The Stranger in the Library

The Stranger in the Library by Eva Gates unfolds as Outer Banks librarian Lucy is working on an art show at the library when paintings—and people—start to go missing. This marks the 11th instalment in the Lighthouse Library mystery series by national bestselling author Eva Gates.

When a traveling show of impressionist art arrives in Nags Head, North Carolina, librarian Lucy and the staff at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library are inspired to create an educational display about art history. Their launch of the display is a huge success, but the morning after, they discover that a reproduction of a famous painting has gone missing.

No one understands why anyone would bother stealing it—the picture holds no value as the real, priceless painting is securely held at the art show itself. Lucy receives an invitation to the glitzy opening night of the actual show, where she notices unusual tension among the show's organisers. Matters become more alarming when the scheduled speaker fails to arrive and a party-goer is found drowned in a fish pond.

Meanwhile, Louise Jane is thoroughly captivated by Tom Reilly, a handsome, charming art dealer who lurks at the edges of the receptions on both nights. Tom mysteriously slipped away from the party early and cannot be located by the police. Lucy wonders: who is Tom Reilly, this shadowy figure threatening to break Louise Jane’s heart?

Something peculiar is happening in Nags Head, and it’s up to Lucy and her friends to uncover the truth before more than just paintings are framed.