Shot Through the Book: 05/31/25

Shot Through the Book by Eva Gates and Elise Arsenault (Narrator) is the twelfth book in the Lighthouse Library mystery series. Bodie Island Lighthouse is planning a YA book festival but their headliner is shot dead during a visit to Lucy and Connor's home.

With Todd Harrison now dead, Lucy et al have to scramble to save their festival. On top of that, Todd's widow Heather is in town making a nuisance of herself. She's not grieving; she's using her tragedy to make a political run.

During the set up of the mystery I was feeling dubious. The murder is done by bow and arrow, just like Partners in Lime by Bree Baker (2021). Lucy is being stalked by the victim's widow, just like Word to the Wise by Jenn McKinlay (2019). With those two plot similarities fresh on my mind, I went into this book with expectations — not all of them positive despite my on-going enjoyment of the series.

As Lucy reminds a particular character in this volume, ideas can't be copyrighted. Ideas are starting points. This mystery does very different things with the archery and angry widow. They're more like tropes than actual copied elements.

I also like how Lucy's altered status in the community is addressed. She's now the mayor's wife and even though Connor has no larger political goals, she has more privilege than she did. She's also expected to respond differently to a murder and this book is where she explores her new lot in life.

Five stars

Comments (0)