I am a huge fan of her bake shop mystery series so I was so pumped to receive an arc for one set in a bookstore! I love her writing style and the characters she creates! These are fun easy reads!

I absolutely loved this book!! This is definitely one of my new favorite series! So well written, especially for fans of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes stories!

Bravo to Ellie Alexander for this newest cozy series set in Redwood Grove, California. The setting is fantastic. Annie Murray is working at The Secret Bookcase when she comes up with an idea to have a book festival. She invites most of the town's businesses to be a part of the mystery-themed book festival with hopes that it will bring more people into the town and also bring a financial boost to these small businesses.

The excitement is electric as the guests pour into this small town. Everything is going well and the sales in the bookstore are off the charts. However, when a body is found behind the bookcase, the mystery festival becomes a real mystery to be solved.

When Annie's former criminology professor (who is now a detective) comes to the scene of the crime, Annie knows she has to help investigate. The suspects are numerous, and the red herrings are all over the place.

This cast of characters are special and quirky, each with their own special gifts. The Secret Bookcase sounded like a place that I could hide away in for an entire day as long as I had a book to read. This was definitely not your average bookstore. It is quite special. The mystery was very well-written and the author did a great job of fooling me with each clue. The killer could literally have been anyone. I like a good cozy mystery that keeps me guessing!

Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

What a fun book and good summer read. Characters are likeable and plot is interesting. You won’t guess who done it b

I knew I was going to love this series because I love the author’s Bakeshop Mystery series. I loved the idea for a mystery festival. It was like I got to experience the Ashland Mystery Fest through Redwood Grove. The mystery of her murdered best friend, Scarlet, from college instantly drew me in. It’s like two mysteries in one book. One of the mysteries is ongoing so it keeps you wanting to know more.
 
The characters are wonderful. I cannot wait to see how they develop along with any potential relationships. Dr. Caldwell is a great addition. She is methodical and includes Annie in the investigation. She reminds me of The Professor from the Bakeshop series. I would love to see those two investigate a mystery together. I have not decided how I feel about Liam just yet. I cannot forget about Professor Plum, the cat that used to be Scarlet’s.

First, in a new series, this book made me want to travel to Redwood Grove for the mystery book festival and try to open the secret staircase. The main character, Annie, clearly has been through significant trauma having had her best friend from college murdered and the case unsolved. Her continued sense of guilt causes her to both want to push people away and cling to those who accept her. The assorted characters visiting for the festival are mostly hard to like which makes it difficult to determine who is just unlikeable and who might be a murderer. The new murder victim is the most unlikeable to there is a long list of potential suspects. Annie’s internal conflicts with friendship extend to who she sees as enemies and who she views as potential romantic partners. She swings back and forth from despising someone and believing they could be capable of great harm to feeling bad for them and having empathy for their potential difficulties in life. The unexpected arrival of her former crime professor, who now works for the police, brings the mystery of her best friend's murder back to the forefront after a decade of trying to bring her life back to a sense of normalcy. Now Annie will have to decide if she wants to revisit her past.

I read through chapter 10 before I had to call it quits. I just couldn't connect to the characters or story.
Almost every chapter she had to talk about her friend Scarlet and what had happened.
The crime didn't even take place til chapter 9 which was annoying to me for a cozy mystery.
I've loved other stuff by this author but this just want doing it for me.

Ellie Alexander has once again demonstrated her mastery of the cozy mystery genre with her latest work. This new series is a delightful addition to her repertoire, and I am thrilled to see it unfold. The charming small-town setting is vividly brought to life, and the protagonist is both engaging and intriguing. Placing a bookstore at the heart of the mystery is a brilliant tribute to readers and literary enthusiasts alike.

Alexander's ability to weave an intricate and suspenseful plot kept me guessing until the very end. The cast of quirky and entertaining characters added depth and enjoyment to the story. I eagerly anticipate the next installment and look forward to seeing where Alexander will take her readers next.

This a good cosy mystery.
Annie works at The Secret Bookcase and as it hasn't been doing well lately, she comes up with a plan to help the bookstore.
With the help of other local businesses Annie and Fletcher organize a real-life mystery, with clues being hidden inside the bookstore.
When the mystery is underway, a body is found in the bookstore and Annie really wants to help find the killer.
We get a bit of an insight into Annie's past as she talks about her friend Scarlet who was killed while they were at college. I think this story will develop as the series progresses.
Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I received a free copy of, The Body in the Bookstore. by Ellie Alexander, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is book one of the, A Secret Bookcase Mystery series. Annie Murray is a book shop owner, but funds are tight, and she decides to have a mystery themed festival, bud an old friend is found murdered! Will Annie be able to solve a murder and save her business? I delighted in this book, such a fun cozy mystery.

This book follows the story of Annie who is the manager of a quirky crime/thriller bookstore in Redgrove. Unfortunately the bookstore sales are declining and Annie is desperately trying to come up with ways in which they can increase sales and also support the local business community. Bingo - They have the best idea for a Mystery festival! Perfect for Crime/thriller book lovers, this festical takes place over a nuber of days with local businesses supporting and coming up with mysterious sounding drinks, hosting author panels and more. It is a huge success, but nobody expects is a real life murder! This has such cozy 'Who done it' vibes, and 'who can you trust?'. Absolutely brilliant book and cannot wait to read the next one!

I was very excited to read this new series. It took me a minute to get to know all the characters but the story started to flow more half way through.
I can not wait for the next one!

I received a complimentary copy of the book from Storm Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

he Secret Bookcase series is set in a charming California bookshop, complete with a Sherlock Holmes expert and an entire room devoted to Agatha Christie. Basically, it's a mystery lover's dream bookstore! Our amateur sleuth is bookseller Annie Murray. Her education is in criminology, but grief-stricken, she gave it up when her college best friend, Scarlet, died under suspicious circumstances.
Book one in the series sets up the world of Redwood Grove and introduces us to Annie, her colleagues, her best friend, Pri, and her cat, Professor Plum. Alexander does an incredible job making this dream bookstore come to life, populating the book with vivid and interesting characters, and balancing the world-building with the mystery. The opening scene is quite memorable, and the book maintains that momentum with good pacing and a well-plotted, fun mystery.

Annie is a likable, intelligent sleuth, and her background in criminology is a clever touch, lending weight to her investigations. In this book, her background comes in handy when a body is discovered in a hidden room behind the bookshelves. I am very intrigued by the dynamic between Annie and the lead detective on the case, a woman who was Annie's criminology professor and also impacted by the loss of Scarlet. The overarching mystery surrounding the death of Annie's college friend intrigues me. I love books about books and good mysteries. So this one, with its incredible bookstore and so many fantastic literary references, is a great kickoff to the series!

Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the free book!

“There’s no such thing as a coincidence.”

It was a pure treat to venture into this new world! The author excels at creating a picture perfect world full of interesting and intriguing characters that will surely become so real to her fans that we’ll refer to them by their first names and assume everyone knows them! In this debut outing the past comes back to haunt Annie in more ways that one when her hometown in overrun with former college classmates, an unwelcome reminder that the murder of her best friend was never solved. And when one of them ends up dead her favorite college professor is the woman in charge of the murder investigation. Set amidst the hustle and bustle of a mystery book city wide take over it’s the things cozy mystery lovers dream of!

“There’s no such thing as a coincidence.”

It was a pure treat to venture into this new world! The author excels at creating a picture perfect world full of interesting and intriguing characters that will surely become so real to her fans that we’ll refer to them by their first names and assume everyone knows them! In this debut outing the past comes back to haunt Annie in more ways that one when her hometown in overrun with former college classmates, an unwelcome reminder that the murder of her best friend was never solved. And when one of them ends up dead her favorite college professor is the woman in charge of the murder investigation. Set amidst the hustle and bustle of a mystery book city wide take over it’s the things cozy mystery lovers dream of!

The Body in the Bookstore the first book in A Secret Bookcase Mystery Series by Ellie Alexander is also the first book I have read by this author. This cozy mystery takes a little bit to get to the big murder mystery but the pacing is still smooth and even. There are characters to meet, setting to explore and the main character, bookseller Annie Murray to get to know. She has some issues which become a running thread in the series, at least for the first two books anyway. One that I hope becomes solves before too many books.

There are supporting characters to love, a mystery to solve and a hint of romance between enemies who could be friends if Annie would let herself. A book that welcomes you into the small town of Redwood Grove, making you want to visit and stay a while.

I really enjoyed this book!
Medium paced with lots of little twists. The way the characters behaved made it enjoyable to watch as they tried to solve the murder. Scarlet's murder kept being brought up and I would like to read the story of how that happened. I enjoyed the dynamic of the MFC and one of the male characters. I would like to know his story and more between the two.

Annie Murray works in a bookshop , and has devised a mystery themed book festival in order to revive its fortunes .
All seems to be going well and it looks like the festival is going to be a great success until a body is found in Annie’s workplace .
Annie a former Criminology student begins some amateur sleuthing in order to find the murderer.
The characters are likeable and the town of Redwood Grove seems to be a tight knit community who want to find the culprit .
I enjoyed this book it’s an easy to read cosy mystery and a great start to a new series.
Looking forward to reading more from the series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing .

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and Ellie Alexander for the opportunity to read an arc of THE BODY IN THE BOOKSTORE, a new series for the queen of cozy mysteries. Alexander has been my favorite cozy mystery author for a while, so I was thrilled to be approved to read her latest book ahead of release!

A mystery bookstore, a small town in Northern California, a mystery book festival, and an actual murder? 100% yes, sign me up. This book was so much fun from start to finish. Alexander is truly the master of writing compelling cozy mysteries, characters that have depth and feel like your friends, and settings that feel like home. I absolutely adored the set up of the bookstore with each room being themed. The descriptions of the food and events at the mystery book festival were perfection and so clever. I actually wish we got a little more about the set up for the festival because I was so engrossed in that plot line! Also, as a crazy cat lady, the MC’s cat Professor Plum was the star of the show for me.

This new series, “A Secret Bookcase Mystery,” is an excellent addition to Alexander’s many wonderful cozy mysteries. And the best part is that you won’t have to wait long for both book one AND two (A MURDER AT THE MOVIES) - out June 19th 2024! Looking forward to continuing in this series and would recommend to fans of cozy mysteries, mystery books in general, and all things cozy!

When Annie Murray's best friend is murdered investigating a cold case for her finals right before graduation she abandons her aspirations of a career in law enforcement. 10 years later she's working in a mystery bookstore in a small town trying to get on with her life, haunted by her friend's death. When she comes up with an idea of mystery themed weekend to promote the bookstore and the town it brings not only eager readers but 3 of her former college classmates to town. When Kayla winds up murdered in her bookstore Annie sets up to figure out who the killer is. Kayla was a belligerent drunk, a thief and a stalker, so there are plenty of suspects who would've loved to see her dead.
A great introduction to the new series- Ellie Alexander never disappoints.