This series is really starting to grow on me. I was a little on the fence initially but I find myself getting more involved in the characters and premise. The cover art for this series is especially appealing and very "Ellie" to me. I love the holiday theme general atmosphere. Will eagerly await the next installment.

This is the fourth book in the series following the investigative exploits of Annie Murray, bookshop assistant and events manager. The setting is a charming Agatha Christie inspired mystery bookstore in an out of the way small town in north California. A social media influencer has come to the Secret Bookcase for a weekend focussed around a gingerbread baking competition in the run up to Christmas.

The festive atmosphere of the bookshop, the buzz around the competition and the activities of the influencer and her assistant are nicely described. The central characters are well developed and it’s nice to see the growing relationships between Annie and Liam. The plot is well paced with several key suspects and increasingly strong motives gradually exposed. There is an intriguing subplot in the series relating to the murder 10 years earlier of Annie’s best friend, Scarlet. Each book in this series sees Annie make small advances in her investigations of what is now a cold case and a meeting with a potential witness reveals some surprising information.

Overall an enjoyable cosy mystery, in a delightful setting with delightful characters and some good plot twists. I’m looking forward to the next exciting instalment.

A Holiday Homicide by Ellie Alexander is the fourth in a series of mysteries about Annie who works in The Secret Bookcase in Redwood Grove, California but had also studied criminology in college.

The bookstore helps put on a gingerbread house baking contest for Christmas when one of the stars of the show, a baking influencer, is found dead in one of the bookstore’s rooms when Annie is putting away books.

Annie’s boyfriend Liam who owns the restaurant The Stag Head and her friend Pri who owns Cryptic Coffee as well as her boss Hal and her coworker Fletcher and Dr. Caldwell, the head of the police department and Annie’s former criminology professor all were trying to find the killer after the death was determined to be a murder.

Suspects included Lily’s assistant Becca, a town baker named Susan Lily had upset, a woman named Kari who’d wanted a flour endorsement, a high school professor named Dayton who’d supposedly stolen a recipe from Lily and a man named Shane who seemed to stalk her.

Also Annie was deciding whether to stay on at the bookstore or join Dr. Caldwell at the police department. But then she and Fletcher decided to jointly buy the bookstore from Hal and also start a detective agency.

But who was the murderer? You’ll have to read this fascinating book to find out.

In the 4th book of the series, Annie Murray finally decides what to do with her life, and I love it! It is a great decision and should add interesting flavors to future books. The murder here revolves around a gingerbread contest Annie hosts at the bookstore. A baker influencer is the star of the show, but when she dies, Annie and friends are on the case. Lots of Christmas decorations and food and described throughout the story, making it very festive. I really love this series!

Another fun edition to Ellie Alexander’s newest cozy mystery series and its perfect timing for the upcoming holiday season. I’m really enjoying seeing Annie blossoming-she’s uncovered new evidence to her friend’s case and her relationship with Liam is solid. I loved the gingerbread contest event that Annie and the bookstore hosted and how it was super relevant with influencers and that dynamic.

Cant wait to see what happens next with Annie and her new venture and how it ties into her friend’s case.


Thank you publishers and netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback

This has quickly become a favorite series. The author does an excellent job catching you up on what's gone before in just the first chapter with snippets throughout. I honestly didn't much like Annie in the first book but as more of her past was revealed, it became understandable why she acted as she did and, hey, she has improved as the series has gone along. I'm still not quite sure she has the inner core makings of a true investigator but she's definitely got the skills.

To cut to the chase, this is really two mysteries in one. One that haunts Annie, the other currently. Even worse, in the bookstore where she works with Fletcher and Hal. A celebrity baker drops dead during the big reveal of community made gingerbread houses. Young and healthy. Why? Who'd kill her? As it turns out, more than a few. Quite frankly, I found myself more interested in the old, cold case. Maybe because it mattered so much to Annie or that the victim sounds like a much more likable person than the current one. I definitely wasn't expecting the huge reveal on the cold case near the end, that's for sure. Nor was Annie, quite frankly. It'll be fascinating to see how Annie, with the help of her former criminology professor, now town detective, and friends processes all she is finding out. Pri has her back but it was great to see the relationship between Annie and Liam Donovan getting stronger every book. As for the current case, I had an inkling (I read too many cozies) of whodunit but honestly wasn't sure until the final reveal, just not how it was done. Still thoroughly enoyed the relationships between the characters and seeing Annie's growth as both a human being and amateur sleuth. Her ties to the bookshop are strong, though, so it's a struggle between past plans and her current situation.

Bottom line, as usual, Ellie Alexander has given us a delightful, bewildering, multi-layer mystery to ponder. The characters are people we could all know and mostly like. The setting is a delight and, oh, my, the descriptions of those gingerbread creations was enough to give me a yen for gingerbread. So, kudos to the author. She not only kept my mind whirling as I read but made me hungry for something I normally wouldn't be craving. Thanks #StormPublishing for allowing me this early peek into life with Annie and all those who make the Secret Bookcase shop so memorable. It left me craving the next book, too!

The Secret Bookcase is holding its first annual gingerbread house contest and everyone including Annie, Fletcher and Hal are predicting a sold out crowd. But what they are not expecting is a homicide! Wonderful characters, a few suspects and a surprise career decision for Annie and Fletcher made this cozy, holiday book an entertaining read. Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the early copy. This review is my honest opinion.

This book is another hit in the series by Ellie Alexander. There is the usual care examination of characters as well as the plot development of the background story into the murder of Annie’s best friend. Romance continues although a little to the side in this book with a concentration on friendship and business plans this time. The murder is of an influencer and as per usual there are numerous suspects and Annie does a cracking job of unpicking the strands. A Holliday homicide is an easy read with no blood or gore just a bouncy plot with likable characters and a great heroine in Annie.

This book delivers a festive holiday atmosphere with a gingerbread house decorating contest, friends, new beginnings and just a dash of murder. Sticking to the baking theme that fits our influencer victim, we have a mixture of beauty in the descriptions of the town all festooned for the holidays and darkness as a woman falls victim to greed. The victim may have seemed like a spoiled celebrity more interested in followers than baking, but the book showed us so much more. The life of an influencer is dark with everyone wanting something from you, but darkness should have no place at the holidays. To offset that darkness, the author took us on a journey through a holiday wonderland full of too much sugar and sweetness. We are pulled along as Annie marvels at the outdoor space belonging to the bookshop all lit up like a festive holiday garden complete with lighted deer munching.
The book was a major step for Annie as she took the first step toward realizing her dream. I absolutely love how the author set the stage for this life change and since it was so much fun to read no spoilers here. The gang is all back together and while few of Annie’s friends help solve the case they present as a tight and united unit willing to stand together in light times and dark. Sugar made an interesting addition to the Redwood Grove community.
Speaking of Redwood Grove, a face from the past comes to town to “help” solve the mystery of Scarlet’s death that has been plaguing Annie since book 1. I can’t help but wonder if that is where this story will take us next. Scarlet’s death seems a little darker than the traditional cozy style of Ellie Alexander. However, I am sure she is up to the challenge of giving us Scarlet’s story without loosing Redwood Grove and what makes this a good series.
The last 2 books have been personal favorites in this series. I would recommend the entire series and will be keeping my fingers crossed that it continues. I can’t help but wonder if the hints about Liam’s past could lead to another story for Annie and company. As a final note, I love the slow burn romance between Annie and Liam, it has been fun to watch the banter take them from enemies to a couple.
Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This is a perfect, feel-good, cosy up with the fire and Christmas tree lit behind you kind of book. Perfect Christmas read, simple and easy! This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop.

Read more at The Secret Bookreview.

The Secret Bookcase is hosting a holiday baking competition. Everyone is excited until the internet guru dies during the competition. There are enough suspects to keep Annie, our would be detective and bookstore employee, very busy. The story is set in a picturesque small California community. Annie waffles between wanting to be a detective or becoming the owner of the bookstore. Can she do both? She is haunted by the unsolved murder of Scarlett, her best friend, and clues to that murder keep popping up for Annie. By the end of the book, the reader is ready for the next installment and hoping that Annie's life takes a turn for the better. Thanks to Net Galley for the arc.

I absolutely love a good whodunit and this delivered! I love this series so far....I need more!!!! Fast paced and kept me in it the entire time!

Redwood Grove is hosting a gingerbread festival competition. Christmas is the season and a blogger/social media type is hyping the gingerbread. Locals are entering and Sugar a local baker is hoping to up her game. But not to far into the competition the blogger is found dead. Will Annie and her crew solve this murder and will Annie decide on her future-detective or bookseller?

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

This was not my kind of book am not a cosy mystery kinda person. Having said that it was a quick read and was enjoyable not sure I would read the previous 4 but for a quick holiday read this was ok

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Even though this is book 4, it can be read as a stand alone. I hadn't read any of the previous ones in the series and thought the author did a good job of bringing the reader up to date from the previous books. (side note: I mistakenly thought this was an author I had read before - similar name) The who and the how of the mystery was easily solved fairly early on, so I did find myself skipping a lot of the story. I didn't particularly like any of the characters. I found the cold case murder of Annie's best friend to be far more interesting, yet it ended on what I'm guessing is another cliffhanger. It seemed to me like that case was going to be part of each book without much progress in solving it.

I am enjoying this series a lot! Each book so far has a ‘double’ mystery. There is the ‘cozy’ mystery and then there is what I feel is more a ‘csi’ type mystery.

This is such a clever blending of the two types of mysteries I enjoy so much so it really is the best of both worlds.

I particularly enjoyed this book because this one made a big leap forward in our ‘csi’ mystery which makes me want book 5 in a hurry!

Thank you to publishers and NetGalley for letting me read and review this book. All opinions are my own

I absolutely loved this book! It makes me wants to open a bookstore in a little town. It transported me to Christmas time and got me in the holiday spirit even though it’s still October. The story kept me on my toes and I couldn’t figure out who was dying and who did it. I will say I have not read the first three books before reading this one, but I don’t think I misunderstood anything. However I’m assuming there is one major spoiler from previous books, but that didn’t affect anything while reading it. I plan to go back and read the other three because I really enjoyed this one. The reveal wasn’t as big as I expected it to be, but I did like who it turned out to be. Definitely a great read. I didn’t want to put it down.

A gingerbread contest with an influencer guest and judge seems to be the perfect way to draw customers to the Secret Bookcase for the holidays. Soon the store is filled with Christmas decorations, music, and the aroma of gingerbread. Is the influencer too good to be true? Annie discovers a body in the store and there are numerous suspects and motives. Annie and friend and co-worker, Fletcher, are soon looking into the death. Annie is also still investigating the death of her friend, Scarlett. Annie loves the bookstore, but she also is a criminologist and misses investigation.
Holiday Homicide is a fun holiday cozy mystery with good friends and a sweet romance. This series has become a favorite. Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

Enjoyable cosy that runs true to genre.I received this as an advance copy and am leaving this review voluntarily.