I love Ellie Alexander’s writing and was so excited to see that she had a new series coming out. I loved the California town, the mystery bookstore and the characters. There is an overarching mystery introduced, so I would recommend reading this series in order.

This is a well written murder mystery. The lead character is a resourceful yet vulnerable person who uses her reason and social skills to wheedle out th3 murderer. There are a good number of twists and turns and plenty of read herrings as the book develops a series of characters comprising a normally sleepy village. All have a back story that leads you to think the6 could have a motive for murder. The one whose back story is not developed as much as others is indeed the killer. There is a fitting denouement although I wondered if it could have been more tension filled. My one complaint is that a number of loose ends were left to be wrapped up in the next book or after. Frustrating!

ELLIE ALEXANDER HAS A NEW SERIES!!!!!

I love a bookish read. Add a mystery, loveable characters, an animal companion, and I am hooked!

In The Body in the Bookstore, the first book in the Secret Bookcase Mystery, we meet Annie Murray, former criminology student turned mystery bookseller. To save The Secret Bookcase, she plans a mystery-themed book festival in the small town of Redwood Grove, CA. Everything is going well, until the body of Annie’s college acquaintance is found behind the bookstore’s secret bookcase.

I immediately wanted to hop on a flight to Redwood Grove to take part in the festival and meet Annie, her friends, coworkers, and townspeople. The characters and the setting seemed so real, I felt I was searching for clues and interviewing people of interest right alongside her.

I’m looking forward to book two, A Murder at the Movies.

Thank you #NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and Ellie Alexander for allowing me access to the ARC of this book.

In THE BODY IN THE BOOKSTORE we are introduced to Annie as she comes up with mystery fest to save the Secret Bookcase from going out of buisness. Mystery fest is in full swing, when book lovers following clues open the secret bookcase to find a body. Annie volunteers to take their picture when they complement her for having an actual body in the secret bookcase. It's not long before she sees the body and the police are involved. I enjoyed the characters and the surroundings the author developed for the story. I was drawn into the Redwood Grove community and the characters had no problems holding my interest even though I was able to figure out the murderer.

The Body in the Bookstore by Ellie Alexander is first in a new series. The setting of a book store based inspired by Agatha Christie, and the book loving staff, make for a fun read. The victim in this mystery was so awful that I almost found myself rooting for the killer to get away with it! The sample of the next book in the series has me waiting to see what happens in Redwood Grove next.

Thank you to Bookoutour and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

The Body in the Bookstore is the first book in a new series by Ellie Alexander.

I have loved every series Ellie has written so far and this one did not disappoint!

Annie Murray works in a bookstore and has an idea to put on a mystery festival to boost revenue at the bookstore and throughout the town.

People she knew in college show at the mystery festival and one of them is found dead in the bookstore. This brings back memories of the death of her best friend. Annie uses her criminology background to assist the detective in solving the case.

I enjoyed all of the characters in the book and I look forward to reading more of their stories.

I truly was hooked and I stayed up way too late because I just needed to finish the book. I definitely will be purchasing the next one in the series when it comes out.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, opinions express in this review are completely my own.

This is a cosy mystery that blends small town vibes with a who did it plot. It is about a bookseller Annie who organizes a mystery themed book fest to help bring in more customers. This takes a dark turn when a body is found behind shelves and the victim is someone Annie knows from college. She is determined to save both the fest and her town from the murderer and begins to investigate with the help of her friends and a former professor who had become a detective. This novel has different twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end. The novel was medium paced and kept me intrigued throughout. Fans of cosy mysteries will enjoy this book and I can’t wait to see where this author goes from here.

Great first book in a new series. I love the idea of a bookstore dedicated to Agatha Christie. The mc was interesting and the mystery kept my attention. I look forward to reading the next installment.

Thank you to Storm Publishing, NetGalley, and Ellie Alexander for the wonderful opportunity to review this new debut series book one. I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us in the upcoming books because this one knocked me out of my seat!!! Who wouldn’t love to have a Secret Bookcase? Well, that’s exactly what this book has in it! The bookstore has a lovely secret bookcase and unfortunately it has a dead body in it as well. Annie has worked so hard to set up a wonderful mystery event for her town but really didn’t plan on having to solve a murder. Thankfully, she has some great help including her former mentor from her college days that is now a detective. They will need all the help they can get before she ends up being the next victim.
Loved this first book and I am eagerly waiting for the next book five stars hands down.

The Body in the Bookstore is the perfect title for bookstore/murder lovers and there is a book festival. This book hits all the fun tropes that are loved in mystery. Our sleuth is Annie Murray, former criminology major, now a bookseller in a small town still recovering from the murder of her college friend. Now a second death brings it all back but she knows she has to solve this who-dunnit.
Fun with great characters – friends and suspects - in a wonderful small town, I can’t wait to read the next one.
Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this DRC.
#TheBodyintheBookstore #NetGalley

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery . Annie, the amateur sleuth is really good. She and her friend Pri really get to asking questions. The Mystery
Festival brings lots of readers to town and of course there has to be a murder. It seems there is a group of people that are old college friends .
The murder took place in the book store where Annie worked and it was Kayla, one of the college group that was murdered. Annie's college professor Dr. Caldwell was the detective on the case and was happy to run into Annie , her student that she thought she would become a detective to help her. See how Annie helps to figure out who killed Kayla.

Absolutely loved this!!! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and had no idea who dunit until it was revealed. Everything I thought, I was wrong and I love a good twist! Cannot wait for the rest of this series.

This was an really enjoyable book! I loved the main character Annie and the whole "book nerd" vibe of the story.

In the first few chapters I was initially put off by a bunch of cliche phrases, but, with those out of the way, the plot was formed nicely. I never lost interest in Annie and her friends' doings, and the mystery book festival was lots of fun to read about. I would certainly love to attend one!

The author kept my suspicions switching around among all the main characters, and although I wasn't entirely surprised at the identity of the murderer, the motive never occurred to me.

I look forward to the next books in the "Secret Bookcase Mystery" series as Annie continues her long-term investigation.

I obtained an advance copy of this book via NetGalley.

Annie Murray works in “The Secret Bookcase” a struggling bookstore in the cosy town of Redwood Grove, specialising in anything mystery themed. After creating a town-wide mystery event, the weekend appears to be a great success. However, when a real dead body is found in the hidden bookcase located within the store, a true mystery unravels. In between criminology graduate Annie attempting to solve her best friend’s murder that occurred during their time at university, expect a cosy whodunnit with themes of friendship, light romance, and a small town mystery.

I did think that at times the story was slightly cliche - which to be fair, a lot of people may love in this kind of book - with a lot of coincidences, e.g. Annie’s old college professor happening to be the detective working the murder case. And unfortunately, I did manage to guess the killer before the big reveal.

3.5 stars rounded down to 3.

I love Ellie Alexander's mysteries and was so excited to get her newest as an ARC from NetGalley! In the first book of this new series, Ellie introduces us to a new setting in California with bookseller Annie Murphy, who runs the Secret Bookcase in Redwood Grove. In hopes of increasing business, Annie develops a mystery-themed festival that takes place across the city and is reminiscent of Ellie's Ashland Mystery Festival she started last year! Of course, all is not calm for the festival and the Secret Bookcase with murder on the agenda. This was a fun cozy with all the elements that I love. I'm looking forward to more fleshing out of the characters as the series goes along and learning more about Redwood Grove. A solid start to a new cozy series!

Annie was destined to follow a career in solving crime. She and her friend Scarlet had planned to set up a agency together once they graduated but Scarlet was murdered just before graduation. Annie turned her back on their dream and became a bookseller in Redwood Grove and also could not let go of trying to work out who killed Scarlet.
Loved this book from start to finish. Nice easy crime fiction read. And the hook at the end left me eager for the next book.

I have to start this out by saying Ellie Alexander is one of my most favorite cozy mystery writers. I was all so very happy to see her start a new series.

Annie Murray is the manager of a struggling book store and she is trying her best to figure out ways to increase revenue and traffic into the store. Annie decides to plan a mystery lovers weekend. This will not only involve the bookstore but other neighboring businesses too. Unfortunately, in the middle of the mystery fest a body is found which happens to be an old childhood friend of Annie’s. This also reminds Annie of the murder of her college best friend ten years ago and Annie feels responsible for her death. Annie goes into detective mode trying to find out what happened. Will she be able to find out who the murderer is and will she ever be able to find out what really happened ten years ago? Ellie Alexander you have done it again. This series is going to be a hit!

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this wonderful ARC!

"Books had gotten me through my worst days. They were comfort, escape, and provided closure, which remained elusive in real life."
The first book in the A Secret Bookcase Mystery series has our protagonist Annie living a quiet life in the small town of Redwood Grove, trying to recover from the murder of her best friend in college.
The bookstore Annie works in is in financial trouble so she decides to plan a Mystery weekend to bring new customers in for all the stores in Redwood Grove. The descriptions of the town and the different pubs and stores made me feel a part of the action. I did feel some of the characters needed to be a bit more descriptive. I had a difficult time remembering which of Annie's college friends were who, and what they each did during college and in the present. But with that said, I had a great time reading this and happily look forward to the next in the series.

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

Unputdownable cozy mystery!! This was such a fun read I could not get enough of.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and Ellie Alexander for an Advanced Reader Copy and the chance to share my honest review.

Annie Murray is a book seller working at a struggling-to-stay-afloat mystery-themed book store called The Secret Bookcase. In an attempt to boost sales and save the store, Annie organizes a town-wide mystery book festival. Everything is going perfectly. . .until a dead body is found in the bookstore.
Annie uses her background in criminology to work alongside law inforcement and try to stop the killer before another body is found.

I am so excited to have found this author and can't wait to dig into her other works! Even more so cannot wait to hear more stories with Annie Murray. Annie is smart, brave, and witty. A relatable and likeable character. The town and bookstore really drew in the "cozy" that makes a cozy mystery. I loved the layout of the plot. It felt like a classic Hercule Poirot or Benoit Blanc mystery. Perfection!

A Secret Bookcase Mystery. That series name made me want to pick up The Body in the Bookstore as soon as I heard about it. Already a fan of Ellie Alexander’s writing, I admittedly would give this book a try just because it’s from Ellie’s imagination. But The Body in the Bookstore recommends itself to the reader.
Annie Murray is an engaging character. Redwood Grove and The Secret Bookcase are places that are nearly characters themselves.
To save the bookstore Annie comes up with the idea for a mystery festival weekend. It was fun to read about. I was curious about the authors who came to the festival, but only one to be published author was mentioned by name, Eli. I was curious about the readers who came and only those who would play a big part in the mystery that unfolds were named, Kayla, Monica and Seth.
These along with some of the town’s people: Caroline, Fletcher, Hal, Priya, and Liam Donovan are well introduced and characterized.
I enjoyed following the clues to the end. I highly recommend giving The Body in the Bookstore as try.
Thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.