Deadly Ever After by Eva Gates

Another enjoyable cozy mystery in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series. While some of the details in this novel come from events in earlier novels, it read pretty well on its own.

The quirky characters are what make the plot enjoyable. Gates does a good job balancing the character movement with an ongoing investigation into murder. Lucy and Connor getting ready to plan a wedding are contrasted with a body found behind a favorite local restaurant.

I like the frequent snappy dialogues and pithy comebacks. I like Lucy being relentless in solving the mystery in her amateur but effective way. My favorite characters, though, were Charles, the library cat, and Fluffy, the yappy but protective little dog. Their actions were fun.

The setting of Nags Head is wonderful. The library is in a lighthouse and Lucy lives in an upper floor. Quirky library patrons and board members make for more fun. And then there is the spooky marsh area and mysterious lights at night.

This is a fun cozy mystery with interesting characters, a good setting and a bit of suspense. There is nothing sophisticated nor especially enlightening in this novel. It's just a fun mystery.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Eva Gates is the pen name of the Canadian writer, Vicki Delaney. She writes under both names for a total of more than forty novels. She is a past president of the Crime Writers of Canada and co-founder and organizer of the Women Killing It Crime Writing Festival. You can find out more at https://www.lighthouselibrarymysteries.com/ and http://vickidelany.com/. Photo by Iden Ford Photography.

Crooked Lane Books, 304 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)