A DEATH LONG OVERDUE by Eva Gates

Bertie James is hosting the 40th reunion at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library to mark the anniversary of the first day for that long-ago undergrad class. Lucy Richardson, the assistant director of the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, is helping with all the arrangements as she hopes Bertie’s reunion will be a smashing success. Reunions offer folks a mixed bag of happiness to see old friends, a reigniting of old grudges, and a chance to show off one’s accomplishments. Unfortunately, this reunion offers all of the above and one of the attendees ends up dead. Who has held onto a grudge so long that only death would resolve it? Can Lucy unmask the real killer without ending up dead herself?

A DEATH LONG OVERDUE is the seventh book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series, and oh what a fun story Eva Gates has in store for readers! New readers can easily jump right in and appreciate the characters and the story line. The fact we have various librarians (or former librarians/librarian students) visiting in town for the reunion means that many of the characters and suspects are new even to fans of the series.

I love when books reference or include other books as part of the story, and Eva Gates uses Wilkie Collins, THE MOONSTONE, to full effect here. I must admit I’ve not read this particular book by Wilkie Collins, but Eva Gates has whetted my appetite for it with her tantalizing references to it throughout A DEATH LONG OVERDUE- which something any good librarian would love! Even better, the plots of THE MOONSTONE and A DEATH LONG OVERDUE intertwine in a fascinating way that has readers constantly guessing and questioning as to what happened in both the past and the present day.

The characters in A DEATH LONG OVERDUE are a hoot! Louise Jane McKaughnan is such a pest and yet her haunting tales of ghostly apparitions add just the right haunting atmosphere to the story line. And oh, poor Connor McNeil, the mayor of Nags Head and Lucy’s boyfriend! I laughed repeatedly over his thwarted attempts, even as I questioned how Lucy could be so smart and yet so oblivious to his efforts. I look forward to getting to know each one of these delightful characters better as I have already downloaded the earlier books on my Kindle- because yes, A DEATH LONG OVERDUE is just that good!

The charming and somewhat haunting setting of the Outer Banks, the mysterious past crime that is continuing to trouble current events, and some darned good characters make A DEATH LONG OVERDUE a phenomenal read for all cozy mystery fans! I love the Author’s Note about the Bodie Island Lighthouse library, as it makes me love the library and the setting all the more too. This was my first trip to Eva Gates’ world, but it definitely won’t be the last!

It's summertime in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and Bertie James's college class is having their 40th anniversary reunion. The opening night reception is held at the Lighthouse Library and Lucy and her colleagues have assembled an exhibit of library artifacts showing how libraries have changed over the years. After the reception, some of the women take a walk down the boardwalk to the pier, using flashlights to illuminate the dark path, but what's scarier than the dark is finding the former director of the Lighthouse Library floating lifeless in the water.

Helena Sanchez, the former director, wasn't much loved and spent the party being rude to almost everyone there. As a result, Lucy finds herself in deep water as she rocks the boat, questioning several suspects. But she'll have to batten down the hatches and fast before she's left high and dry...and right in the killer's crosshairs.