DEADLY EVER AFTER is the eighth book in the “Lighthouse Library” cozy mystery series by Eva Gates. I always find it interesting when a story centers around people from a favorite character’s past resurfacing to cause problems in the present. DEADLY EVER AFTER is that kind of a story. When intrepid amateur sleuth and librarian Lucy Richardson is celebrating her engagement to mayor Connor McNeil, her ex’s family wanders up to the festivities even though uninvited and unwanted. And when a murder occurs, the potential suspects include Lucy’s ex – (Ricky), his overbearing and flamboyant mother, and even those nearer and dear to her.
I like when the amateur sleuth has a good reason to get involved in a murder investigation. In DEADLY EVER AFTER, so many of the suspects are people that Lucy has, or had, a close personal relationship with. With Lucy’s wedding on the horizon, this is a way of adding some closure to her past. Sometimes a victim will have a host of enemies, thus making narrowing it down to the guilty party difficult. This was not the case in DEADLY EVER AFTER. Solving this mystery proves challenging because, while the victim’s identity is immediately known, the circumstances surrounding why he’s in town and what motive somebody had for killing him is not as clear. Lucy must wade through a sea of lies to get to the truth. At one point Lucy has a small dog as a temporary houseguest. Fluffy and his doggie cuteness balance out some seriously scary scenes. DEADLY EVER AFTER has plenty of the cozy goodness readers have come to expect with this series, but Lucy has some close calls with her safety that had me on the edge of my seat.
DEADLY EVER AFTER has family connections that turn fatal and an amateur sleuth who combines wedding planning with solving a murder. Lucy’s friends and colleagues offer help and occasionally protection as she hunts down clues and ruffles feathers. I like how the relationships between Lucy and the local police are friendly rather than adversarial like in some other cozy mysteries. As with all the previous books in this series, there are parallels between current events in Lucy’s life and the current Bodie Island Lighthouse Library book club selection. This featured novel in DEADLY EVER AFTER is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic mystery THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES. I can’t wait to read the next “Lighthouse Library” mystery!
Librarian Lucy's wedding is at stake when a murder interrupts her engagement celebrations. To make it down the aisle, she'll have to find the killer to save the date in the 8th book in the Lighthouse Library mysteries.
They're getting married! Lucy Richardson and Connor McNeil have announced their engagement. Their friends throw a party for the couple at Coquina Beach, close to Lucy's beloved Bodie Island Lighthouse Library.
As they're packing up the presents and the (few) leftovers from Josie's Cozy Bakery, who should arrive, but Richard Eric Lewiston III, Lucy's former almost-fiancé and his overbearing mother Evangeline. Push comes to love when Evangeline makes no secret of why she's here: to get Lucy and Ricky back together.
Lucy isn't temped in the least, and Ricky is nothing but embarrassed at his mother's desperate ploy. Before returning to Boston Evangeline throws a dinner party at Jake's Seafood Bar for a reluctant Lucy and her family. Lucy hopes to get the dinner over with and see Evangeline and Ricky returning to Boson. But when a body is found at the restaurant's kitchen door, Lucy is again forced to unwillingly put on her detective's hat and do what she can to save her family and her engagement. Meanwhile, the classic novel reading club is reading The Hound of the Baskervilles, and open war breaks out in the Lighthouse Library when Lucy agrees to temporarily take care of a dog named Fluffy, but Charles the library cat has other ideas.
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