Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Book Review: Read and Buried by Eva Gates

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.[summary via Amazon]

Lucy Richardson, and all our favourite librarians at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library are back for their 6th adventure, with a story to captivate the masses!

It's the height of summer, and the famous lighthouse is undergoing repairs. Meanwhile the rest of the town is preparing for the big Settler's Day festivities. When the construction crew uncover an old box, containing a diary from the 1800s with a mysterious map, Lucy and her fellow librarians must use all their best decoding skills to decode the artifacts. However, their job gets even more perilous when a member of the historical society turns up dead at the library. Who would kill over a map? It's up to Lucy to try to find the answer!!

I'm a big fan of books about books, and it doesn't get more interesting than a library in a lighthouse! Perhaps it's the author's description of the lighthouse being "bigger on the inside, like the Tardis", or the fact that she always delivers a fantastic mystery. Let's call it both!

This mystery was very captivating!! Lucy's book group is reading The Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne, and there a lot of similarities  between the book they're reading and the mystery itself. I really enjoyed how the author ties in the fictional book with mystery. Afterwards I was left with a craving to pick up the classic by Jules Verne. Any book that makes me want to read more, is a great book!!

I really enjoyed the way the author described the history in the Outer Banks, and the activity leading up to the Settler's Day festivities. The reader gets a real feel for the history surrounding Bodie Island, and why this map and diary could be so important.

If you're looking for an unputdownable cozy mystery that will help you soak up those last few rays of summer, with a captivating mystery and a little toe curling relationship (because I absolutely adore Connor and Lucy together!), then pick up Read and Buried today. This is definitely a series that should be on your reading list!

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