The Lighthouse Library Mystery is a Mystery / Literary Fiction series by Eva Gates, made up of 12 books published between 2015 and 2025. It begins with By Book or By Crook (2015), and is best read in publication order. The most recent entry is Shot Through the Book (2025), spanning 10 years of storytelling.
Lighthouse Library Mystery series: frequently asked questions
What order should I read the Lighthouse Library Mystery series?
Start with By Book or By Crook (2015), the first book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series by Eva Gates. Follow the books in publication order for the best reading experience.
How many books are in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series?
There are 12 books in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series by Eva Gates, published between 2015 and 2025.
What is the first book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series?
The first book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series is By Book or By Crook, published in 2015 by Eva Gates.
What is the latest book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series?
The most recent book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series is Shot Through the Book (2025) by Eva Gates.
About the Lighthouse Library Mystery series
Eva Gates's Lighthouse Library Mysteries are charming cozy mysteries set in a working lighthouse that doubles as a library on North Carolina's Outer Banks. Transplanted Boston librarian Lucy Richardson — who actually lives in a cosy nook at the top of the lighthouse — keeps finding herself solving murders amid the seaside community.
The picturesque setting is the series' great hook: a historic lighthouse, the beach, a resident cat named Charles (after Dickens), and plenty of bookish detail. Lucy is a warm, capable heroine with a gentle romantic subplot.
The mysteries stand alone, but Lucy's life on the Outer Banks develops across the series, beginning with "By Book or by Crook."