Are you ready for a new mystery with Annie Murphy and her friends in Redwood Grove? I know I am. I absolutely devoured the first two books in this series [The Body in the Bookstore and A Murder at the Movies] and I was so excited for a new book in what is fast becoming my favourite series!

Annie and her friend Priya are helping Priya's girlfriend, Penny, hold a fundraising night to help renovate Wentworth Manor. It's supposed to be a fun night with a murder mystery theme, but what starts out as a fictional murder ends up as a real one, when one of the guests turns up dead. Suddenly Annie and all the guests are stuck inside the manor, during a storm, with a killer amongst them and it's up to Annie to find out who did the crime.

This series has everything I love - a cozy town, a bookstore setting and a tantalizing whodunnit. This one was perfect Agatha Christie style... a locked room mystery, a storm brewing outside a manor house. Of course I was ready to "read" it up! I loved the mystery. It is an absolute thrill a minute as Annie tries to solve the mystery while she has everyone under one roof. Despite a few red herrings thrown the reader's way, I was able to solve the mystery just before Annie!

I love the characters in this series, especially Annie and Priya. They make quite the crime fighting duo in this story with the bookstore "The Secret Bookcase" still remaining headquarters for all their crime fighting planning! I mean a bookstore that literally has a secret bookcase. When can I move to Redgrove Woods?

If you like cozy mysteries with a bookish setting, or you are a big fan of golden age mysteries you need to read this series. It's a modern spin on Agatha Christie mysteries and I can't get enough of them!

Ellie could never disappoint!

First of all, I know this isn't a romance book, but still, the progress of Annie and Liam's relationship was just so adorable. I wasn't ready for it, to be honest!

Now the mystery part was a little predictable but good nonetheless because, just like I said, Ellie. Could. Never. Disappoint.

4.5 stars

Death at the Dinner Party by Ellie Alexander the 3rd instalment in the "A Secret Bookcase Mystery" series. I loved returning to the charming town of Redwood Grove and the Secret Bookcase bookstore. In this instalment Annie is hosting a a spooky, immersive dinner party at the old Wentworth farmhouse, and the evening is a roaring success – until neighboring landowner Curtis Wright drops dead at the dining table…

It was entertaining, full of twists and turns and I didn’t completely guess whodunnit until Annie did..
Overall, I'm thoroughly invested in this series and excited to see where the author takes these endearing characters next!

I highly recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends and I can’t wait for book 4 to come out!

It was entertaining, full of twists and turns and I didn’t completely guess whodunnit until Annie did..
Overall, I'm thoroughly invested in this series and excited to see where the author takes these endearing characters next!

I highly recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends and I can’t wait for book 4 to come out!

I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Storm Publishing and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

I devoured this book in less than 24 hours! It was the perfect fall read: Halloween, ghosts, murder mystery dinners, hidden passageways, oh my! I love the addition of Penny to the crew and the slow burn build up between Annie and Liam. I have a feeling Annie, Pri, Liam, and Penny will get up to all kinds of shenanigans in future installments!

I was a little sad that this book had so little Hal and Fletcher. While the change of scenery was nice, I was missing the Secret Bookcase crew and setting in this installment. Nonetheless, I can’t wait to see Redwood Grove decked out for Christmas in A Holiday Homicide!

I really enjoyed this next book in the series. I liked that this was essentially a locked door type mystery. I enjoyed guessing throughout the book who the murderer was. I felt like Annie and Liam’s development was good and look forward to their story continuing to evolve. I’m also really enjoying the characters in this series and watching them evolve. I would love to be in this town in real life. As with all of Ellie’s books, I am always hooked from the first chapter.

Good mystery, a death occurs at a dinner event and there are lots of suspects. The characters were engaging and the resolution was a surprise

Ellie Alexander is an amazing author who brings her characters to life…every character felt as if I knew them personally! The mystery along with the friendships in this book are so good!

4.5⭐ A delightful series by a master storyteller, Ellie Alexander. We've been blessed with 3 books in less than a year and they all are mysterious and fun. And the main characters have become familiar to us, and now are friends for whom we care. Using a mystery dinner party for the setting of the murder was inspired and the descriptions of the house, decorations and murder itself are vivid and a touch campy. But the unraveling of mystery is solid logical deductions.

Annie is helping her friend Pri and her partner host a murder themed dinner party to raise funds to finish the Wentworth property. Things don't go to plan and Annie helps the police to try to solve things. At the same time she is thinking about what her own future looks like.
Another easy to read, easy to follow book.

This book was AMAZING! I loved the mystery and the characters are so much fun!! I can’t wait to read more in this series!! I highly recommend this book to everyone!

I'm loving all these cozy mysteries and Ellie writes the best ones! I loved the concept of a dinner party with a side of murder. What no one expected was a real murder to happen and I was all here for it. I loved trying to unravel who did it which of course I didn't. (I could never be a detective 🤣) I loved the back story of underground tunnels that connect different houses and land. I thought that was pretty cool considering we have underground tunnels here as well. I really loved this one and can't wait for the next book which is Christmas themed!! I'm so excited!!!

Death at the Dinner Party is the third book in this fun new series by one of my favorite authors. When a man is murdered during a dinner party, Annie uses her sleuthing skills to help the police find the killer.
She discovers most of the dinner guests had grudges against the victim. But which one did it? This book has wonderful main characters, lots of red herrings, some humor, and a little romance. I can't wait to read book four!

Another fun installment of #asecretbookcasemystery series! This one takes place on a stormy night just one week before Halloween as Annie and her friends are preparing to host a murder mystery night. Unfortunately, a real murder gets in the way before they even get started. I love the characters in this series, and the relationship between Annie and Liam is incredibly sweet ❤️. I just wish this mystery had a little more story to it. I felt like the mystery started and was over before I knew it. Great writing once again, and I can’t wait for the next story in the series! 4⭐️

Death at the Dinner Party is the third book in the Secret Bookcase Mystery series by Ellie Alexander.

This installment is a gripping closed-circle mystery, reminiscent of the works of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Ellery Queen. The story unfolds at a dinner party in a mysterious farmhouse, set against a dark and stormy night backdrop. The setting creates an element of suspense that makes you turn the pages faster and faster.

Amateur sleuth/bookseller/event planner Annie Murray has planned a charity fundraiser dinner party. To entertain the guests, she writes a dinner mystery for the local players club to perform.

But then, an actual death occurs at the dinner party, and a real mystery is suddenly afoot. After recent events, Annie is more than ready to create a timeline, look for clues, and identify potential suspects.

She uses her instincts and criminal justice training to pursue leads and hunt the killer. As she investigates, she progresses in her relationships with other characters and the series-long cold case involving Scarlet.

Death at the Dinner Party is a delightful nod to Clue and a standout in the series. I am really looking forward to the next installment, A Holiday Homicide, which features a gingerbread festival and a deadly baking competition.

Thanks to Storm Publishing and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I truly enjoyed this book. I thought I knew who did it - but I was surprised! I loved the setting of a murder mystery dinner and I loved the eeriness of the old historic homes. I also loved the budding romances (although the burn is super slow between Annie and her love interest and at some point, I had to remind myself that I am not reading a love story - someone has died, this is a mystery! LOL).

The story had a nice flow, it moved fast, filled with action and kept my attention. I finished it in a couple days, rushing back to it to see how the story continued to unfold. I am excited about the next holiday-themed book coming out in this series. I am hooked!

Death at the Dinner Party is the third installment in the A Secret Bookcase Mystery series set in Redwood Grove, CA and featuring Annie Murphy, bookseller and event planner. When Annie's best friend Priya Kapoor started dating Penny Shurr, Penny decided to move to town and purchase the old abandoned Wentworth Farm. The farm is a local legend with many believing the homestead is haunted and the family fortune of precious gems and gold is hidden somewhere.

Penny confides in Annie that she has run out of money to continue improving the orchard, vineyard and barns, Annie decides to write a short mystery similar to "Clue" and host a fundraising dinner. Members of the local theater group have been hired on as actors, Liam Donovan is handling the cooking and the event is sold out.

Neighboring landowner Curtis Wright has been bullying Penny into selling her land in addition to fighting with other townspeople. When he drops dead at the dinner table, there is a roomful of suspects. Annie finds herself teaming up with her college professor turned detective Dr. Caldwell to flush out a killer.

A fun afternoon read with the returning cast of characters, a cat and mouse romance and a furry feline. I wish there was more progression with the secondary mystery of who killed Annie's best friend Scarlet in college.

I received an advanced copy of Death at the Dinner Party from NetGalley via Storm Publishing. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

I’ve loved all of Ellie Alexander’s Bakeshop murder series, so I jumped at the chance to read this 3rd in her Secret Bookcase series. The lead character, Annie Murray, works in an amazing bookstore in a small California town, she also holds a degree criminal investigation. While helping to host an interactive murder mystery dinner for which she’s written the plot an actual murder takes place, Annie and her friends need to help track the killer to remove suspicions from a someone close to her, and return calm to their quaint, charming town. I wasn’t completely drawn in to Annie’s character, there was a little too much time “I’m a highly trained, capable detective” attitude when she in fact nearly gets herself and a friend killed…I’m assuming her training consists of nothing more than a 4 year degree and helping the police with 2 previous cases. While I did guess the killers identify, overall I did enjoy the book and will give the first in the series a try. Had I read them in order the backstory may have helped me to warm up to Annie more. Overall, it’s a good, quick cozy read, and I appreciate the chance to be introduced to the series by NetGalley and Storm Publishing.

*3.5 stars

Ellie Alexander is a prolific storyteller and writes several cute cozy-mystery series. I dipped into this one, the third in the Secret Bookcase Mystery series, and had no trouble jumping in as back info was pretty well covered.

The main character, Annie Murray, works at the Secret Bookcase in Redwood Grove, CA--an Agatha Christie-inspired bookstore, but has also earned a degree in criminal investigation. In this episode, she and her friend Pri want to help Penny, Pri's partner, raise money to continue with her restoration of the old Wentworth family farmhouse. They come up with the bright idea to host a murder mystery dinner for 50 people. Unfortunately, during the course of the meal, an actual murder occurs. There's also a massive storm, a leaking basement and a ghost! What else could go wrong?

The story was pretty entertaining with interesting characters and lots of candidates for whodunit. I deducted 1/2 star because I found it easy to guess the killer by what clue was ignored but otherwise enjoyed the quick read.

Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new mystery via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

This hits the beats of a good cozy mystery, but I liked book 2 better. The pacing wasn’t very good here. None of Annie’s investigative techniques seem realistic and it’s full of coincidences and people just telling Annie things… but I was entertained so I don’t care. I do wish we had more progress on Scarlett’s murder, but at least Liam and Annie might move from enemies toward lovers.

I liked this book and the cozy mystery/romance aspect. The characters were vibrant and interesting, although the ending did become predictable. At times, I thought that the pacing should’ve been slower/faster. I think I will continue in this series.