There is something so delightfully Keystone Cops about this book. In spite of one of the main plot threads of the story being about a murder, the whole book is light-hearted and whimsical. I appreciated that Lucy actually tried not to be in the middle of the investigation this time, even though it was a goal we all knew she wasn’t going to achieve. Most of the characters were the same people as I’d already gotten to know and love, but the Louise Jane of this book was a bit of a shocker to me. (That’s all I’m going to say – if you want to know more, you’ll have to read it for yourself.) The truth about their mysterious find was exactly what I’d expected it to be. However, the murder was not at all how I thought it was going to be solved. I had so much silly fun with this book. I can’t wait to come back and do it again.
I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book through NetGalley.

Read and Buried is a super cute cozy mystery! The Bodie Lighthouse Library and the OBX is the setting for the novel which I loved as I visit the OBX multiple times a year!

There is a very unique bunch of characters that hang around the library at all times of the day, which of course makes for a very funny read to see characters barging in near midnight! The library along with the historic society is getting ready to host a Settlers' Day festival. This event brought up a lot of history around the island. It was very fun to hear a little more about Roanoke Island and the Freeman's Colony, even if it was a figment of the authors' imagination.

The reason I rated this book 4 stars instead of 5 is a few quirks of the author's writing. If a character is going to say something, the sentence was broken up into two parts. For example: "Nothing," she said, "would surprise me." It happened frequently throughout the book and made reading the statement a little difficult. The other quirk which wasn't quite as bad was when the characters were in a group and all of them agreed to something being said, each individual character would respond instead of it being stated that they all agreed. Again, the second one wasn't as bad but still something that I didn't prefer.

Overall, this is a fun, humorous cozy mystery. It is definitely a series I would recommend if you are in a reading slump and want to read something that is a bit lighthearted and easy to read.

This is the sixth book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series by Eva Gates. I discovered the series last year and absolutely love these light cozy mystery novels. There is rarely a dull moment at the Lighthouse Library. A very old book is discovered while the construction crew is digging around the lighthouse. The book is a weather diary and it contains two loose sheets of paper. One has a complicated code and the other is an old map of the Outer Banks with numbers spread over it. The news of this discovery spread quickly and rumours that it contains a treasure map attract a lot of attention. Soon after the book is uncovered, a body is discovered in the library. The map and the code sheets are gone. Lucy will put her detective skills to good use to help solve the murder and hopefully recover the stolen sheets.

This is a fun and light read. I enjoy the challenging plot and all the interferences from the regular characters. It is a pleasure to read these cozy mysteries.

Eve Gates has pulled out all the stops and written another fantastic page turner of a book!

We open with essential building works being done to the lighthouse (more to the point the foundations of the lighthouse!) when the contractor comes in requesting that Bertie (the library manager) comes outside, apparently the workmen have found something in the hole and they need Bertie to see it - she has claustrophobia though and so Lucy dons a hard hat and goes down to see, what they find is a box that has been buried under the foundations, when removed it turns out not to be that heavy and so it is easily transported into Bertie's office, when opened they find a leather bound journal, a crudely drawn map and a letter ..... in code!

Now various people want to get their hands on the map, the code and the journal, but no one expects one of them to end up well and truly dead in Bertie's office! and whilst the journal was still there the map and coded letter had gone, now everyone wants to crack the code (luckily Lucy and Charlene, the rare book and history librarian, had taken photographs), whilst Detective Watson just wants to nab the killer. Add in some history of displaced people, a potential new mega hotel and golf course and of course the upcoming historical society fun day and it is no wonder that Lucy just wants it all to be over!

An excellent cozy mystery with a well crafted story and an interesting historical background.
It was great to meet again the cast of characters and being introduced to some new. They fleshed out and likeable as usual.
The mystery is full of red herring, twists and turns and it kept me guessing till the end.
I can't wait to read the next instalment.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

As a lover of cozy mysteries, I knew I would be onto a winner with this sixth book in ‘A Lighthouse Library Mystery’ series! Read and Buried ticked all the right boxes before I had even started reading.

The setting – a library in a lighthouse, no less – and an eye-catching front cover – all the makings of a great read for me. The concept of a library in a lighthouse is incredibly alluring and the thought of living and working there even more so. This location is particularly enticing for me as I live on the coast near a lighthouse!

I have only read one of the earlier books in the series – ‘Something Read, Something Dead’ but I didn’t feel as though I had missed out as it wasn’t particularly difficult to catch up with the characters and their roles.

Best-selling author, Eva Gates has drawn a lot of fun characters in this fabulous cozy mystery. Likeable Lucy is a librarian who recently moved to the Outer banks and she had a lot going on in this book. Protagonist Lucy had the necessary attributes of any great sleuth – intelligence, curiosity and keenness.

There was an incredible number of characters in Read and Buried but I think I just about managed to keep track of all of them without being overwhelmed! Apart from Lucy herself, I wasn’t especially fond of any of the others and the victim, Jeremy Hughes, was pretty despicable, too, but it only made a fabulous story even greater. Charlie the library cat was, of course, an ever-present favourite.

There aren’t many settings as perfect as a library located within a lighthouse and Eva Gates made great use of this. Outer Banks, North Carolina is a fine coastal town, with a real sense of community and a general feeling of nostalgia. I could really feel its wild beauty and this, as well as a town full of secrets, made it a brilliant backdrop for a murder investigation.

Another of my favourite aspects of this novel was the fluidity of the writing. The details of the plot were very well executed and every chapter left me with a compelling need to read on.

The author did a brilliant job of balancing a few different story-lines and different events jumbled matters up somewhat, making figuring out the identity of the perpetrator more challenging. There was a sense of increasing danger as the story progressed, which definitely helped to keep my interest.

Reading Read and Buried has cemented my discovery of another favourite author to add to my ever-growing list.

I very much look forward to returning to the Outer Banks, North Carolina with Lucy on a future occasion and reading the earlier books in the series, too! So entertaining and engaging, Read and Buried is definitely well worth the time invested.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley and Great Escapes Book Tours at my own request. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

This is the third book I've read in this series and I"m now completely attached to the characters and the story. I love the island and lighthouse setting, and the small town feel. I especially enjoyed this book, as it contains some history of the South and of this area as part of the plotline. And the mystery was fun and interesting!

Unfortunately, like the rest of the series, there's an abundance of dialogue and very little happening. The prose and characters are good, however, so some might enjoy reading the book.

Read and Buried, the sixth Lighthouse Library Mystery, is just as much fun as the first one! Lucy has settled into her job and life in the Outer Banks; she’s more confident in herself and is enjoying a budding romance with a former summer sweetheart, now the mayor. But her curiosity and concern for her friends make it impossible for her to keep her vow to stay out of things when yet another dead body turns up in the library. Of course, she’s equally interested in solving the puzzle of a mysterious coded document and map, dating to sometime around the Civil War. And so is almost everyone else involved in the library or historical society.

On the whole, the book is well-plotted, and will probably leave you guessing. Many of the suspects are people that series fans will have encountered before, which in some ways makes it harder rather than easier to figure out “whodunnit.” I admit to being surprised by the culprit’s identity, though in retrospect the clues were there all along (if a trifle scant.) I was less surprised with the ultimate solution of the code and map, as I had a strong suspicion what it involved, but it was still fun to see the characters’ obsession with solving it finally satisfied.

If you enjoy cozy mysteries, this series should definitely be on your TBR list. The Outer Banks setting is warm and relaxed (mostly), the characters are interesting without being over-the-top eccentrics (again mostly), and Lucy, the protagonist and first-person narrator, is charming: loyal, reasonably intelligent, good-natured… and constitutionally unable to refrain from trying to solve a puzzle, whether it’s a coded message or a man’s death.

If you’re new to the series, I recommend starting at the beginning, where you’ll get the best introduction to many of the secondary characters. Everyone’s position in the community or relationship to the others is explained, so new readers won’t be entirely at sea… but there are rather a lot of characters to keep track of. I was grateful that I had read at least the first book before reading this one; there were a few unfamiliar characters who were apparently introduced in the intervening books, but I didn’t have to try to “learn” the entire cast at once.

A solid plotline, plenty of suspects and misdirection, an engaging heroine and an almost irresistible setting: Read and Buried has it all. (Even a library cat.)

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Read and Buried is the first book that I read in the series. I appreciated the main character, Lucy Richardson. I feel it is important for the main character to be smart and likable, which was the case with this book. Connor is another likable character as Lucy's love interest. However, there were quite a few characters that were unpleasant (or very unpleasant). The members of the historical society kind of got on my nerves, but on the other hand, they made convenient suspects. The worst character has to be Louise Jane. Whenever her name appeared on the pages, all I could think of was ʺOh no, not her again!ʺ. Can she please die in the next book?

As far as the story was concerned (Louise Jane excluded), it was an enjoyable read. The mystery surrounding the murder, as well as the theft of the map and coded page, was interesting and kept me wanting to find out more. I loved the lighthouse setting, it provides a different backdrop for story development. I will keep on reading the series (both previous and future entries), as the main characters are likable and the story was well written.

This is the sixth in the series and is set at Nag’s Head, NC. As the book club is reading Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne there are many references to instances in the Jules Verne book and this mystery.

There is construction at the library to save the lighthouse from collapsing. The workers find a metal box containing a civil war era weather diary and coded map.

A rumor begins that these are linked to buried treasure. Library break-ins occur, a death of a library board member, and Lucy is involved in the investigation.

I like how the author gets the reader’s attention right away. The characters are wonderfully written. There are plenty of suspects and good twists and turns. Take a chance and read this standalone novel.

Take a few minutes and enjoy the cover. It is adorable.
Eva Gates never disappoints me.

I absolutely love this series and every book is fantastic. I must admit; however, Read and Buried is now my favorite. I love the anticipation the author creates with the discovery of the metal box, journal, map, and handwritten code. Trying to figure out what the journal and additional documentation mean kept me intrigued. The history of the Civil War-era documents, along with the history of the Outer Banks and the emancipated slaves was quite interesting especially when paired with a modern-day treasure hunt. The mystery of the death of Jeremy Hughes just added another layer to the story. There are so many potential suspects it becomes hard to narrow the list down to any one person. Means, motive, opportunity, lack of alibi all plague those who made it to the list.

As per my reviews of the other books in the series, I love the setting, the characters, and the mysteries in each. Lucy is a wonderful character. She may come from money, but she doesn't act like it or flaunt her family's riches. Her character is down-to-earth and likeable. I love Charlene's obsession of rap music and her passion for wanting to share. I enjoy her slow and chaste relationship with Connor. They are sweet together, yet you can definite feel their chemistry. The secondary characters are unique in their own way and believable. Oh, and how could I forget about Charles?! The library cat is a delightful addition to the cast.

The story is well paced, enjoyable, and full of suspense, anticipation, joy, and redemption. The author did a wonderful job describing the characters and scenery within the book. I was able to visualize the story as it played out. Read and Buried is a fantastic cozy mystery and addition to the Lighthouse Library series.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I think this is one of the best mystery series out there and I would recommend it to all readers. This book is well written, very entertaining, fun, and you will beat your brains out trying to figure out the culprit. Enjoy! 📚

Even if you have not read previous books in this series, grab this one and dive in. The whole town wants to be included in deciphering a secret code and maybe a hunt for buried treasure.



When a less than upstanding member of the community is found dead in the library after hours, and pages of a mysterious diary are missing, motives seem to multiply as this case is investigated.

With wonderful characters and complicated relationships, and enough secrets to keep you guessing, this was an enjoyable book to escape into.



The descriptive passages will make you add the Outer Banks to your destination bucket list.
Preferably without murder involved.

READ AND BURIED is the sixth book in the “Lighthouse Library” cozy mystery series by Eva Gates. At the end of the previous book in this series, the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library had a crack in the wall and the future of the building was in question. At the opening of READ AND BURIED, construction workers discover a journal from the 1800s that captures the imagination of the townspeople – for good or for bad. The library book club selection is JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH by Jules Verne and only spikes the residents’ thirst for adventure. People who you might think of as unlikely villains become suspects in this engaging story of death and history.

The murder victim in READ AND BURIED is a jerk and not many morns the loss, but since the murder happened in the library, amateur sleuth Lucy Richardson can’t help getting involved in the investigation – no matter how many denials she makes. Added to the drama created by the murder and the historical find is the looming “Settlers’ Day”. Lucy must figure out if any of these things are connected. The suspects in READ AND BURIED are plentiful and include members of the local historical society and assorted academics, along with library staff and town locals. I like how surprising aspects of familiar characters are revealed in this story. Town history becomes relevant as a possible motive for murder, in addition to all the usual reasons that motivate a person to commit an act of violence.

In READ AND BURIED, the past haunts the present with deadly results but makes for an entertaining murder mystery. Librarian-wannabe Louise Jane McKaughnan is more obnoxious than usual but makes good in the end. Lucy’s relationship with Connor McNeil provides a nice contrast to all the mystery and mayhem in READ AND BURIED. I look forward to reading the next book in this “Lighthouse Library” series.

Treasure maps- or even just mysterious maps- have caused innumerable problems over the years and that's true for Lucy and the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library as well. No one knew there was a box containing a diary and a map in the space that was going to be excavated but boy once it was found, everyone wanted in on the game. It gets Jeremy killed and it puts other members of the library staff and community on the suspect list. Lucy, who has successfully solved murder mysteries in the past (don't worry if you didn't read the earlier installments- this is fine as a standalone) is on the case, despite having promised her boyfriend Connor (who is the mayor) that she won't interfere with Sam Watson's investigation. It's a classic cozy in a lot of ways, with multiple suspects, a second ahem event, and a tenacious heroine. There's great local color in the Outer Banks (and Gates admits to taking some liberties). Thanks to net galley for the ARC. A fun read. And a seance :)

Eva Gates has created a delightful well crafted fun series that is one of my top favorite among cozies. I love the setting of the Outer Banks of North Carolina and how the author deftly describes the location of the historic lighthouse to her readers. The lighthouse is the star in this series as a fun active community library and residence of our protagonist. .I love this next in series as we learn some of the history of the lighthouse and the people of the Outer Banks from long ago amid a brilliant mystery.

This is the 6th Lighthouse Mystery Series and I highly recommend the entire series. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My opinion is my own.

In this next in series our favorite Lighthouse is undergoing a necessary repair to the foundation. Through the course of the construction a mysterious box is found buried that contains clues to the past of the area and of the lighthouse. As the town council, Historical Society and library foundation members go wild for the contents Bertie locks the box safely in her office away from prying eyes. When her office is found broken into and the box missing with a body in her office, Lucy is on the case to solve not only the murder but the mysterious clues in the box that may have led to murder. The victim is a member of the Historical Society which leads Lucy to many clues among the members as well as the library board.
The great charcters that make up this series make this a delightful read and a great addition to this fun series. I loved this book and did not put it down until conclusion. This is a fun sleuth with great Outer Banks historical information as part of the sleuth. The setting, charcters and sleuth are always well crafted together for the perfect cozy read ! Looking forward to the next in series.

Read and Buried is the 6th book in the Lighthouse Library series by Eva Gates which is a pen-name for Vicky Delany. This book was my favourite so far in the series. I liked how many characters were involved in the disappearance of the map and code, which also meant they were suspects in the murder. I love puzzles and the plot involving the code was very interesting to me. This story hooked me right from the start. The mysterious box that was discovered several feet underground near the bottom of the foundation of the lighthouse was a great way to begin this mystery. Even though Lucy keeps saying that she is not going to investigate, she can’t help herself, especially as the crime was committed in the lighthouse, her place of employment and her home. As the mystery of the code and the map becomes more known to everyone in town, Lucy becomes more involved in the murder investigation.

I love the setting of this series. A library in a lighthouse in Nags Head North Carolina lends itself to history as well as mystery. The story of the The Roanoke Island Freedmen’s Colony has definitely piqued my interest in finding out more about the piece of history. The story about the land given to a Freedman, but his family never receiving it is another mystery embedded in the story. There was so much to like about this book. The cast of characters in this series are so much fun. Some are quirky, some are serious, some are staid and some are crooks, but all add to the story. This is a well-written and researched book that was very enjoyable to read. I highly recommend it to those who enjoy cozy mysteries, as well as those who want to learn a bit about history in an interesting, yet fictional setting. I will definitely continue reading the Lighthouse Library Mystery series. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.

I just did something I very rarely do and entered a series at book 6 instead of starting at the beginning. I was tempted when I came across this eye catching cover and a blurb which promised me a library in a lighthouse!

Read and Buried turned out to be a charming and fun cosy mystery. There was indeed a library in a lighthouse and Lucy, an assistant librarian, who lived in an apartment on the fourth floor. There was also a cat called Charles. Cats seem to be very common in cosy mysteries, especially the ones involving libraries.

The story was entertaining, the characters were interesting and the dialogue was fine. I enjoyed the way Lucy interacted with the local police which was more realistic than is often the case in this genre. Overall I was glad I had read it and will look out for those first five books to find out more about Lucy and the cat.

I'm completely caught up in this series after reading this book and as always, I'm really anxious for another book in the series. It's always fun how the book that the library book club is reading goes along with the mystery, and there's some type of Outer Banks historical tie-in as well. This book had all of the above as well as a happy historical ending for the family that it affected.

The showdown was pretty exciting and oddly enough it was out among everyone at the Settlers' Day event. Lucy found out that sometimes the biggest pests can come in handy by saving a person's life. The whole story had revolved around a mysterious map and page of lettering that had been found under the library, so it was interesting to see everyone working together toward the end to decipher the code and find out what exactly had been hidden there for 150 years. Charles the cat may not have caught himself a killer this time, but he was very useful in getting rid of a library intruder. I really hope that another book in the series will be coming now that the series has a new publisher home.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own. This book publishes on October 15, 2019.