Book Review: Read and Buried by Eva Gates
- Kristen Lewendon
- Oct 15, 2019
- 2 min read
Lighthouse Library Mystery Book 6
Librarian Lucy Richardson unearths a mysterious map dating back to the Civil War. But if she can't crack its code, she may end up read and buried.
The Bodie Island Lighthouse Library Classic Novel Book Club is reading Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne while workers dig into the earth to repair the Lighthouse Library's foundations. The digging halts when Lucy pulls a battered tin box containing a Civil War-era diary from the pit. Tucked inside is a hand-drawn map of the Outer Banks accompanied by a page written in an indecipherable code.
The library is overrun by people clamoring to see the artifact. Later that night, Lucy and Connor McNeil find the body of historical society member Jeremy Hughes inside the library. Clearly Jeremy was not the only one who broke into the library--the map and the coded page are missing.
Lucy's nemesis, Louise Jane McKaughnan, confesses to entering the library after closing to sneak a peek but denies seeing Jeremy--or his killer. When Lucy discovers that fellow-librarian Charlene had a past with Jeremy, she's forced to do what she vowed not to do--get involved in the case. Meanwhile, the entire library staff and community become obsessed with trying to decode the page. But when the library has a second break in, it becomes clear that someone is determined to solve that code.
My Review:
There is something so delightfully Keystone Cops about this book. In spite of one of the main plot threads of the story being about a murder, the whole book is light-hearted and whimsical. I appreciated that Lucy actually tried not to be in the middle of the investigation this time, even though it was a goal we all knew she wasn’t going to achieve. Most of the characters were the same people as I’d already gotten to know and love, but the Louise Jane of this book was a bit of a shocker to me. (That’s all I’m going to say – if you want to know more, you’ll have to read it for yourself.) The truth about their mysterious find was exactly what I’d expected it to be. However, the murder was not at all how I thought it was going to be solved. I had so much silly fun with this book. I can’t wait to come back and do it again.
I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book through NetGalley.
Other books in the series:
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