S75OK8I

In Booked for Trouble Lucy has finally found her bliss as a librarian and resident of the Bodie Island Lighthouse. She loves walking on the beach, passing her evenings with the local book club, bonding with the library cat, Charles, and enjoying the attention of not one, but TWO eligible men. But then her socialite mother, Suzanne, unexpectedly drops in, determined to move Lucy back to Boston—and reunite her with her ex-fiancé.
To make matters worse, Suzanne picks a very public fight at the local hotel with her former classmate Karen Kivas. So, when Karen turns up dead outside the library the next morning, Suzanne is immediately at the top of the suspect list. Now Lucy must hunt down a dangerous killer—before the authorities throw the book at her poor mother…
Dollycas’s Thoughts
This cover is absolutely gorgeous!!
We return to the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library shortly after the last book, By Book or By Crook ends. The Jane Austen books are still on exhibit but the crowds have died down and the Lucy has had time to really settle into her new job. That is until her mother, Suzanne, shows up for a surprise visit intending to convince Lucy to leave the Outer Banks and return to Boston. Her mother’s plans get sidetracked when she runs into a couple of former high school classmates. One seems to forget she is married and wants to date her and another has a few terse words for the socialite. Karen Kivas is now a hotel maid and their little argument just happened in front of a bunch of witnesses. They do make up just a bit at a book club meeting but then the only witness is Lucy. So when Karen’s body is found outside of the library the next morning, Suzanne is the prime suspect. Not one to sit idly by, Lucy checks out every other person that could have wanted the maid dead trying to catch the real killer before her mother is forced to check in to the state prison.
I am so happy I was able to read this book within a week of reading the first book in the series. I had hated for the last book to end so it was pure pleasure to jump right into this one.
Lucy is enjoying her job, but not everyone is still convinced she should have the job. There is even someone that wants to shut down the entire library. The last thing Lucy needs is a surprise visit from her mother, but she will make the best of it and try to get it through to her mother that she is not leaving her job. I loved the addition of Suzanne to this mix of characters. She is really not a friendly woman. She holds herself in very high regard and cannot fathom that she is a murder suspect. Her interactions with Lucy’s friends, co-workers, and other people in her sphere really drives this story in several directions. Some had me scratching my head and others had me laughing out loud. Oh, and, Suzanne is not a cat person, but Charles was not holding back any of his kitty attentions 🙂
The mystery portion of the story had several twists that drew me deeper and deeper into the story. There weren’t too many suspects, but I just couldn’t pin the real culprit down until it was spelled right out for me in the text. Just the way I like it.
Again, the setting of the library in a lighthouse means the reader has to stretch their imagination. The author admits that with an Author’s Note at the beginning of the book, and I had no trouble with that at all. She has created a wonderful masterpiece in the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library.
Even with Suzanne’s efforts to curb and romantic notions for Lucy, the romantic triangle between Lucy, the mayor, and the detective continues to press forward. In fact, on the final page of this book, Lucy realizes something that could have her needing to make a big decision. Luckily, the next book, Reading Up A Storm is on my TBR shelf and I hope to be reading it soon.
Another delightful cozy mystery from Eva Gates! I loved it!

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
I am excited to give my review copy away.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Totally agree with you on this adorable cover! Love this authors books but seemed to have missed this one. “Booked for Trouble” is going on my TBR list and I’d love the opportunity to read it.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
Books and libraries delight me, so already I feel an attraction to this book.
Lovin’ this cover, thank you for the chance to win a copy of the book.
wfnren at aol dot com