California, friends, friendship, amateur-sleuth, bookseller, small-business, small-town, baking-competition, romantic, unpleasant-contestant, stalker, influencer, local-law-enforcement, investigations, unpleasant-suspect, unpleasant-victims, cozy-crime, criminologist*****

It was supposed to be a lot of fun for everyone making elaborate gingerbread buildings, judging them, and publicizing the contest and the bookstore. But then there was the stalker, and the real behaviors of the influencer, and then the sudden unexpected death of said influencer. Was it a heart condition or something unthinkable? Following former criminology student/bookseller Annie Murray and her friends and love interest is a twisty good story.
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Storm Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!
#SecretBookcaseMysteriesBk4 Avail Nov 20, 2024

In A Holiday Homicide, Ellie Alexander brings readers back to the charming world of Redwood Grove, where cozy mysteries unfold with a festive twist. As book four in the Secret Bookcase Mystery series, the story follows protagonist Annie Murray, whose quaint bookstore finds itself at the center of yet another murder investigation. This time, it’s the untimely death of a celebrity baker during a gingerbread-baking competition that sets the stage for a holiday whodunit brimming with suspense and delectable twists.

Alexander’s talent for crafting cozy mysteries is in full force here. The plot unfolds at a steady pace, with clues peppered throughout, keeping readers engaged as Annie, alongside her partner Liam and bookstore friends, dives deeper into a web of secrets. Fans of the genre will appreciate the skillful balance between lighthearted small-town charm and the dark, swirling undercurrent of secrets that define Redwood Grove. The sense of community is strong, with familiar faces returning, allowing readers to feel right at home while still keeping them on their toes.

Character development shines in this installment. Annie’s relationship with Liam offers heartwarming moments that soften the more intense scenes, while her determination to uncover the truth reveals a nuanced portrayal of a modern amateur sleuth. The tension between her bookstore life and her investigative instincts creates a rich narrative that will appeal to fans who love character-driven mysteries.

With its intricate plotting, delightful characters, and holiday atmosphere, A Holiday Homicide delivers everything cozy mystery fans crave, wrapped up in a murder mystery that’s as sweet and spicy as the gingerbread competition at its core. Alexander continues to build a captivating series that keeps readers eager for more.

Another lively instalment in this delightful series. This time we are taken into the world of cooking influencers and take a deep dive into gingerbread. There is a murder and multiple suspects with good motives. The food and scenery sound fantastic, especially with Christmas themes. There is also progress with Annie and Liam, the ownership of the shop and the Scarlet backstory. Needless to say, like many others who enjoy this series, I am now eagerly awaiting the next book to see what happens next. Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for a chance to read and review this book.

This book was gripping and hard to put down. It didn't feel like everything else you see out there, it felt very fresh. I really enjoyed this book!

This was great! It’s my favourite in the series. A baking influencer called Lily chooses The Secret Bookcase to film a competition but the whole thing is thrown into chaos when she’s murdered.

I really enjoyed this, it had lovely Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes references and I love that it featured two of my favourite things ever - food and books. The descriptions of all the baked good - especially the gingerbread - were incredible. I also thought the influencer world was painfully accurate. Quite a cutthroat thing. Annie is offered a really interesting business opportunity in this too and I can’t wait to read the next book.

My endless thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC!

#AHolidayHomicide #NetGalley is another great addition to this new series.
As the holidays approach, Annie is thinking about different ways to bring in more customers, so a gingerbread house competition is the winner.
It seems there's a lot of jealousy within the competitors and it's not long before Annie finds herself wrapped up in another murder investigation.
I've grown quite fond of the colorful cast of characters in this series, as well as the bookstore itself.
I'm looking forward to reading another book in the series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

A Holiday Homicide is the fourth book in the new Secret Bookcase Mysteries by Ellie Alexander. I am really enjoying this series and I love a Christmas themed mystery. I really enjoy the lovely little town of Redwood Grove that Ms. Alexander has created. It is exactly the kind of town I would love to live in or at least visit for a while. There are charming local businesses on every corner, neighbors care about neighbors and while no one is rich, no seems poor either. The only problem is the large number of homicides! Although the killer wasn’t particularly hard to figure out in this mystery, it was fun to read while the characters figured out who did it. The large mystery that has been going through each book also took a leap ahead, so that was fun and should be interesting to figure out in future books. I would recommend this series to cozy mystery fans and holiday mystery fans. It was an enjoyable fast read.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to review this book. All opinions are my own.

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of A HOLIDAY HOMICIDE (Book 4 of the A Secret Bookcase Mystery series) by Ellie Alexander in exchange for an honest review. It’s Christmastime in Redwood Grove, California. As a holiday promotion, the Secret Bookcase mystery bookstore is having a town-wide gingerbread house competition. Local baker, Sugar, is sponsoring a cooking influencer to act as hostess for the event. The influencer isn’t on the premises for an hour before, Annie, her friends, and the rest of the staff are having to handle stalkers, superfans, cryptic confrontations, sour grapes, and other bad behavior. Annie et al. brush it off as the price of celebrity, but when the influencer dies suddenly on site, the gang realize that maybe not everything was business as usual. Once again, Annie is involved in solving a murder. At the same time, Annie is finally getting a shot at interviewing someone about her friend’s murder as well as a historic cold case. Also, Annie must make an important decision about her future. It’s going to be a busy holiday season; I hope Annie already finished her present shopping!

I like this book and enjoy the series. I recommend the series to fans of cozy murder mysteries featuring small towns, special events, and mystery bookshops.

#AHolidayHomicide #NetGalley

Annie Murray had big plans for a festive pre-Christmas gingerbread baking competition at the Secret Bookcase. The gala event was soon thrown into disarray when a distinguished guest scheduled to participate in the event was found murdered during the competition.
Once again, Annie has another murder to solve. She delves into the investigation with the help of her boyfriend, Liam, and her bookstore friends. When she discovers that the murderer may be someone within the town’s baking community, she suddenly finds her own life may be in danger. Fearing that the killer may strike again, she moves full speed ahead in her investigation.
It's another of Ellie Alexander’s edge-of-the-seat thrillers that will keep you reading until the last page.

This was the first book I had read in this series, and it worked well without having all the background. The author does a great job weaving the context from earlier books in without making seem like a summary.

Annie and friends are drawn into a mystery surrounding a social media influencer in town for the holidays while Annie continues to pursue a longer-running mystery around the murder of an old friend. The setup takes a while but is enjoyable, and I liked the Northern California setting. The characters were interesting and felt real, and the mysteries come together well. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. All views are my own and offered voluntarily.

So happy to be back with all the characters I love in the town of Redwood Grove. This is book 4 in the A Secret Bookcase Mystery series.

We follow Annie who finds another murder victim in the bookstore she works in. While I found this a fun story to read and always enjoy following Annie's thought process to get to the conclusion, I found the culprit to be blatantly obvious from the very beginning. With that said, I did love the holiday atmosphere and of course visiting with all the quirky characters we have come to love within these 4 books. I would say the best part was finally getting a little more information on what happened to Scarlet. I am quite invested in that.

Thank you to the publisher for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc of this book. A Holiday Homicide is the fourth book in the A Secret Bookcase Mystery series. I have really fallen in love with the series. Annie Murray is the female main character in this series and you are drawn to her as you read this book. This book can also be read as a stand alone. There is a part of the storyline that won't make as much sense but would still be enjoyable. This is a cozy mystery book set at Christmas time. This book has the same cast of characters that you will fall in love with in the other books in this series. As with the other books in this series, I could not put it down once I started. I cannot wait for the next book in this series.

I am getting very attached to the Bookstore, another very entertaining story.. They soldier on regardless of the disasters that keep happening. The whole set up works very well and the Bookstore continues to thrive. A great cast of appealing characters and the community spirit is very entertaining. Keep them coming.

A Holiday Homicide by Ellie Alexander is book 4 in the series A Secret Bookcase. It is published on 20 November. Thank you to Storm Publishing, Netgalley and the author for the advance reader copy. Annie Murray, Manager of the Secret Bookcase bookshop in Redwood Grove in California, has a spring in her step as she is loving the atmosphere in the shop with its Christmas decorations, which is just around the corner. The shop is about to host a gingerbread house competition with social media influencer Lily co-hosting. Unfortunately, Annie has a habit of stumbling over dead bodies, and she does it again. I found this quite a visual read with such great descriptions placing me right in the centre of things. I love the setting, which is in a beautiful old historical home. It is a perfect setting for a bookshop and all the functions that are held there. The characters are very likeable as well. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next book, with what is going on at the bookshop. The series has certainly held my interest throughout each book.

Another delightful book from the series, A Secret Bokcase Mystery. Despite there being a murder, this book is very festive. The descriptions of the gingerbread houses were so well told that I could picture them all. I loved traversing the clues to figure out who the killer was. There’s a lot of mystery and suspense. I enjoyed reading about the budding relationship between Annie and Liam.