ABOUT THE BOOK
Halloween in North Carolina’s Outer Banks becomes seriously tricky when librarian Lucy Richardson stumbles across something extra unusual in the rare books section: a dead body.Wealthy businessman Jay Ruddle is considering donating his extensive collection of North Carolina historical documents to the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, but the competition for the collection is fierce. Unfortunately, while the library is hosting a lecture on ghostly legends, Jay becomes one of the dearly departed in the rare books section. Now, it’s up to Lucy Richardson and her fellow librarians to bone up on their detective skills and discover who is responsible for this wicked Halloween homicide.
Meanwhile, very strange things are happening at the library―haunted horses are materializing in the marsh, the lights seem to have an eerie life of their own, and the tiny crew of a model ship appears to move around when no one is watching. Is Lucy at her wit’s end? Or can it be that the Bodie Island Lighthouse really is haunted?
With The Legend of Sleepy Hollow on everyone’s minds and ghoulish gossip on everyone’s lips, Lucy will need to separate the clues from the boos if she wants to crack this case without losing her head in The Spook in the Stacks, the delightful fourth in national bestseller Eva Gates’ Lighthouse Library mysteries.
Book Details:
Title: The Spook in the Stacks
Author: Eva Gates
Character’s full name: Lucy Richardson
Genre: cozy mystery
Series: A Lighthouse Library Mystery, book 4
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (June 12, 2018)
Print length: 250 Pages
On tour with: Great Escapes Book Tours
ABOUT LUCY
Lucy Richardson is the assistant librarian at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library. A few months ago she left her long-promised fiancé on bended knee (literally) and quit her job at Harvard Libraries to seek escape in her favorite place in the world: The Outer Banks of North Carolina, with her favorite relative: Aunt Ellen. But Aunt Ellen isn’t one for indulging nieces, and she soon arranged for Lucy to meet Bertie James, library director at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, who just happened to be searching for a new assistant librarian.INTERVIEW WITH EVA GATES’ LUCY RICHARDSON
Lucy, how did you first meet Eva?
I was a work-for-hire, meaning I was conceived in the offices of Penguin Random House. But Eva took to me instantly, and I felt that I could work comfortably with her. So she made me her own, so to speak, and now we get along just great. I was let go by Penguin, but was lucky enough to find a new home with Crooked Lane.
Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.
Now that it’s all over, I can say that my favorite scene in The Spook in the Stacks is when I spot strange lights moving in the marsh. It wasn’t my favorite scene to live in, I can tell you. Scared the heck out of me.
Did you have a hard time convincing Eva to write any particular scenes for you?
She can be a bit prudish, so I have to push her to write romantic scenes between me and Connor McNeil. Let’s just say she’s still balking at that.
If you could rewrite anything in your book, what would it be?
I’d be taller and thinner and have less unruly hair.
Do have any secret aspirations that Eva doesn’t know about?
I wish I could stop finding dead bodies in my library.
If you had a free day what would you do?
My favorite thing in all the world is a beach day at the Outer Banks with my cousin Josie and our friends, followed by dinner of shrimp and grits at Jake’s Seafood Bar with Connor and then a long walk along the beach at night.
Tell us about your best friend.
My best friend is my cousin Josie O’Malley. We’ve been close all our lives. I was born and raised in Boston, but we visited my mom’s sister and her family in Nags Head every summer. Josie and I grew up together on the beaches and in the dunes. One of the best things about living in Nags Head now is how close Josie and I are as adults. I love her to bits. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that she owns Josie’s Cozy Bakery in town.
What’s the best trait Eva has given you?
Best and worse are probably the same. I can be tenacious. When I face a problem, I can’t let go until it’s answered. I suspect that Detective Sam Watson would say that’s a bad thing.
What’s Eva’s worst habit?
She doesn’t take anything too seriously. Come on, it’s my life we’re creating here, and she keeps throwing curve balls at me.
Is there anything you would you like to change about your life right now?
I’d change nothing at all. I’m exactly where I want to be, for now. I love my job in the library, I love my tiny apartment on the fourth floor of the lighthouse. I love my friends and (most of) my co-workers. And I’m loving getting to know Connor. Some day I might want more, but for now I’m good.
Describe an average day in your life.
No such thing! At our library we’re as much of a community center as a public library. People are coming and going all day, using the computers, attending literacy programs or children’s programs, taking in one of our historical lectures, doing research in the rare books room. And, of course, wanting advice on books. An average day does not include finding a dead body in the library and trying to find out how it got there, but sometimes it seems as though it does.
What makes you stand out from any other characters in your genre?
Nothing really. I love being a cozy character. My setting is somewhat unique though: our library is in a real-life place. Not just Nags Head, but in the actual Bodie Island Lighthouse. Which, I should mention, is not big enough to house a library and all that goes with it, including my fourth floor apartment. But it lives large in Eva’s and my imagination.
Will you encourage Eva to write a sequel?
No encouragement needed. She’s already finished Something Read Something Dead in which we are busy planning Josie’s wedding. Eva has a contract for the sixth book with Crooked Lane.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The fourth Lighthouse Library book, The Spook in the Stacks, was released in June 2018.
Vicki lives and writes in bucolic Prince Edward County, Ontario. She is the past president of the Crime Writers of Canada. Her work has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards.
Connect with Eva/Vicki:
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Buy the book:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Kobo
