The second book in the Secret Bookcase series is a wonderful addition. The characters you fell in love with in A Body in the Bookstore are back and you will find yourself invested in their lives. The author does a great job of creating a murder mystery that will have you guessing until the very end. I love watching Annie work to make The Secret Bookcase a viable bookstore as well as helping the other businesses in Redwood Grove succeed. The characters are well developed … even those that are only featured in this book. I also love seeing the developing relationship with Liam and how Annie is trying her to best to avoid him. I imagine fireworks will be sparkling in the future and I can’t wait to see how they manage to resolve their issues.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. I highly enjoyed it and will be recommending it to others.

I just love Ellie Alexander! Writing cozy mysteries is definitely her calling and whenever she releases a book I will eat it up! I absolutely loved her series revolving around the brewery and the one around baking. This series is another new favorite of mine. Keep them coming and I’ll keep reading them.

A Murder at the Movies is the second installment in A Secret Bookcase Mystery series by Ellie Alexander.

This is a solid series with very down to earth and relatable main character. She is smart, likeable and careful. I particularly like that she isn't silly nor she rushes into danger without any thought.
I like the romance angle as well. It is well done and it doesn't deter from the story.
Mystery is well presented, the ending was nicely wrapped up and it makes sense.
I also enjoy side characters so much, they have depth and are so loveable and likeable.
There are several directions that this series can take and I can't wait to find out what decions our main charcter makes.

Ellie's books are like a hot cup of tea, pure cozy but with a slight hint of murder. The scenes she writes about I can picture in my head and makes me want to visit some of the shops mentioned. Highly recommended if you like a cozy murder mystery.

ᴀᴜᴅɪᴏʙᴏᴏᴋ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ || A MURDER AT THE MOVIES [thank you to Storm Publishing for my #gifted digital copy!]

Title: A Murder at the Movies
Author: Ellie Alexander
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Format: audio
Star Rating: ★★★☆☆
Narrator: Ellen Quay
Narration: ★★★★☆

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ:
After successfully saving her beloved bookstore with a hit event, Annie is eager to launch Redwood Grove's first film festival. But her excitement is shattered when a notorious film critic falls to his death during the premiere of a Hitchcock-inspired thriller. Annie’s gut tells her this wasn't an accident.

As she digs into the lives of the cast, crew, and guests—each hiding dark secrets, from a scandalous lead actress to a possessive film historian—Annie must unravel a web of lies to catch the killer before they strike again. Will she solve the mystery and save her festival, or become the next victim?

ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
This was a fun little cozy, small town mystery! Between the cast of local characters and the influx of Hollywood people, there was never a dull moment! I really enjoyed how the mystery played out - allowing Annie to work her criminology chops and feel realistic at the same time (I mean, she gets caught investigating several times, haha).

If you’re looking for an easy listen, I would recommend this one!

However, a small caveat: while this could be read as a standalone, the author does not do much in the way of summarizing backstory, so you are left with quite a few questions that honestly may have been answered in book 1. Just food for thought.

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Small Town Mysteries
A Murder She Wrote
Books About Bookstores
Amateur Sleuths
Unreliable Characters

ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟꜱ:
GR: 4.23 ⭐️
# of Hours: 6 hours and 53 minutes
Pub Date: June 19, 2024

Thank you netgalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC.

Book two in the secret bookcase series. We are back with Annie and the gang. This time she is putting on a horror movie premiere. After a highly charged, conflict filled dinner the night before they are looking forward to watching the movie. Unfortunately, a body is thrown from the balcony shortly after the movie starts. Can Annie and her friends catch the killer?

Loved catching up with Annie, Hal, Fletcher, Pri, and Liam. This time there is underlying romantic feelings developing for Annie. Pri finally speaks to double Americano. And despite another murder in their small town they have a successful event.

5 stats again.

<i>A Murder at the Movies</i> seems to have it all: a thriving bookstore, enemies-to-who-knows will-they-won’t-they (obviously, I am not telling you), the Agatha Christie inspiration it proudly displays on its sleeve, and a Hollywood premiere that an attending critic intends to be the last chance for the film’s screening. Little does he know that he’s the one with a last chance to write a review – which he has already written without watching the movie…

A lot of disbelief suspension is required. To begin with, there is a bookstore so prosperous that it employs multiple people, all of whom love their job and not one mentions Amazon. (I am not sure which year the book is set in exactly, but there are smartphones in it.) People run around, declaring their desire to murder the critic. One review from one critic can destroy a movie before it premieres. (If there is a real life equivalent of Martin, I can’t think of one. Also, the review is quoted and… that’s… not how movie reviews work.) And while the enemies-to-who-knows enemy is apparently an absolute arse, we never see a single example of the aforementioned arseness, but the protagonist tends to get rather tingly and warm from smelling his aftershave and <i>garlic</i>.

The characters are…not very fleshed out. I had problems telling Fletcher from Hal – one was the owner, and one was the not owner. The two directors at the premiere interact in very odd ways that are not quite explained throughout the book. Characters disappear and reappear as needed, some of them primary suspects. And the book commits the ultimate sin: the author assumes, unlike Christie, that the reader is not as smart as the characters. I could go on, but basically this book had all the ingredients I search for in my comfort reads, and completely didn’t work for me when those ingredients got stirred in one pot.

There are truly awful Agatha Christie books, which she admitted in her autobiography she had written to pay the bills quickly. <i>A Murder at the Movies</i> is not a bad book. It’s not great. It’s proof that sometimes I think I know exactly what I need and then it turns out that I should have been more specific. ‘I enjoyed it enough to finish’ is unfortunately the biggest compliment I can dispense (it’s definite proof that I am not Martin! Also, I am not dead.). I guessed who the killer was mid-book and hoped to be disappointed with myself; unfortunately, I was right. The clue was painfully obvious. But then, there is a reason why Agatha Christie’s books remain popular nearly 50 years after her death.

I recommend this book to fans of, well, Christie’s everyone-in-the-room mysteries with (this was not Agatha’s forte) possible romance and a protagonist that definitely makes me expect more – the ending is a vague cliffhanger. Even though I had to check who the person was and why it was important…

I am loving Annie and the rest of the characters in this new series. Alexander does an awesome job of giving us the right amount of mystery and suspense while building characters and their relationships. I look forward to the next book in this series.

A Murder at the Movies
by Ellie Alexander
Pub DateJun 19 2024
Storm Publishing
General Fiction \(Adult\)| Mystery & Thrillers


Storm Publishing and Netgalley provided me with a copy of Murder at the Movies for review:



Annie Murray, a bookseller and events organizer, finds herself embroiled in one of Hollywood's most sinister plots when she invites Hollywood to her small-town film festival.


In the wake of her first event, which revived the fortunes of the bookstore she so dearly loves, Annie is excited to present Redwood Grove's first film festival. When an infamous film critic plunges to his death during the premiere of a Hitchcock-inspired thriller, Annie's instincts tell her it is no accident. From the lead actress with a scandalous past, to a film historian obsessed with protecting his vintage reel collection, she discovers that many of the cast, crew, and guests harbor dark secrets.


As Annie attempts to unravel the mystery, she must sift through a maze of hidden agendas and deceptions to expose the killer before they strike again. Will she be able to crack the case in time to save her film festival or will she end up in the spotlight?


I give up A Murder at Movies five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

A lovely cozy mystery book. Very easy to get into and a light hearted read. I would love to read more from this author.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are mine.

The book follows Annie who is tasked with running a film festival in her small town that results in the death of an infamous film critic . Like any small town sleuth she starts investigating the cast ,crew and guests as everyone seems to be hiding a secret. In true Ellie form this is fast paced ,intriguing and well written.

A lovely cozy mystery and I enjoyed this light-hearted and fun read by an author I hadn't read before. Very entertaining. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Ellie Alexander is one of my favorite mystery authors, and she never disappoints! This was such a fun cozy and so charming! The twists and turns were so fun, and I cannot wait to read more in this series!

I enjoyed this one better than the first but I still can’t seem to connect with Annie or the other characters. The story itself was OK; still not sure why a film director would want to hold a movie premiere in a tiny town they’d never been to before and had nothing to do with the movie or why Annie, as the bookstore events manager, would be organizing it. I want more of Ellie Alexander’s fun, vibrant characters and cozy towns and I’m not getting the same vibe here. I will try one more as I am curious about the backstory with the cold case.

Another fun cozy mystery in the books for me already and I'm here for it! This time it's a movie theater murder and Annie is more involved this time trying to solve the case. We also see more of the love interest and Annie together and interacting more and really starting to ride the line from hate to love. We also see more of Annie's kitty which I'm all here for as well. It was a great mystery. I figured out who did it about 80% in, maybe a little sooner but it was still a fun time. Definitely recommend picking this one up this cozy season.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Annie is an usual cozy heroine. She has been trained in criminology and her professor happens to be the local Chief of Police. She loves working in a bookstore that caters to mystery readers. Dr. Caldwell, her former prof, admires her capabilities and is trying to convince her to come back to her first love, putting the bad guys away. In the meantime, she uses Annie as a resource and it turns out she is very good at it. The two make an awesome duo.

They will need each other’s power of observation to figure out which of many suspects killed the odious film critic who died at the premiere of a movie he was set to scathe. The director, the actors, the producer and so many others had good reason to hate this despicable bully. Which one did it or did they all conspire? While there were lots of blind alleys and twists and turns, it was the way the investigation was conducted between the two professionals that resonated most. I did suspect the final reveal a bit earlier than our heroine but it still was a thrilling end. I am ready for more of Annie and her friends.

Five purrs and two paws up.

Ellie Alexander brings the second cozy set in the Secret Bookcase bookstore and its small town. Annie Murray talks up a Film Festival to attract visitors and the town joins in. Then as the festival starts a film critic is found murdered and the lady who premiered her movie at the festival and others look guilty. Annie Murray works with her former criminology professor turned town detective to find the killer. What could go wrong? Read and find out in this enchanting cozy.

A great addition to an incredible series! Wonderful characters in an incredible setting. This book will keep you guessing until the end.

A Murder at the Movies is the 2nd Secret Bookcase shopfront cozy by Ellie Alexander. Released 19th June 2024 by Storm publishing, it's 262 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The first book in the series is also currently available on KU. A third series book is due out from the same publisher at the end of Sept. 2024.
This is a well written light cozy with a MC who owns and runs a bookshop in a small tourist town destination. The background is well interwoven in the book, and it works as a standalone without needing to have read the previous book. This time, MC Annie is arranging a film festival event in Redwood Grove. She's again drawn into amateur investigation with the untimely death of a nasty film critic during a film premiere.

The author is prolific and quite experienced, the plotting is fairly tight and it doesn't drag. The book is very clean, with only a sprinkling of light cursing and nothing more objectionable in the book than off-page murder, and the requisite threatened violence in the denouement and solution to the murder. Definitely safe for reading at work or on the bus.

Four stars, a fun light cozy mystery. The series will be a hit with fans of "Jessica Fletcher", Cleo Coyle, and Jenn McKinlay and other small town storefront cozies.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.