Sometimes the best way to know a person is by asking questions, so let’s meet Lucy.
What is your name?
Lucy Richardson.
How old are you?
Early thirties.
What is your profession?
I’m a librarian.
Do you have a significant other?
Uh, can I say sorta? We’re kinda feeling our way right now.
What is his name?
Connor McNeil.
What is his profession?
He’s the mayor of our town currently, but his profession is a dentist.
Any children?
No.
Do you have any sibling(s)?
Three older brothers. Ug.
Cats, dogs or other pets?
I don’t have a pet of my own but Charles, the library cat at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library where I work has adopted me. He’s a beautiful (and doesn’t he know it) Himalayan, and was named in honor of Mr. Charles Dickens.
What town do you live in?
Nags Head, North Carolina.
House or building complex?
Neither! I live on the fourth floor of the lighthouse in a tiny perfect apartment I call my Lighthouse Aerie. I love it!
Do you rent or own?
The apartment has come with my job. I have the world’s shortest commute!
What is your favorite spot in your house?
As my house is just a tiny apartment in the lighthouse it’s hard to answer. I guess I love best the comfy window seat where I can curl up with a book and look out over the beach to the sea.
Who is your best friend?
My cousin, Josie O’Malley. She’s a baker (yum) and owns Josie’s Cozy Bakery in town.
Amateur sleuth or professional?
Strictly amateur and reluctant at that.
Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
Usually just Charles. He seems to have excellent senses for people.
Favorite meal?
Shrimp and grits, hands down. The best is prepared at Jake’s Seafood Bar, where Josie’s fiancé is the owner and head chef.
Favorite dessert?
Pecan pie!
Favorite hobby?
Reading, of course.
Favorite vacation spot?
Aren’t I lucky to live in my favorite vacation spot! The Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Favorite color?
Sea blue.
Favorite author?
Other than Vicki Delany? Probably Kate Morton.
Favorite sports team?
Sorry, I have to admit I don’t follow sports.
Movies or Broadway?
I don’t get to Broadway much anymore, but when I lived in Boston I tried to get to New York for a show a couple of times a year.
Are you a morning or a night person?
I love to get up before the sun and watch the marsh and the sea come to life as the sun rises over the ocean.
In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
Hectic! I work at a very popular public library. We have patrons in and out all day, children’s programming, visiting scholars, as well as the simply curious wanting to see the lighthouse. Now and again, my work is interrupted when someone is murdered in the library and I have to try to find out who did it. I really hate that.
Giveaway: When was the last time you visited a library? Leave a comment below for your chance to win a print copy of The Spook in the Stacks. U.S. entries only, please. The giveaway ends June 17, 2018. Good luck everyone!
You can read about Lucy in The Spook in the Stacks, the fourth book in the “Lighthouse Library” mystery series. The first book in the series is By Book or by Crook.
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.
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About the author
Eva Gates is the pen name for Vicki Delany, one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. Under her real name of Vicki Delany, she has written more than twenty-five books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. She is currently writing three cozy mystery series: the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series for Crooked Lane, the Year Round Christmas mysteries for Penguin Random House and, as Eva Gates, the Lighthouse Library series, for Crooked Lane Books.
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.
Visit Vicki at www.vickidelany.com, on Facebook and on Twitter at @vickidelany
All comments are welcomed.
I love libraries! I was at mine yesterday.I probably go 4-6 times a month. Wish it was a lighthouse instead of an old department store!
Any library is valuable! Although one in a lighthouse would be pretty neat.
I would love to win. A library in a lighthouse would be cool. The library was always my favorite place to go.
I visited my local library last week to return a book. I’m there regularly for author events, and my monthly writers group meets there.
I was at the library yesterday to pick up some books I had on reserve. I always have a list of books on reserve so i am at the library frequently.
The ladt time I visited a library was a few days ago. I have books on hold. So I always am in there to pick them up. I go into read the newspaper too. I love the library. My favorite place. Ever since I was a kid. I would go in with my mom. I wish I knew of a lighthouse library. That sounds cool.
My last visit to my library was this past Wednesday. I’m an avid reader and the library is my home away from home. Have read all the previous books in this series.
It has been a while. The library in my area has closed. I miss it so much. I wish it would reopen.
That’s terrible Lois. Libraries are so important in so many ways
I took two of my grandsons to our local library on Tuesday of this week. Thank you for this chance.
We moved to a different state last year. One of the greatest comforts was finding that our new area had a great and welcoming library. The last time I went to the library was yesterday. I love it and if I am able to get some free time, would like to spend some of my time volunteering there and chatting with other booklovers.
Libraries are important community centers. I’m glad you found your new one.
I work at a library so I’m there everyday through the week. I am looking forward to reading this book. Thanks for the chance to win!
Unfortunately, our town library is an historic building with many many stone steps at the front entrance. The back door in the basement has limited access with a very small elevator to the upstairs library which cannot fit my mobility scooter so….I have not been able to get into our library for over three years now. It makes me Dad but I just can’t stand or walk far enough or stand long so just cannot do anything at the library anymore. I used to go very often especially for author events. Very disappointing to me.
Thank you.
Cynthia
That’s terrible Cynthia. People with mobility issues are some of the keenest users of libraries.
I think libraries are fantastic.
Books
Activities (my local one has summer lunch and snacks for children!)
Community
I used to go to the library often but when I had a stroke 2 yrs ago. I have only gone once this year.
I love this series. I can’t wait to get this book.
I know I will love any book about a librarian. I want thisvone.
The last time I was in the library was yesterday! I am a frequent visitor to this center of our small community!
Yeah!
I haven’t been to the library in awhile. I usually buy the books I want to read and share them with my Sister and friends. I love libraries, when I was younger, I spent a lot of time at the library. I love this series, can’t wait to read “The Spook in the Stacks”.
Thanks for the chance to win a copy The Spook in the Stacks from one of my favorite authors and one of my favorite series.
I’m usually in the library about once a week. Last time was a couple days ago.
It’s been a while since I’ve visited my local library but the St. Louis County library system provides so much to the community. Several branches provide lunches for kids during the summer school break. They have a coding classes where kids can earn computers. All are safe havens for kids after school. Literacy programs as well as the obvious …
I was just in my library this week. I try to be there every week.
I was just at my local library last Monday. It is nice, but the brown brick facade does not evoke much imagination like a lighthouse would!
I love libraries, I love the smell. I admit I haven’t been to one in years the last time was when my kids were little, we went frequently. I laugh though because I just told hubby the other day that I really should get to the library near us, I haven’t been since we moved here to see what it’s like. Of course he looks at the stack of books on the night stand that I haven’t gotten to yet. LOL
Oh boy….
I cannot remember the last time I was in a library….I’ve been OUTSIDE of the NYPublicLibrary…
Thank you for the giveaway…
**** WINNER ****
The Spook in the Stacks is Diana Wunning
Congratulations!