Death by Beach Read by Eva Gates ~ an Audiobook Review

by Donna Huber

Back during the early days of the pandemic, I really got into listening to audiobooks as a way to turn off the news while working from home. One of the books I picked up was book three in Eva Gates's Lighthouse Library Mystery series - books 1 and 2 were not available through the digital library. I enjoyed it so when I saw her new book in the series Death by Beach Read I knew I could pick it up without a problem even though I had read any more of the books in the series.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free audiobook was provided for an honest review.

June 2022; Dreamscape Media; 9781666580747
audio (8h 48m), ebook, print; cozy mystery

I don't remember feeling this while listening to Reading Up a Storm, but I was almost immediately struck by how much this book reminded me of Jenn McKinlay's Library Lovers series. Maybe because the main character of that series just got married and Lucy, the main character of this book, is planning her wedding.

The house that Lucy and her finance are remodeling is rumored to be haunted and when strange things start happening Lucy starts to wonder if there really is a ghost or just someone who doesn't want them in the house.

I kind of thought the plot would have made a great Halloween story instead of a summer beach read. Actually, with Beach Read in the title, I thought it would be a bit more summer beachy. Otherwise, the mystery is a good one. 

We get to know a lot of townspeople both through them coming to the library as well in the course of Lucy "investigating" the mystery. I'm sure readers who have been following this series will enjoy seeing them. As a newcomer to the series, I didn't feel an established connection to them, but they are an interesting group and I can see myself growing to feel like I know them. Being a cat lady myself (I have 6 now), I loved Charles the cat.

The audiobook, which is read by Elise Arsenault, is easy to listen to. Even though I didn't know any of the characters it was easy to tell the characters apart. I did feel that Connor had a bit too much of a southern accent. It felt more like what I would expect someone from Savannah to sound like rather than North Carolina and I had to keep reminding myself that the setting was the Outer Banks of North Carolina and not Savannah, Georgia. 

If you are like me and don't mind randomly picking up cozy mysteries, then this is a fun little story. Of course, if you are a fan of the series you won't want to miss it.

Buy Death by Beach Read at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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