• By Book or by Crook

  • Lighthouse Library Mystery Series # 1
  • By: Eva Gates
  • Narrated by: Elise Arsenault
  • Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (475 ratings)

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By Book or by Crook  By  cover art

By Book or by Crook

By: Eva Gates
Narrated by: Elise Arsenault
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Publisher's summary

For 10 years Lucy has enjoyed her job poring over rare tomes of literature for the Harvard Library, but she has not enjoyed the demands of her family's social whorl or her sort-of engagement to the staid son of her father's law partner. But when her 10-year relationship implodes, Lucy realizes that the plot of her life is in need of a serious rewrite.

Calling on her aunt Ellen, Lucy hopes that a little fun in the Outer Banks sun - and some confections from her cousin Josie's bakery - will help clear her head. But her retreat quickly turns into an unexpected opportunity when Aunt Ellen gets her involved in the lighthouse library tucked away on Bodie Island.

Lucy is thrilled to land a librarian job in her favorite place in the world. But when a priceless first edition Jane Austen novel is stolen and the chair of the library board is murdered, Lucy suddenly finds herself ensnared in a real-life mystery - and she's not so sure there's going to be a happy ending....

©2015 Penguin Group (USA) LLC (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This charming, entertaining, and smart series launch by Gates, who also writes under the Vicki Delany pen name, features an unusual (and real) setting and colorful cast of characters that set it apart from other bookish cozies." ( Library Journal starred review)

What listeners say about By Book or by Crook

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • JJ
  • 01-14-16

A fun cozy with unfortunately bad narration

A light and fun cozy mystery set in the Outer Banks of NC. I enjoyed meeting the characters in and out of the lighthouse library. I was happy to have stayed with the audiobook to the end, even though the narration was not a good fit for the characters or the location. At times the narrator was dull and seemed uninterested in the story which was the good news. When she attempted regional accents they were inconsistant at best. The many completely mispronounced place names in the Outer Banks were cringe-worthy. If a story is set in such a widely known place as the Outer Banks with the main character from Boston, please get the accents and pronunciations correct or don't even try them.

I am glad that I stayed with the story as it was a sweet mystery, with a little Jane Austen thrown in on the side! The next book in The Lighthouse Library Mystery Series might have to wait until I have time to read it rather than listen to it.

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26 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Don't waste your time

If ever I should have listen to the reviews, I should have listened to the reviews for this book. This is a caricature of a cozy mystery. The lead character moves to a small town to get away from her problems. She describes herself as a plain looking woman, yet two attractive men are drawn to her. The characters are unrealistic and annoying. The plot was predictable and forced. Those are just a few things that bothered me about this book. I won't be reading anymore in this series.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Cozy with twists

What made the experience of listening to By Book or by Crook the most enjoyable?

Like able characters and a bookish plot make this a nice cozy for readers of Jane Austen.

What three words best describe Elise Arsenault’s performance?

Look it up. Seriously, with the abundance of online dictionaries with pronunciation guides there is little excuse for consistent mispronunciation of words that are not common to daily speech. The Fresnel is the type of lens used in lighthouses. Freh-Nel, NOT fres-nel. SInce it is named after a Frenchman, it may also be Fray-Nel. http://youtu.be/GY4Wnop9z9w

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great start to a new series

I fell in love with characters in this book. It has just the right balance of mystery and romance. Looking forward to the next in the series.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Not worth the effort or the credit.

Not being a writer nor a critic I am not sure how to frame my feedback. The author completed a book which is something I will probably never achieve, but it is a poor book. It is written without style. A mystery which leaves me caring not one bit about the story or the outcome. The narration seems almost childish. Would the narration have been improved by better writing? Would the book have seemed better with improved narration? Who knows. It doesn't matter. Don't waste your time.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

kept me guessing

good story that kept me trying to figure out "who done it' till the end; but the narrator was awful.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great new series

Such a wonderful story with good characters! Hope more to come soon!
Library setting is so entertaining!

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Nice story

Clean story with a solid mystery ending. The narration was flat and nasal. Love the cat!

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Terrible

What would have made By Book or by Crook better?

Story is dull and confused, characters are unlikable, reader is dismal.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Nothing by this author or reader.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Bland Lucy Needed Backbone

While the lighthouse setting was intriguing, I thought the main character Lucy was utterly bland and boring. She dated a man for 10 years that she didn't even like just to pacify her pretentious parents. Where was her brain and/or self-respect?

Since I couldn't relate to Lucy - I found the library cat more interesting - I had a difficult time paying attention to the mystery or care how the book ended. ps. The book contained very little swearing or sexual content and would be appropriate for teens.

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2 people found this helpful