Review: Booked for Trouble by Eva Gates

Genre:
Cozy Mystery

Format:
E-Book

Publisher:
NAL

Release Date:
September 2015








Synopsis from Goodreads…

The author of By Book or By Crook returns to the Outer Banks and the Lighthouse Library, where Lucy Richardson must shed light on a shocking murder…

Lucy has finally found her bliss as a librarian and resident of the Bodie Island Lighthouse. She loves walking on the beach, passing her evenings with the local book club, bonding with the library cat, Charles, and enjoying the attention of not one, but TWO eligible men. But then her socialite mother, Suzanne, unexpectedly drops in, determined to move Lucy back to Boston—and reunite her with her ex-fiancé.

To make matters worse, Suzanne picks a very public fight at the local hotel with her former classmate Karen Kivas. So, when Karen turns up dead outside the library the next morning, Suzanne is immediately at the top of the suspect list. Now Lucy must hunt down a dangerous killer—before the authorities throw the book at her poor mother…

My Review

I had the chance to read the second book in the “Lighthouse Library Mystery Series” right after I finished the first. This is unusual for me since so many books end up languishing in my TBR and it winds up being too long before books. I tend to forget things when there is so much distance between books. This time, it was so refreshing to go right to the next one and still have everything be fresh in my mind.

In this one, Lucy Richardson is still coming up against opposition to the library and, in particular, to her being the librarian. To give her even more headaches, her mother is in town and she’s not very supportive of Lucy’s job. Mainly because her mother, Suzanne, wants Lucy to move back to Boston and marry the man her parents handpicked for her. Lucy’s personal life is even more complicated with the attention she is receiving from two very handsome men from the Outer Banks.

Suzanne grew up in the Outer Banks, but she doesn’t have many friends still there. In fact, one of her former friends – Karen Kivas – is still holding a grudge from their school days. They publicly fight and the next day Karen is found dead near the library. Suzanne is the number one suspect. Lucy doesn’t trust the police to do their job, even though one of them just asked her out on a date. So, Lucy sets up her own investigation to prove her mother’s innocence. When a stolen necklace turns up in Suzanne’s bag, Lucy’s job is even more difficult but she doesn’t let that stop her. Her family is on the line.

I’m loving Lucy even more with this book. She’s really coming into her own as a character. We learn more about her family life and her rocky relationship with her mother. Both men in her life are quite likeable and it’s difficult for readers to choose just one.

I found this book even more captivating than the first one and I had a harder time trying to figure out who the killer was. There were so many ways to go and I never really suspected the true culprit. This is written very well. I’m ready for the next one!



For reading challenges:
I Love Libraries Reading Challenge 2016
2016 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge
2016 Cruisin’ thru the Cozies Reading Challenge

Disclosure: I borrowed this one from the library. All opinions expressed are my own.