The Lighthouse Library series has to be one of the most consistent cozy mystery series available!
Lucy and Connor are finally married, but of course, there is a murder that involves their wedding. It's a challenge wading through tricky family dynamics and friendships, and there is a new detective in town. With library cat Charles by her side, Lucy is once again on the case.
This is another well written novel by Eva Gates - it moves well, we have an entertaining cast of characters, and a wedding is a perfect setting for a murder. I missed the setting of the lighthouse library - Lucy still works there, but it was not as prominently featured in this novel.
I hope this series continues - I look forward to reading a new book every year!
Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane for an ARC in exchange for review.

Title: Death Knells and Wedding Bells
Author: Eva Gates
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Publishing Date: June 6, 2023
Rating: 5 Stars
****
Lucy and Connor are getting married! The wedding...the food...the family drama...and murder. What more could you possibly need for a highly entertaining wedding ceremony, er...cozy mystery. LOL. I adored everything about this book. I was kept highly entertained throughout the whole book.

One of my favorite cozy mystery series. I love the thought of a library in a lighthouse. So fun!

Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

Lucy and Connor have finally had their wedding! But this being Lucy, a corpse turns up the next day and she must investigate (against Connor's wishes but with the help of Charles the cat). Wayne was the plus one of her aunt Joyce, a woman she doesn't know well. Her boss Bertie is worried because her pal Eddie seems to have disappeared. Are the two connected? Of course they are! Oh and Lucy has to run the library and the book club is reading Poe (I always like how Gates weaves bits of other novels into the story). It's classic cozy stuff but I'll suggest gently that it might be a bit of a struggle for those who haven't read the earlier books. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

This is the 10th book in the series and I have loved every one! A library in a lighthouse and lots of fun characters always keeps my interest. This time Lucy and Connor are getting married and of course along comes a dead body. I was gifted an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.

Story of the book-

The ideal Outer Banks wedding was just what Lucy and Connor had envisioned. The late spring weather made for a gorgeous day, the food was delectable, and everyone had a nice time until one of the visitors vanished, aside from the usual rumblings of familial tensions. Bertie James, Lucy’s supervisor, calls her before she can look forward to the remainder of her life at Nags Head and the job she conducts at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library. After the celebration, Bertie’s pal Eddie never returned home.

Lucy doesn’t first take it seriously since, sometimes, wedding guests just have too much fun. However, when she finds a dead wedding guest strangled in a closed wardrobe, things soon turn dark. The police then start questioning Eddie as a result. Before it’s too late for Bertie’s pal and the rest of her wedding guests, Lucy must determine if the two are related. Lucy wonders if the maestro of the macabre can aid her inquiry or if the search for the killer’s identity will remain nothing more than a mystery as the Classic Novel Reading Club reads the Selected Works of Edgar Allen Poe.

My review-

I had a hunch about who could be hiding something throughout the majority of the tale, and it turned out to be accurate. But in the midst, I made a few mistakes. For me, the middle of this novel lagged a little bit more. I also had a rather indifferent attitude about the wedding because Connor never fails to let me down. Because of the evocative backdrop, the reader is immediately taken to North Carolina’s seashore. The author of this novel develops several subplots that cause readers to make false assumptions, but she ultimately solves the mystery in a way that surprises them and holds their interest until the very end.

The remainder of the novels in this series will be read by me because I liked this one so much. Although I haven’t read any of the other novels in this series, I found this one to be a nice, jovial cozy mystery. I related to Lucy as a person because I liked that she was a librarian and that she talked about books and a book club. Realistic and relatable personalities are present. Lucy is fighting to keep out of the probe, and you can sense it.

The mystery is packed with twists and turns to keep you wondering. I had no reason to suspect the murderer. This series is well-written, and each book seems like a visit with an old friend thanks to a strong female heroine, a cute cat, and fantastic supporting characters. For Lucy, Connor, and the rest of the team to be able to discover a lot more secrets in the future, I hope to see more stories in this series. The Lighthouse Library is the place to go for readers who prefer returning to a setting and cast of familiar characters or who just enjoy a mystery with literary overtones.

This is a very good addition to this series! The setting is beautifully described and the lighthouse library is so unique. The characters have become like old friends and it’s a pleasure to visit them again to see what new mystery is to be solved. The mystery itself is well written and offers multiple suspects to examine. An enjoyable read!

The Lighthouse Library Mystery series is one of my favorites, and this 10th installment didn't disappoint. Lucy and Connor are finally married, but not a day passes before one of the guests goes missing and another is found strangled in a closet at the reception venue. We are treated to many scenes of the lovely Outer Banks setting and fun with relatives and friends as Lucy tries to find the killer. This series has made the Outer Banks a destination I plan to visit, and I'm looking forward to what comes next in the series! Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the advance digital copy!

This is book 10 in series and enjoyable in that we finally get THE wedding! But because it's Lucy, there has to be a dead body somewhere! LOL In a twist, it's related to the wedding guests, but in a proxy way, but it still keeps everyone in town longer, and involved with Lucy trying to solve what happened. It's an interesting look at family dynamics and a cozy mytery, all rolled up into one, and an enjoable entry into the series, perfect for new and oldfans alike.

This is the tenth in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series. At the beginning of the story, Lucy and Connor have their wedding. The next morning, Lucy is present when the housekeeper at the hotel finds her aunt’s plus one dead in a storage/cleaning closet. We also discover Bertie’s plus one is missing. Are these incidents related?

The police and Lucy are investigating. Lucy is mostly trying to locate Eddie to ease Bertie’s distress.

I like the series and this story. The characters care about each other and try to support one another. We learn secrets about both men that their significant other’s did not know.

I suspected the killer and was glad that he/she would not be continuing in the series. I look forward to the next installment. I was given an advanced reader’s copy and am not required to leave a positive review.

I had a great time attending Lucy and Conner’s wedding. This is a great cozy mystery series what could be more fun that a series with a librarian and a library in a light house. The addition of the book club is always a fun way to find new books to read. The characters are relatable and realistic. The mystery is full of surprises to keep you guessing. The killer was not someone I suspected. I recommend this book to cozy mystery fans.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and I have not been influenced by anyone.

Loved this latest entry in the series! Glad to get a peek into the wedding, catch-up a bit with the family, and have a fun mystery to solve. Very zippy with plenty of red herrings.

I do like this series. The idea of a library in the lighthouse is entertaining. The cast of characters are interesting. A murder on your wedding day would be memorable for sure. Lucy can't help herself..she must try and figure out why and by whom. I liked the story.

"Lucy and Connor planned for the perfect Outer Banks wedding—and that’s exactly what they got. Aside from typical rumblings of familial tensions, the late spring weather allowed for a beautiful day, the food was delicious, and everyone had a good time, until one of the guests goes missing."
This is a good mystery.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

A wedding , drama with the sister in law and her new boyfriend and then a murder what else could go wrong at her wedding. The honeymoon is delayed for a month so what else is a girl to do except investigate the murder at her wedding. This was a really fun read I loved the light house and the library and I did not know who the killer was until the end.

I love the Lighthouse Library series so was delighted when NetGalley gave me access to the e-ARC for the tenth book set around the Bodie Lighthouse into which Eva Gates has craftily shoe-horned her fictitious library.

The eponymous Wedding Bells in the title are those of librarian sleuth Lucy Richardson, who becomes Lucy McNeil as she marries long-time sweetheart and town mayor Connor McNeil. This brings lots of out-of-towners to the Outer Banks as the Richardson family visit from Boston and New York. And one of the guests is the subject of the Death Knells in the title …

One of the things that I love about cosy crime is that it is far more forgiving than grittier sub-genres. Just as we are happy to imagine an entire library with staff offices and meeting rooms as well as wide-ranging stock inside the lighthouse, we are happy to imagine Charles the library cat attacking the bad guy and to accept that otherwise street-smart Lucy should return home to an empty house after running into the murderer.

Of course we are. We don’t come to Eva Gates’s version of the Outer Banks for a dose of reality. We come to solve a mystery in the age-old tradition of Sherlock Holmes or, most appropriately here, his predecessor Auguste Dupin.

Another joy of the series is that each book includes a book club scene in which the library patrons discuss a classic novel which always has a relationship to the main action of the current crime. In this one it’s The Murder in the Rue Morgue, the Poe story in which we first meet Dupin.

As usual, Lucy solves the crime and the criminal is brought to justice by Detective Sam Watson (hat-tip by Gates to Conan Doyle).

All in all, another great instalment of this favourite series. Now I cannot wait for book 11!

The latest book in the Bodie Lighthouse series did not disappoint. Lucy and Connor have just gotten married and the next day discover the body of one of their wedding guests.

Like in the other books, Lucy can't help but investigate this death. There are less scenes in the library but the few that are were very entertaining.

I figured out the murderer early in the book, but it was still an entertaining read. I would definitely recommend this book and this series.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy and Connor planned for the perfect Outer Banks wedding—and that’s exactly what they got. Aside from typical rumblings of familial tensions, the late spring weather allowed for a beautiful day, the food was delicious, and everyone had a good time, until one of the guests goes missing. Before Lucy can look forward to the rest of her life in Nags Head and the work she does at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, she gets a phone call from her boss, Bertie James. Eddie, Bertie’s friend, never made it back home after the reception. Initially, Lucy doesn’t think anything of it—sometimes wedding guests simply have a little too much fun and Eddie was the epitomy of the "absent minded professor". However, this quickly turns to something more when she discovers the body of a wedding guest strangled in a locked closet, and the police immediately start asking questions about Eddie. Lucy must figure out if the two are connected before it’s too late—both for Bertie’s friend and the rest of her wedding guests.

This is the 10th installment of this series, and I have read each one and loved them. The author always keeps the stories fresh, and describes the lighthouse library with such detail that I can picture it in my mind as I am reading. The author continues to develop the characters with each new installment. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting my request to read the newest in a series I love.

I love Eva Gates’ Lighthouse Library series. This is number ten, and the reader finds themselves at the wedding reception of our amateur sleuth Lucy Richardson, now McNeil, and Connor. It appears that everything is going well until Lucy overhears a worrying conversation, but only recognizes one of the voices, her Aunt Joyce’s date Wayne. The next morning Bertie James, Lucy’s boss, calls to ask her if she saw Bertie’s date Eddie. At the family breakfast at the hotel, Wayne’s body is discovered. With one guest missing and another dead, Lucy becomes worried about her friends and family, and what an investigation might uncover.

There were two things that threw me off right away. One was the ending of the wedding. I was hoping that the reader would get to experience it more, because I felt that it would be a great introduction to the rest of Lucy’s family. In this case, we get what felt like snapshots of two of her brothers and their wives. The third brother is given a little more attention, but it still felt like an overview. There was no in-depth conversation, nothing to indicate familial feelings whether negatively or positively.

The other was that Josie and Jake had their baby. Wasn’t this just announced in book nine? So, there is a major timeline job from book nine to book ten with limited to no mention of anything happening in between. I’m not saying we need a day-by-day playback, but there doesn’t appear to have been a fallout from the last novel’s ending.

The mystery and investigation were well written as was the original round of suspicions. However, I did find the solution to be far-fetched, because what are the odds? I honestly wanted more in that department. A couple of my pet peeves were instigated with this novel, which is unusual as Eva Gates writes the characters as calmer and smarter.

Overall, I rate this novel 3 out of 5 stars.

I absolutely love this series and have watched Lucy and Conner's relationship grow throughout the series. They finally get married and have a great wedding with perfect weather and lots of friends and family helping them celebrate.. The next morning Lucy finds the dead body of the man who was her Aunt Joyce's plus one. Now some of the guest are murder suspects and on top of the list is her boss, Bertie's, friend, Eddie. Can Lucy help clear Eddie's name before it's too late?

Death Knells & Wedding Bells (Lighthouse Library 10)
Eva Gates


We return to Nags Head in the Outer Banks of North Carolina for Lucy and Connors’ wedding!

Ocean Side Hotel, the premier venue is hosting the event. As you know with Lucy’s mom in charge and Josie baking, it’s going to be amazing! Kristen, Kevin’s soon to be ex-wife, makes a mild spectacle of herself. Sadly, she isn’t the only one miss behaving. Our murder victim also ticks off quite a few people before his demise! Plus we have Ms. Gloria, returning for the wedding.

The Bodie Island book club voted before the wedding to read a classic Poe tale, Detective North, surprises the group with an appearance. The day after the meeting Kevin comes to say goodbye only to end up in an altercation with Kristen’s “new” beau! At this point, the story picks up the pace, slightly.

I figured out the murder about halfway through the mystery. So, not quite as compelling as Death by Beach Read. It was still a fun and interesting read because while I knew who did it I couldn’t discern why or how the victim and murderer came into contact!

Overall, I would recommend this book to any mystery reader of any age. 4****
Clean well written mystery!





Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.