A fast-paced mystery with plenty of action and colorful characters.
Thank you to Eva Gates, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC of this book

This is book nine in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series. I normally would have read the first 8 before starting this one but decided to go ahead and read it anyway. I'm glad I did, despite not knowing any back story, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Lucy works as a librarian at the Bodie Lighthouse Library. She is engaged to the local mayor, Connor McNeil. They have recently bought a historic house in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The house has stood empty for years and is in dire need of updating and renovations. They waste no time in getting started with the help of Connors father, Fred. Connor has to be out of town a few nights for work and Lucy starts hearing strange noises around her new home. Chalking it up to settling she refuses to believe the rumors of it being haunted. Lucy and Connor go out on evening only to return to a dead body in their kitchen, strangled to death with their cats leash. It doesn't take long to figure out the man is connected to the house and the secrets that are interred there.

I really enjoyed this book. Another short, cozy mystery in a series that I really must pick up now. I love how the author is able to set up such a rich setting. Her notes state that the places she mentions are real, although the lighthouse isn't quite big enough to hold a library, but I love the idea that one could. If this book is any indication of how the other books are, I'm excited to see what other mysteries Lucy has been involved in. I happily give this book 5 stars.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books, in return for an honest review. While the ninth book in this series, it is easily read as a standalone. This series is a delight and I recommend to lovers of cozy mysteries, unique libraries, cats and strong female protagonists. Lucy is a librarian at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library and engaged to Connor. As their wedding approaches, they were fortunate enough to buy a historic, albeit somewhat dilapidated, beach ‘cottage’ house on Nags Head, North Carolina. Between Connor’s two full-time jobs as mayor of the town and a dentist, it’s a struggle to get all the house renovations completed before their wedding. Luckily, his dad is a retired contractor, so they are working through the project list. When Connor must go out of town, Lucy and the library cat, Charles, spend their first night alone in the house. Charles makes an excellent guard cat and alerts Lucy to an open door and what appear to be footprints in the sand. Lucy convinces herself that she’s imagining things but decides to contact the former owner of the house about its history. He and his sister live nearby, although she’s not set foot in the house in over 40 years due to a long-ago unknown trauma. Things evolve and then Lucy discovers the dead body of their long-lost brother lying on the floor of their house. Wow!
This is such a good series for cozy mystery lovers, and I highly recommend this book. The author uses a delicate touch with the prank-induced trauma while weaving together all the sub-plots and red herrings to create a very satisfying story. You should enjoy this cozy addition to the series.

I've loved this series from the very beginning. In this book, the things I particularly enjoy are Lucy's clear-eyed appraisals of the other townspeople, the engaging writing (she's seen "warmer smiles on crocodiles"), and the subplot of the family members of the original owners of Lucy and Connor's new home, one of the "unpainted aristocracy" of Nags Head. Fun plot and satisfying resolution!

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy and her fiance, Connor, are restoring the home of their dreams, a cottage on the beach in Nags Head, NC with a lot of history and mystery. When they find a dead body in the kitchen with a connection to the previous owners, Lucy is up to the challenge to find the killer. Charles, the library cat who lives with them, alerts Lucy of an intruder in the house. Days later, when someone sets fire to the deck outside, he wakes Lucy and becomes the hero of the hour. It is a story told in first person with all the makings of a fun, cozy mystery and a few unexpected twists and turns.

One of my favorite series! This the 9th in it continues the excellence. The story is engaging. Ms. Gates's characters are rich in realism and highly entertaining. This is one book you will definitely NOT want to put down. Thanks #netgalley and #Crookedlanebooks for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

In this 9th installment of the Lighthouse Library Mystery series, we get our first glimpse of life outside the lighthouse aerie and library for Lucy (and Charles). While parts of the story do still occur in the library, the main part of the story occurs in the house that Lucy and Connor have purchased to make their home and introduces us to additional members of the town. The historic house comes with its own mysteries and family history that brings death to Lucy’s doorstep. The twists and turns had me second guessing myself, a fantastic red herring, and an aha moment I wasn’t prepared for. Brava!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my review.

I read a lot of mysteries. Cozy, historical, paranormal, noir. I do love a good mystery!

Sadly a lot of them are wanting. Poor writing. Conclusions that could not be reached by the reader. Conclusions that were telegraphed on page 7!

Death by Beach Read was an absolute delight! Even though I haven't read the previous entries in the series (an error that I will be fixing ASAP), I immediately felt at home with these characters. I was obviously missing the backstory, but that didn't matter. The characters and relationships were explained and the characterisations were so strong that I never felt lost.

There is a cranky omniscient cat. Enough said.

Our protagonist occasionally doesn't see what's right in front of her, or doesn't tell people what's going on even though she's in danger and REALLY SHOULD. That gets old fast.

The men in the book occasionally dismiss her, but they get called on it pretty dang quick. They aren't really toxic in any other way, which is a relief.

In her writing as Vicki Delaney, the author was quite fat phobic. I'm glad to see no repeat of that here. Nice to see growth in that area.

The story is well-written. The mystery tight. My biggest problem with it is that it's extremely able-bodied, white cis-het. That's why I deducted a star.

100% recommend. Off to get the first one!

Librarian Lucy’s new historic house comes with a lot of baggage and family secrets. Can she put them to rest or will a killer bring Lucy’s family to their downfall, in the 9th Lighthouse Library mystery.
It’s always fun to catch up with Lucy and the gang. This series is always well written with a fun mystery.
DeathbyBeachRead #NetGalley

Enjoy this series with Lucy and Connor and all their friends and family. As they work on their new house murder and fire cause them to look into the past of the house and who could be responsible for these incidents.
Goodreads

Loved this story by Eva Gates , This is the Light house Series and is one of the 1st. cozy mysteries that I read and of course got hooked. Lucy and the library cat Charles are the amateur sleuths. This story is a little different but very good. Lucy and Connor who are engaged bought an old house on the beach that needs a lot of fixing up. Connor and his Dad are doing the work. The difference in this story is that everything that happens to Lucy and Connor because of they live in the house. That is all I am going to tell to tell you. Please read as it is A VERY GOOD READ. I had no idea who done it until it was revealed. See what Lucy gets herself into this time.

This was a really fun thriller! The cover is funnily enough pretty misleading because it wasn’t as colourful as the cover of course! This was a really fun mystery to adapt to and I enjoyed myself more then I expected to. I enjoyed the run around with looking for clues and trying to break them myself but alas there are only so many hours in the day I can use up. This was super fun and I loved everything about it. 5 out of 5 stars of course!

Thank you #Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Death by Beach Read by Eva Gates in exchange for an honest review. Librarian Lucy and her fiance, Connor, are moving to their new old house, a historic cottage on Nags Head beach. After living upstairs in the lighthouse library, this will be a new adventure. Connor and his father have been making the cottage livable. They come home after having dinner to find an agitated cat and dead man on the kitchen floor. Eva Gates is such a great writer. I have enjoyed reading her lighthouse library mysteries. I plan on reading more of her series.

A cozy with a haunted house, ghosts, murder and a corpse always catches my eye and this book was perfect. It kept me in suspense and cheering Lucy on in her investigation of who or what is haunting the new house she and her fiance, Connor, bought. Is it the ghost of the murdered man or a ghost from the house's past haunting Lucy.

I could not put the book down! I enjoyed the quirky new characters and even began to like Louise Jane a bit more. The mystery was full of twists & turns and red herrings. A character that has caused Lucy trouble pops up in this book which sets the scene for drama. Lucy is at her sleuthing best and the wonderful feline detective, Charles, proves he's more than just a handsome "face"!

I can't wait for the next case!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is such a fun series but it took me awhile to get into this installment. Once I did, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Old abandoned house, family feud, and death! Yes please!

While Lucy and her soon to be husband Connor are fixing up their new home, Lucy can't help but feel someone is sneaking into her home.
The previous owners are odd, but nice, and Lucy refuses to believe they are responsible for the break ins.

This is a fun, easy to read series, and I love the idea of a library in a lighthouse.
Fans of this series will love this latest addition to the series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

#DeathbyBeachRead #NetGalley

What a great cozy mystery! Eva Gates has done it again. She has produced Death by Beach Read and it's fantastic. Love the storyline and the well-crafted characters. A must-read if you enjoy this type of mystery. You will not be disappointed.

This is one of my favorite cozy series, and I’m always happy to see another book published because we get more adventure with Lucy and Charles, the cat.

Lucy and her fiancée Connor have moved into their new home and started the renovations. One. Other, Charles alerts Lucy to some strange noises, and Lucy find footprints in the sand on the floor. When the next thing that shows up is a dead body, Lucy and Connor learn some interesting things about the previous inhabitants of their home and start figuring out that someone wants them out of the house as well!

I liked that parallels to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s House of the Seven Gables. I love the Outer Banks setting and how Eva Gates writes it perfectly so you can picture it perfectly while reading. The murderer was a surprise to me, so that’s always the sign of a good cozy that keeps me guessing. Lucy’s a great character and she has an awesome supporting cast (and cat!) who gave her back.

I definitely hope we get more books in the series!

Death by Beach Read was a fun cozy mystery that was exactly what I needed to read after some heavy nonfiction. It was my first book by Eva Gates, and it won’t be my last. I realized fairly early in the book that this was another story in the life of this protagonist, and I very much enjoy watching the evolution of smart, good-humored female characters over a series-and appreciate the sameness and reliability that comes with that. To be sure, some plot events really do require letting go of the reality of how crime investigations actually roll out, but in fiction, I’m completely ok with that. A librarian in a library inside a lighthouse renovating a beach house with her fiancé while trying to solve a murder-what’s not to love about that?!

I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I have read the many of the Lighthouse Library novels, and it is a series that I enjoy immensely.

Librarian Lucy and her fiance Connor, the mayor, have found their dream home and have started the necessary renovations. The first night Lucy is alone in the house, however, she hears noises. With Charles the cat as her guard, she searches the house and finds an open door as well as what might be footprints in the blown about sand covered floor. Remembering that the house’s previous owners had a daughter who forty years ago ran out, vowing to never set foot in the place again, and Louise Jane’s stories of the house being haunted, Lucy chalks the moment up to her imagination. Unfortunately, Lucy and Connor come home another night to find a dead man in their kitchen, and he has long running ties to their new home. Along with the murder, Lucy and Connor must deal with vandalism, and it becomes apparent that someone wants to run them out of the house. Lucy can’t help but notice similarities between this unwelcome situation and the book club’s novel of choose, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables.

I love how each book draws parallels with the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library Classic Novel Reading Club’s novel each time. I was a little worried that the discussions would be written to give away what each novel is about, but it actually is more of a synopsis. The characters’ discussions usually run into their thoughts about more current events, and what the next novel should be. Though Lucy’s private thoughts do refer to the novels many times, it is not enough to spoil a book that the reader may not have read. In this case, I have not read The House of the Seven Gables, but it sounds like a novel to be read in the autumn around Halloween. I am also very glad that it is classics and not just detective stories as I feel that would be too redundant.

This particular novel delved into the Outer Banks families and their history, especially regarding secrets. The atmosphere of the Outer Banks is perfectly described as well as the residents and their long-standing happiness. I enjoyed reading about Ralph and Joanna Harper, and what they each thought of their lives there. I felt sympathy for Joanna especially, and connected with her desire to stay away from people. Children can be cruel, and parents or grandparents should be their protectors. Pranks can have lasting effects on individuals, even harmless ones. While Eva Gates doesn’t come outright and say those things, I felt it was gently implied in the way Lucy interacted with Joanna.

The mystery was very well-written, and I hadn’t guessed at the killer at all. I did have an idea at the end of what he was killed for, but the why took me off guard. Again I felt it was a implied commentary on people and how they can react to words. I did hope that Lucy would have learned her lesson by now, and would have had more interacting with Detective Sam Watson, or even more involvement of Connor. There is a little romance between them, but I would have expected just a bit more from a newly engaged couple. I will say I related with Lucy about wedding planning. I will applaud Eva Gates if she has her characters tough it out, as I was more than happy to elope in the end.

Overall I rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars