This is a common review for both the two novels in A Secret Bookcase series I read.
It's an entertaining series that improves with each novels. Both are well plotted and features a solid mystery.
I like how Annie, the main character evolved. Her desire to solve the murder of Scarle, her friend murdered some days before graduation, borders on obsession and PTDS and can be quite disturbing at time. It becomes less relevant in the characters descriptions in the second half of the first novel and it's in the background in the second.
The cast of characters is intersting and Annie grew on me as she was able to move on.
The bookshop and the festival are fascinating and the solid mysteries kept me guessing.
Recommended
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Murder She Wrote anyone? This book is so worth the read. It actually reminded me of Murder She Wrote or even a Hallmark movie. They really should make a movie of this book! I highly recommend this book.

A cosy little town in California called Redwood Grove, is a little book store named The Secret Bookcase. Hal is the owner and Annie Murray and Fletcher are the two people that work in the book store. They are also the reason that a annual festival will take place in their small town.
Annie had a dear friend named Scarlet, she was murdered a few years prior. This is something that stays with Annie and haunts her. She wants nothing more than to find her murderer.

She has to think of something to save the book store or it will have to close and then there goes her job nd there goes her life. So she thinks of the town and what they could all do together to participate in. Annie tells Fletcher about her idea for the town festival and he loves the idea so the start asking the rest of the businesses around if they would be willing to participate. Everyone was except one and that wasn't Stag Head. Liam Donovan is the owner of this business and he also has a crush on Annie.
During the festival there was a group of ladies in the back of the book store that made a strange comment about how realistic they had made everything look for the mystery part. Annie wasn't sure what they were talking about so she went back to look and sure enough there was a dead body.

I really hope you give this book and author a chance Ellie Alexander thank you for the adventure.

Happy Reading?

This is the first in a new series. A top notch mystery. Great characters and a wonderfully written whodunit. I cannot wait to read more in this series.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

A murder in a mystery-themed bookstore? Yes, please!

This first book in a new series from the much loved #cozymystery author @ellie_alexander combines all the best things in life - murder, mystery, book lovers and a quaint Stars Hollow-esque town.

Out yesterday, it is the first book I’ve read from #elliealexander but it won’t be the last (especially since the second book in the series was also released yesterday - how cool is that?)!

Synopsis:
Bookseller Annie Murray is thrilled when the mystery-themed book festival she sets up to revive the dwindling fortunes of her workplace and sanctuary seems poised for success. But events take a shocking turn when a body is discovered hidden behind the shelves, and it’s revealed that the victim is Annie’s old college acquaintance.

Determined to ensure the festival’s success and save the small town of Redwood Grove from a killer, Annie begins piecing together clues with the help of her friends. But as the list of suspects grows longer – a local boutique-owner, an envious old classmate, a bitter ex-boyfriend – Annie is drawn deeper into the case.

With the aid of her old criminology professor-turned-detective, can Annie unmask the murderer before they turn her festival into a real-life whodunit?

The Body in the Bookstore is the perfect summer mystery read! I was quickly enticed by not only our characters and plot, but by the setting as well. In fact I actually found this cozy small town to be the star of the story! A quick premise of this novel is that our main character Annie works for a struggling bookstore and develops the idea of a mystery fair to bring in customers. During this fair, an old college classmate is murdered and Annie can finally put her criminology degree to work! I loved that the author gave just enough clues that I was able to solve the mystery myself, but was never annoyed by the pacing of the novel. I would highly recommend this cozy mystery to anyone looking for an introductory mystery novel, or merely a fun quick read. I just hope the sequel has more mentions of Annie's cat and insight into her past friend's death!

The Body in the Bookstore was such a lovely cozy mystery! Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this eARC. I absolutely loved meeting Annie and all of her crazy friends at Redwood Grove. Annie decides to put on a huge mystery festival in her town to try and revive her failing mystery bookshop. Some of the guest that show up have direct links to her past and when one of her college friends ends up murdered she is determined to help find the killer. This was such a cozy read. I really enjoyed it and look forward to more in this series!

I’ve read and enjoyed other books by Ellie Alexander and how fun to be in at the start of a new series! I would love to have this bookshop in my town. There was a great cast of characters and I look forward to more books in this series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Storm Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Storm Publishing.

The Body in the Bookstore is book #1 in the Secret Bookcase Mystery series by Ellie Alexander.

I’m a fan of Ellie Alexander so I was excited for this new series. I wasn’t disappointed. I’d love to visit The Secret Bookcase. I like that Annie has a criminology degree as that makes her investigating believable. This has several elements I enjoy in a mystery - likable characters, interesting setting, and an intriguing mystery. This series is off to a great start!

Thank you to the author, Storm Publishing, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

I was super excited to read this book when coming across it and I was not let down, the book leaves you with questions and the characters as so well written that you can feel how much the author wanted to make this cute mystery amazing!

I’ve never really read mystery but this book makes me want to dive into more!

Amazing read

4 ⭐
0 🌶️

The Body in the Bookstore is a fantastic, cozy read! I loved the mystery and the delightful cast of characters surrounding the bookshop and the town. I felt like I was reading an Agatha Christie novel with a cast of suspicious characters, a dead body, and many questions. Our intrepid heroine, Annie, is whip-smart and begins working to solve the mystery. This is the beginning of a new series set around the town and a fabulous bookstore (I would love to hang out there).

I look forward to more of Annie's adventures!

I was hooked from chapter one, and it kept getting better. I read this in two evenings, something I rarely do. I felt like I was in the story, part of the action, eating the food and drinking the coffee, and I don’t even like coffee. Redwood Grove is my kind of town; a bookstore in an old manor home, that’s perfect. The mystery was expertly plotted, and although I had a theory about who the killer was, I was completely off base. There were plenty of suspects to choose from, each with a very believable motive. The best part of the story, for me, is the strong friendships and the idea that friends are the family we choose. The relationship between Annie and Hal, who is like a grandfather to her, is so sweet. Grief, and how it can change someone forever, is a powerful theme throughout. There is a secondary mystery that isn’t resolved in this book, but will continue into book two, which luckily also came out today. Give this book a try, you won’t regret it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A great start to a new mystery series by one of my favorite mystery authors. Can't wait to see where this series goes.

I loved this book. It's my first by Ellie Alexander but definitely not my last. I love a good old fashioned style murder mystery and this hit the spot. The storyline was so good and kept me engaged. I loved the characters. It was fun and intriguing. Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! The Body in the Bookstore is a great cozy murder mystery and an excellent start to the Secret Bookcase Mystery series! I was able to read this in one sitting easily. I was hooked right away! It's not a long book, but it has great pacing and the mystery will leave you unable to put this book down!

I really enjoyed all of the characters and the setting a lot. Annie is very likeable and well-written. I'm excited for more of her in future books! The author Ellie Alexander also did a great job bringing Redwood Grove to life. Honestly, the way she describes everything from the small town setting, to the little things like food is incredible. She has a great talent for painting a picture with her words, and the effect here is maximum coziness possible in a whodunnit. It also made the mystery more engaging, and the writing style is a huge reason why this book was so good!

This book is definitely for anyone who wants a great mystery with excellent twists and turns! I'm looking forward to reading more in this series and more books by Ellie Alexander in general!

I was so excited to receive this ARC from NetGalley that I was beside myself. Before getting into this review, I want to take a moment to thank NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and Ellie Alexander for a digital copy of The Body In The Bookstore in return for an honest review. I am so happy to say that I absolutely loved this book. I just have to say that I have loved getting lost in the little town of Redwood Grove, CA. Ellie Alexander has managed to create another destination that I need to see, fictional or otherwise. Oh, and I absolutely can not forget to mention that bookstore. I just can’t even. It sounds like a dream. I get it enough gushing already and get into what the book is about.

In this story, we are following Annie, a college graduate who lost her best friend days before they were set to graduate. Scarlet, her bestie, was murdered, and sadly, the murderer was never found. The super frustrating thing about it is that both of the girls went to school for Criminal Justice (I think), and Annie is not able to figure out who killed her friend even after all these years of searching. Annie never went into her degree field; instead, she ended up in a little town in CA as a bookseller/event coordinator. She works in the cutest little bookshop that specializes in mysteries and only mysteries. The owner, Hal, is super adorable and leaves the day-to-day stuff to Annie and Fletcher. Hal is convinced that he is the grandson of Agatha Christie and has many thoughts on how that is even possible. Fletcher is the other bookseller in the shop, and he is a Sherlock-obsessed individual who can tell you anything and everything about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He even does talks on the author and the beloved Sherlock series.

Sadly, the bookstore is in trouble when it comes to finances, and Annie, along with Fletcher, fears that Hal will close the store and sell it. This would be devastating not only for Hal and Fletcher but for Annie as well. In a way, Hal saved Annie after her friend died, and the store brought new life back into her. She loves the store, the people she works with, and what she does. She can not imagine the bookstore not being there anymore. Annie comes up with a wonderful idea one night and talks with Fletcher about it, and he agrees because it is worth a shot to save the store. They approach Hal about the idea, and needless to say, he loves it. Redwood Grove will be hosting its first-ever Mystery-Themed Festival, which will last over a weekend. Annie sets to work on getting the local businesses involved in her idea because this festival will be throughout the town. Each business will have something special in store for their customers (sleuths) having to do with the case they are solving and also just to get into the spirit of things. For example, the local restaurants will serve a dish that is author/story-themed, and the same goes for the local bars and coffee shops. The whole town gets involved, with the exception of one business whose owner is a man named Liam. Liam is the bane of Annie’s existence, or at least that is how she feels about him.

Things are going well with getting everything ready for the festival when it comes to creating the clues and the town’s involvement. The authors that Annie reached out to have all confirmed and will be doing signings, readings, and talks. People are beginning to arrive in the small town excited for the festival to start, which is a good thing for sure. Annie, however, is surprised to see three people she has not seen in years, people she thought she would never see again, some old college acquaintances. These people knew her during her college years and time with Scarlet. They are also aware of what happened to her friend. Their coming to town leaves Annie uncomfortable. She becomes even more uncomfortable when one of these acquaintances ends up dead in her bookstore. This gets her mind going on if the killer is the same person who killed her friend all those years ago. Are the murders related? Did they come for her? Are they only killing people from her graduating class? What is going on?

Ellie Alexander did a great job of including Annie’s past into her present (Scarlet’s death), making the reader not only want to know who killed the college acquaintance but also who killed Scarlet 10 years prior. The story was fast-paced and kept me interested and guessing the whole time. I know it is a murder mystery, but the coziness is also there. The friendships between Annie, Hal, Fletcher, Pri, and some others in town, not to mention the setting and all the book talk, transported me right into the story. I loved it, and I am excited to continue in the series. Seriously though, this was such a great cozy mystery and one I would absolutely recommend.

Trigger Warnings:

Murder

Blood

Murdered Friend

Unsolved Murder

Excessive Drinking

Lurking Around At Night Peeking In Windows

Talk Of A Gambling Addiction

The Plot
Annie Murray works at The Secret Bookcase and plans a Mysteryfest weekend in her small town of Redwood Grove. Things don’t go to plan when a face from the past shows up and is murdered.
This was a warm hug of an American cozy mystery novel. I think if you enjoy the Mystery Woman Hallmark movies or Aurora Teagarden mysteries, then you will probably enjoy this. It had many similar features, such as a strong sense of a community feel. The friendships in the novel, again like a Hallmark movie, were one of the novel’s strongest points. Annie, our mystery book enthusiastic amateur sleuth was an amiable character with a cat. Her friendship with Pri and other characters added warmth to the novel. The small town of Redwood Grove gave me all the cozy and cute small town vibes, too.
Annie followed the suspects well, and the plot was pacy for the most part. As well as this, Annie interviewing the different suspects did hold my interest. I have to say, I was glad that other sleuthing methods were also employed.
This book didn’t offer that many surprises. It was obvious who was going to be killed from the outset. Neither was the reveal of the killer at the end a surprise. I was waiting for there to be a twist and for the killer to be someone else. I also think the trope of a hidden body could have been explored a bit more. It felt like this was used for convenience rather than adding to the plot. I liked the fact that we were given a hook into the next book, and I look forward to reading it.

Review not posted publicly.

As someone who loves cozy mysteries I really wanted to enjoy this author as she comes highly recommended. I’m still unsure if it is me or the book, but I am not finishing it at this time. What I have read was slow and repetitive at times. I did look ahead to see who done it when I decided it wasn’t for me and wasn’t interested in finding out the connection of the body to the killer. Others seem to be enjoying it, so maybe I’ll pick it up again another time to see if I appreciate it more then.

Annie Murray, who is working at a local independent bookstore, the Secret Bookcase, after college. But her studies were in criminology, along with her best friend. The day before graduation, her best friend is found murdered and Annie decides not to pursue her original career path.

I enjoyed the out of the box marketing ideas when Annie devises a Mystery Festival to bring an influx of visitors and cash to the store. When one of the customers compliments her on the lifelike prop, Annie realizes that it’s actually a real person that had been murdered!

Annie has the chance to put her education to use in helping with the investigation. There were a few too many coincidences for my preference, but the overall story was engaging.

Thanks to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Ellie Alexander for the eARC.

Annie Murray has a degree in criminology, but after her best friend died just before their graduation, she went to work at Secret BookStore in Redwood Grove, a small town in California. The bookstore owner, Hal, and the workers, Fletcher and Annie, are all affectionate about mystery books. An accident happens during a Festival organized by Annie, Fletcher and others. Annie uses some of her educational skills to help understand how the accident occurred. It is an interesting book.

Excellent book!!! Nothing better than a bookstore cozy!!! Loved the town and this book kept be thoroughly entertained!!! Loved it!!! Cant wait for the rest of the series!!!!