By Book or by Crook

I finished this back in June, so some details are fuzzy.

Lucy previously worked at the Harvard Library and is now a new librarian at Bodie Island's public library, which is housed inside a lighthouse. There are a few folks who aren't thrilled that she got the job, but for the most part Lucy loves her new position. She's particularly excited about the Jane Austen first editions the library currently has on loan. That excitement turns to dismay and horror as one of the first editions goes missing and the chairman of the library board is found murdered.

I tend to be drawn to book and library-themed cozy mysteries, so I snatched this one up when I spotted it in a used bookstore. Unfortunately, it turned out to be terrible.

The author's show more bio doesn't mention any sort of library background, although she thanks a librarian in her acknowledgements, so I assume she spoke to that person as part of her research. Either her research wasn't very thorough or she didn't ask the right questions, because this book was filled with mistakes and difficult-to-believe details.

Cozy mystery authors seem to be fond of 30-year-old librarians who somehow already have 10 years of librarian experience under their belts. Library experience would be believable, but becoming a librarian by age 20 would really be pushing it, particularly a librarian at the Harvard Library. You need a bachelor's degree first (approximately 4 years), and then a Master's in Library Science (or Library and Information Science, depending on the school), which can take 1-2 years depending on what sort of course load you can handle. Lucy would have had to graduate early in both high school and college in order to be a librarian by age 20.

But what really bothered me was the author's glaring lack of knowledge about library security. On page 129, there was this discussion between one of the library's employees and a police officer:

"'I don't suppose y'all have security on the door?'

'I do some crowd control,' Charlene said.

'Stopping little old ladies from stepping on each other's sensible shoes. I meant like a bar-code detector. Alarm. Things like that.'

'This is a library. Not a jewelry store. And we're in the Bodie Island Lighthouse, not the Bronx. No, we do not have alarms.'"

There's so much wrong with this passage that it's hard to know where to start. Yes, there are lots of small libraries out there that don't have much in the way of security - but those libraries would never be loaned a collection of Jane Austen first editions for a temporary display. And libraries that don't have any sort of security systems in place likely don't have them because they can't afford them, not because they think they don't need them - all libraries, even ones in small towns, are better off with some sort of security system in place (alarms, security gates, panic buttons, etc.), for the safety of their users and staff as well as to reduce the likelihood of theft. Charlene saying that this was "the Bodie Island Lighthouse, not the Bronx" struck me as both naive and potentially racist. Also, library security gates are not called bar-code detectors - I'll forgive that one because it was the police officer character who said it.

If I remember right, the above passage occurred after the first book went missing. That left five books and a notebook that could still be stolen. In addition to keeping the books locked up and only removing them when a staff member could be on hand to make sure it stayed safe, I'd have bought a webcam or two off Amazon and set them up. Instead, library staff felt that keeping the books locked up as much as possible (with the key easily accessible in the head librarian's unlocked office) was good enough. Considering how the story progressed (more thefts!), the continued library security issues were maddening.

Although I was able to figure out the murderer's identity a little early, I did think the murder mystery aspect was decent. It's too bad that everything was overshadowed by the glaringly awful library security details. No one in their right mind would lend a library like this anything even remotely rare and valuable. I very much agreed with the cop who said this: "I wouldn't want y'all guarding my doghouse." (226)

Sometimes terrible cozy mysteries can be at least somewhat saved by their characters. That wasn't the case here. Lucy annoyed me. Her views on books and library struck me as being old-fashioned, and she seemed to be very judgmental of everything from other people's tastes in recreational reading to the kind of music they listened to. Her two potential love interests (yes, there's already a love triangle in the works) were both bland and uninteresting. I'm assuming Connor (the guy Lucy had a crush on as a teen, and who is now the mayor) is being set up as the guy who appears to have the best chance with Lucy, while Butch (a local cop) is the guy Lucy's actually going to end up with. If she ever ends up with anyone.

I don't plan on reading more of this series.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

I found this a delightful read and now have added Gates to my very short list of "put new ones on hold" authors. I like more and more murder mysteries that don't rack up bodies. And I enjoy ones which use humor as part of the story telling instead of having everything dark and dreary with occasional flickers of humor.

Our intrepid librarian-detective did not have everything drop gently into her lap. She would come up with a solution and have it dashed. Then another path of inquiry would come to naught, but we had fun the whole way along.

I also like that there is a library cat who helps. I miss the Cat Who books and, although Charlie is not so talented as Koko nor delightful as Yum Yum, he played a critically important role in the show more story.

Thumbs up to a good story and a fun storyteller. show less

I love libraries. I love lighthouses. When I came across this first book in the Lighthouse Library cozy series, my eyes lit up, and when I discovered that "Eva Gates" is the pen name of one of my favorite authors, Vicky Delany, that was the icing on the cake. North Carolina's Outer Banks seems to be one of the hot settings for cozies, and By Book or by Crook fits right in with its neighbors.

I liked Lucy Richardson, even though she didn't win any points by staying in a relationship for ten years just to keep her parents off her back. Grow a spine, girl, because I have a feeling that those parents of yours won't be able to leave you alone in your new home!

Lucy is surrounded by an excellent cast of secondary characters who are a good mix show more of supportive and irritating. Fellow librarian Charlene's passion for rap music is a running joke throughout the book, and it's a joke I enjoyed since I personally didn't have to listen to the music. I did find it a tad worrying that Lucy has two prospective beaus. She may not be ready for them yet, but I've learned to treat romantic triangles with a great deal of suspicion, thanks to Janet Evanovich.

Lucy's fellow librarians are just the sort of people you'd want to work with, and here's hoping that Louise Jane never ever gets a permanent job in the lighthouse library. Louise Jane is the sort of person you'd just love to slap, and I figure the main reason why she so desperately wants to work in the library is that no one wants her there. (As you can see, this is a wonderful cast of characters because I seem to have gotten emotionally involved with them!)

Another perk of the book is that you really get a feel for what libraries have to deal with in this age of constant budget cuts. The author makes it clear that keeping libraries alive depends on the librarians, the patrons, and members of the library board and city government who all realize how vital these places are to communities.

The mystery in By Book or by Crook provides both the high and the low points of the book. The high point? The killer is hiding in the best place of all-- right out in plain sight, and I cannot believe I didn't figure out the person's identity. The low point? I had a very difficult time suspending my disbelief when it came to the lack of security in place at the library for the exhibit of priceless first editions of all of Jane Austen's novels as well as one of Austen's notebooks. I could easily go on in more depth about this, but I don't want to slip and give away too much of the story.

Lack of security aside, I really enjoyed this book. The author took the rather unfeasible idea of putting a library in a lighthouse and made it work with wonderful descriptive passages, an excellent cast, and an intriguing mystery. I'm looking forward to heading back to the Outer Banks for the next book in the series! show less

Lucy Richardson, realizing she needs a change from her life in Boston, contacts her Aunt Ellen and moves to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to become the assistant librarian at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library. Only a week into her new life, the chairman of the library board is murdered in the rare books section of the library. Then a first edition Jane Austen novel is stolen. Lucy is determined to solve the mystery before the wrong person goes to jail for both crimes.

By Book or By Crook is the first in the cozy Lighthouse Library Mystery series by Eva Gates. I needed a lighter read and this cozy mystery hit the spot. I enjoyed getting to know the library staff, some of the island locals and liked most of the characters. There's show more even a library cat! Lucy isn't the greatest sleuth as most of her time is spent over hearing other peoples conversations. This doesn't hurt her likability in the slightest and leaves room Lucy's character to grow. She sort of gets the hang of things in time for the finale.

What dropped my star rating was the odd editing job of this book. For example, in back to back paragraphs our lead "kicks off her shoes" to settle down to read. The other editing errors were less glaring though they added up. Hopefully this will be smoothed out in the second book as I think I'd like to continue the series. show less

Lucy has left her family and former fiancee behind in Boston, as well as her librarian job at Harvard. She is thrilled to be the new (assistant) librarian at a lighthouse library in a small town in North Carolina. But while at a party to open a Jane Austen exhibit when Lucy is just starting to meet people, the chair of the library board is murdered. He seemed to be arguing with a lot of people at the party, including Lucy (he didn’t think another librarian was needed) and the head librarian, who of course, had hired Lucy. Bertie, the head librarian, was found in the room with the murdered man and the murder weapon in her hands by Lucy. Lucy is convinced Bertie would never do such a thing.

I really enjoyed this. Loved the setting of show more the library inside the lighthouse. I also liked (most of) the characters. I will absolutely be continuing this cozy series. I want to see what happens with Lucy and Butch… or Lucy and Connor! And, of course, I loved Charles, the library cat. show less

The story is based mostly around Lucy, a former Harvard librarian who is determined to start a new life away from her "high society" responsibilities and a lifeless, meaningless relationship. She moves to her favorite place in all the world, the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Lucy is excited when she finds a job as the librarian at the iconic Bodie Island Lighthouse Public Library. Living in a lighthouse, working with such nice people and mostly, escaping her life in Boston is exactly what she wanted and needed. Just when things were going well a priceless Jane Austen first edition book is stolen and the chairman of the library board is murdered. I don't often read cozies, but this book was recommended and handed to me by my sweet show more little cozy mystery loving neighbor. She said that it lived up to all she had hoped and more....and knowing that anything that contains a single drop of blood will have her hyperventilating and running for the hills...I was, shall we say... skeptical...but, this time, she was mostly right. The storyline was the typical straight forward, what you would expect of a cozy murder mystery, the characters were a bit too "vanilla" for me but very...I believe "relatable" adequately describes them. The biggest plus for me of the entire book was Charles, the library cat, who in my opinion deserves his very own book! Cozy mystery lovers will...well, love it. show less

I hemmed and hawed about how to rate this book because it's a good story, with a fantastic setting (a library in a lighthouse!) and good characters. But it is the worst book I've ever read for editing by a major publisher ever.

Quickly: Lucy moves away from her old-money family in Boston to live near her aunt on Bodie Island, North Carolina and gets a job as the Assistant Librarian at the Lighthouse Library. She finds herself surrounded by people who either wanted her job or wanted her job eliminated. During a reception celebrating a showing of Jane Austen first editions, the library board's chairman is killed. Then the Austen books start going missing...

It's a really good story for a first in a series. The murder plotting is really show more great - I never even considered the guilty person once. Lots of potential here for a very smart, enjoyable series.

But the editing!!! This is what I stumbled over that slipped past the Obsidian/Penguin staff:

Lucy lives in a round lighthouse. She mentions specifically her apartment is round and has no corners. Then proceeds to describe the room as having corners ("the iron day bed... tucked in a corner").

The mayor tells Lucy he's going to bring his friend's daughter to one of her lectures. In the next paragraph, she's his niece (he also tells Lucy he's an only child).

waived instead of waved
providence instead of provenance

corner instead of counter
setting instead of selling
injunction instead of injection

The icing on this particular cake is the acknowledgements at the end, where the author thanks "Laura Fazio, my marvellous editor at Obsidian". What is it, exactly, that she's thanking her for? Because it certainly isn't her fabulous editing. show less