Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me a free arc for review.

I should know by now that these cozy small town mysteries are usually not for me. They always leave me wanting for more.

A victim at Valentine’s was sold to me as a cozy mystery in a bookstore. Instead this was mostly the main character walking around town and having about 3 conversations of the murder. She’s sold as this person with incredible detective skills. But it’s barely shown. She even jumps to a non-sensical conclusion once, that turned out to be false. This novel actually as more instances where the main female character pines unrelentlessly for her boyfriend, constantly hammering how perfect he was.

Honestly, he kind of felt like a cardboard box.
I have to say that this is the first book I’ve read in this series (and the last one). And this is the 5th one.

This is the fifth book in the series, definitely a series to read in order as you’ll see the character growth and understand the storyline better. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator is great! This is a fun cozy series with lots going on, highly recommend.

This was a perfect cozy mystery for Valentine's Day! It's the fifth book in A Secret Bookcase Mystery series, but the first one I've read. I'm sure it would've been a little more enjoyable if I'd read the others first but I didn't feel lost either. This book had the perfect amount of small town charm, with it's eclectic cast of characters and cozy bookstore setting. I absolutely plan to read the rest of this series!

This book wasn’t for me. It’s not one you can read as a stand-alone and I couldn’t get into the story, missing so much background information. It felt rushed in parts and I found it difficult to care about the characters given how one-dimensional they were.

3.75⭐️

The perfect cozy mystery! A Victim at Valentines follows Annie as she tries to unravel the mysterious death of a beloved community member. This is a very face paced book with a shocking end! It was fun to see the detective work and deduction of the murderer through Annie’s eyes, it’s like you were solving the mystery with her!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for an advanced audio book copy! All thoughts and options are my own.

I got the pleasure to reviewing the audio of this book through NetGalley. I loved the narrator. The story itself I really enjoyed as well. The detailing was great. I would highly suggest reading all the books from 1-4 first. I read as a standalone and I missed out on the character building. The world building was good in this story. I definitely will be checking out more books by this author.

Happy murderous Valentine's Day!
That's not exactly true. Cuz the murder takes place before Valentine's Day .
I listened to the audio and there was a weird little quirk with the title . The book cover states "A victim at Valentine's" but the audio States and all of the audio tracks "A victim for Valentine's." So something is weird there with the title.
The book itself though was a fun read. This is number five in the series. Most of the book is easily accessible and enjoyed by anyone just picking it up. So I definitely recommend picking it up for a Valentine's read. There is enough mention to something that happened previously in her life that I would think it would be well worth it to go back and read previous titles in the series if you have not done so.
This one mostly takes place around a sweetheart matchup at the bookstore over a few days.
There is a cast of eccentrics and other enjoyable people. There is an elderly gentleman who is very big into philanthropy and helping lots of people with various types of loans and business investments and partnerships. When a murder takes place then our protagonist looks at each person and in her words explains why she thinks they could be a suspect. That's probably good because she knows these people better than we do although you also do question why would she suspect all of these people who she has known for years. Some of her thoughts and ideas about who could be the guilty party seem a little far-fetched or contrived. Ultimately though what was interesting is we solve that murder and then there's a fantastic little twist in the story that was entirely unexpected but it's one of those things that does point back to a previous book but again it still can be enjoyed even not knowing what took place in the previous book.
It is a fun Valentine's holiday read for that Thriller reader who also loves their mysteries.

A Valentiney addition to what is quickly becoming a new favorite series from one of my fav cozy authors. Love is in the air, but so is an allergic reaction and the team at the Secret Bookcase has to figure out whodunit before a matchmaking weekend comes to an end.

I love Ellen Quay as a narrator, and she continued to do a great job. My only issue with the narration was that you could tell where the audio had been edited, the sound changed and the voice almost sounded unnatural. Otherwise, the narration was fine and the story was great.

Love is in the air… but so is murder.

A matchmaking weekend at a charming bookstore should be all about romance, but when a guest turns up dead, amateur sleuth Annie Murray finds herself unraveling another mystery. Adding to the intrigue, a murder of crows seems to have been the only witnesses to the crime—watching from above as secrets unfold.

While there is a continuing storyline about the unsolved murder of Annie’s best friend, Scarlet, I read this as a standalone and had no trouble following the plot. The mix of literary charm, quirky characters, and a small-town setting made for a cozy and engaging read. And with A Body at the Book Fair arriving June 16th, more bookish sleuthing awaits!

Thank you to the Author, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Although I count myself among cosy mystery fans, and this was admittedly a good exponent of 5he genre, something was missing from this for me. It might be that I tend to appreciate British cosy mysteries more, but this didn't rise above average for me. However, if you appreciate small town settings and quirky sets of characters from American settings, this book might be for you. Just be aware this is part of a series. Happy reading!

I liked this! I semi guessed the killer? But not fully. I definitely wouldn’t recommend reading if you haven’t read the series because it felt like I was dropped in the middle of several storylines. The writing was okay, but did a looot of telling rather than showing. I do think I’ll go back to the beginning of the series, but it probably won’t be a priority. Is it bad I wanted her boyfriend to be a victim or a bad guy lmfao?

Now I’ll preface this by saying what do I know??—but the narrator did NOT seem to have a grasp on the Jamaican accent. Otherwise, I liked her narration.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

I received an ALC from the publishers. All opinions are honest and my own.

A great valentines murder mystery. Complete with a bookstore & future detective agency, crazy lady, Valentine Pairing event, trusted amateur sleuth group, & specialized killing. A well known gentleman old man is handing out money to fund women owned businesses, creating a scholarship fund at the local college, but hides a dark secret. No one knows of this dark secret until the end when they figure out who the killer is. I had lots of fun reading this. So much fun I read it in one day. Loved it!!

A Victim at Valentine's is exactly as advertised - a cute and cozy mystery with a dash of romance.

I should preface this review by saying that this was my first book that I have read of this series, but it won't be my last. I will definitely be going back and starting from the beginning! I fell in love with the characters and especially Annie. This is a 3.5 star rounded up to 4.

Overall, I truly enjoyed this story. It was a prime example of the cozy mystery genre, with the right amounts of mystery, murder, romance and cozy. While there was nothing that absolutely wowed me about this one, I still enjoyed it so much that I will pick up all of the other in the series.

The audiobook of this was particularly enjoyable, but I think that I will be eye-ball reading the next ones due to personal preference. The narrator did a good job, I just tend to prefer reading cozy mysteries in the physical form.

This is a wonderful cozy mystery series that I am going to add my TBR. I will be recommending this one for all of the people that I know love this genre because it was so fun. Can't wait to dive into the rest of the series.

amazing audiobook.
thank you netgalley for the arc copy. i truly enjoyed reading it along with the audio in the background.

wow Ellie has done it again with another cozy mystery book. i really enjoyed reading this book. love how I'm already familiar with the characters from the previous books. feel like I'm back with the crew.
a great valentine theme book for the holiday.

A Victim At Valentine's by Ellie Alexander is a cozy bookstore based dual past and present cozy murder mystery. While planning and executing a matchmaker weekend event, Annie's past of her friend's unsolved murder and a local businessman's current murder collide in a crazy tale. Happy (day late) Publishing Day Ellie! Thank you @NetGalley for the ARC! #AVictimforValentines #netgalley

First off, Thank you NetGalley for the Advance audio copy of A Victim at Valentine's.

This was a fun, quick read that centered around a murder mystery in an Agatha Christie-inspired bookshop. This was fun and cute for what this book was meant to be. I found it to be a little boring as I actually guessed what the twist was (I never do that). Overall I enjoyed the book as it was super cute. The one thing I wish we had more of was the relationship between Annie and Donovan. It's a book centered around Valentine's day and I wanted to see more of her relationship with her boyfriend.

Thanks again NetGalley for the advance audio copy of this book!

I’ve read the other books in this series and they’re always an easy, quick cosy mystery that you could easily get through in a leisurely afternoon.

This one takes place around Valentines Day and there is, of course, a murder that needs to be solved.

Annie is her usually self, and though I’ve accused her of being a bit insufferable before, she did seem slightly better this time. I’m hoping this trend continues!

I absolutely adore this series and its characters. This #audiobook was no exception. What I appreciate most is that the reader is kept guessing until the end. Often, I find myself thinking I know who the killer is only to be presented with new information that sways me to another possibility. Any of the potential suspects have plausible reasons, and it makes the story unfold in a fun and exciting way.

True to the series this book continues they #mystery that is slowly being uncovered over the entire #series while directly solving the case the book focuses on. This keeps the reader both satisfied, through a tidy, wrapped up outcome, while also on the hook for the next book, wanting to now more.

I loved how this story proved the characters aren't fully known yet, there is more to discover even though it's book five. The narrator was great, I enjoyed listening to her. Overall, I was entertained, I was curious, I was able to put on my #sleuthing cap and have fun with characters along they way. It is an enjoyable read for any format you choose to read it.

A Victim at Valentine's is the fifth book in Ellie Alexander's A Secret Bookcase Mystery series. Annie Murray is helping organize a weekend matchmaking event at her bookstore right before Valentine's day. One of the matchmaking service investors is murdered during the event. Annie assists in the investigation with her mentor Dr. Caldwell.

I really enjoy this series. Most cozies are fairly self contained and you can read them without reading the previous books. You technically could do that with this book but I would highly recommend reading the previous books. There is a mystery involving the death of Annie's best friend that is tying all of the books so far together. You will still be able to follow the story if you haven't read the other books but I highly recommend starting from the beginning. The story is worth it! I can't wait for the next book in the series. This is a must read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

What makes this cozy mystery series unique is the underlying mystery of Annie’s best friend’s death spread throughout the series. And Annie gets closer in each book in her quest of undercovering who killed her best friend.

I really enjoyed the setting because how awesome would it be to have an Agatha Christie-inspired bookshop in town, which happens to be Annie’s place of employment. I love that Annie has developed her relationship with Liam at this point as it adds a lovely romantic touch to the story. Additionally, the mystery was well plotted out like the other books in the series, and it was overall a great read.

I have listened to all of the books in this series because I have been loving the audios a lot, and a big part of why is because of Ellen Quay’s narration.