Read and Buried
A Lighthouse Library Mystery
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4.5 • 60 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Gates's delightful sixth Lighthouse Library mystery (after Something Read, Something Dead), workmen who are excavating around the foundations of the lighthouse in Nags Head, N.C., discover a tin box containing a leather-bound diary dating from the Civil War era, along with a couple of loose sheets of paper and a mysterious map of the Outer Banks. The find has the entire town dreaming of buried treasure. Within minutes, librarian Lucy Richardson and the library staff are fending off squabbling scholars and members of the local historical society. An exasperated Bertie James, the library director, orders the historians to leave and locks the box in her desk for the night. After dinner, Lucy returns to find the front door open, the map gone, and a man lying dead on the floor of Bertie's office. Gates provides loads of eccentric and amusing suspects, shifting motives for the theft and for the murder, and a surprising solution to the mystery contained in the map. Cozy fans looking for good, fast-paced fun will be rewarded.
Customer Reviews
An entertaining story!
Read and Buried is the sixth story in A Lighthouse Library Mystery series. It can be read as a standalone for those readers who are new to the series. I just love the description of this beautiful library inside the old lighthouse. The author states at the beginning of the book that she took creative license with the size of the building because the actual lighthouse is barely big enough for the staircase to the top (think of it as a stationary TARDIS). There is a cast of characters that include the librarians, the mayor, construction workers and island residents. Lucy Richardson is our protagonist. She is a librarian who lives in an apartment inside the lighthouse (lucky librarian). She is dating Connor McNeil who is the town’s mayor and a dentist. Bertie James, the director of the library, has her hands full as residents clamor to see the found diary and the coded missive. Louise Jane McKaughnan is a pain in the patootie (as always). She does, though, provide humor with her antics. The mystery was delightful. A diary dating back to 1858 with a hand drawn map and what they believe is a coded page (I love ciphers). I like how the author tied Journey of the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne and the whodunit together. There are multiple persons of interest along with subtle clues to help readers solve the crime. The reveal and takedown were marvelous. All questions regarding the mystery were answered which I appreciated. Charles, the library cat, is a good judge of character and helpful to have around when intruders break in. If only Lucy could get Charles to deter Louise Jane. I believe Lucy was happy her evaluation kept getting postponed because she does not like the section on improvement needed (I believe we can all relate). Read and Buried is an entertaining cozy mystery with a discovered diary, a ferocious feline, a surfeit of suspects, construction chaos, a mysterious map and a coded conundrum.