"A Murder at the Movies (A Secret Bookcase Mystery #2) by Ellie Alexander sees us picking up a few months after the first book and when Annie is helping run a city wide movie premiere for a Indy developed Horror Film. Then the horror turns to real horror when a very self entitled movie critic falls from the theatre balcony during a particularly ironic scene.

I have to say that I found the turmoil Annie seems to feel over Liam quite annoying. It was a constant dialogue of her confusion over his actions and her feelings. I get it, that can be confusing but does EVERY interaction with him have to be half inner dialogue about that confusion?

The mystery was interesting. It had me bouncing back and forth on suspects for a good part of it. However, my niggling feeling about a particular character turned out to be accurate.

Annie Murray receives a all at the Bookshop from a Hollywood film director who say the reviews online of the successful mystery book festival she helped organize and wants Annie to help organize a film premier for her new film. Annie is glad to do something else to help her small town. What she doesn't realize is the attitudes that come with the array of people from Hollywood that will come to the premier. Before too long it's apparent that not everyone involved in the film gets along and one of the most hated people winds up dead. There is no shortage of suspects and soon Annie is assisting the police again, but this time she has help from someone she considers a frenemy, Liam, the owner of the bar Stag Head.

Wow, Ms. Alexander is on a roll with her new series, two books being released at the same time, both quite wonderful. I already reviewed The Body in the Bookstore, which I really enjoyed. This book adds to our knowledge of the delightful characters, charming setting, and the why of Annie's determination to find justice. Fresh off her success at setting up the Mystery Fest that benefited The Secret Bookcase and the small northern California town that is home, Annie gets a call asking her to help stage a movie premiere in town. When there is a murder at the premiere, after a very awkward dinner at the Stag Head the night before, can Annie, her colleagues and friends help the police figure out who had the most to gain from the movie critic's death? Also, we get another enticing bit of information in the background case of Annie's college friend death. Thanks to #NetGalley and #StormPublishing for the opportunity to discover this new series! #AMurderattheMovies, #EllieAlexander, #bookreview, #bookideas, #retiredreader

Film festivals are the beside especially if there's a mystery. This was a really good cozy read it almost reminded me of clue

I love this series, Annie Murray has let the Hollywood people into the small town of Redwood Grove for a premier of a mystery movie Midnight Alibi. Heather , who wrote the movie was impressed with town where Annie and the town has their first Murder Festival. So it begins as Annie , who works at the Mystery bookshop the other merchants prepare for this event. So the day arrives starting with the guests enjoying dinner at the Stag Head, owned by Liam.. Annie is observant of the people and some of the conversations. Heather is obsessed with Martin, who reviews the movies, supposedly he has written a bad review when he saw it the first time. Sam, who funded the movie, Izzy who was a competitor of Heather, Cora the main star and Rufus the keeper of Vintage Hitchcock movies. The next day at the Premier, Martin fell from the upper deck seating. In comes Dr. Caldwell and the solving of the murder begins.

This is the second book in the series following the exploits of Annie Murray. The setting is a charming Agatha Christie inspired mystery bookstore in an out of the way small town in north California. Following the success of the book festival, Hollywood film director, Heather Hathaway, persuades Annie to organise the premier of her new film, Midnight Alibi. An acclaimed film critic, Martin Parker, arrives for the premiere and tensions run high with Heather wishing him dead. Martin is murdered and other suspects are identified.

The bookshop, townscape and central characters are nicely developed and the growing relationship between Annie and Liam is a nice touch. The plot is well paced and the list of suspects, each with a strong motive, quickly grows. The is an intriguing subplot in the series relating to the murder 10 years earlier of Annie’s best friend, Scarlet. Each book sees Annie make small advances in her investigations of what is now a cold case and an unexpected find hints of further intrigue to come. Overall an enjoyable cosy mystery, in a delightful setting with some good plot twists.

This series just gives me a Sweet Magnolias' feel with murder mystery infused in it.

Coming right out of the first book, I immediately took up the second one. An obnoxious movie critic is killed on the day of a movie premiere and everyone becomes a suspect. Annie once again delves into trying to solve the murder by speaking to all persons of interest.

We get to see a lot of Liam here as where their love hate relationship makes progress. I honestly found the slow romance refreshing and that it doesn't take centre stage. This book was much better than the previous one in terms of keeping you hooked. I do hope though that the Scarlet angle is solved quickly as no one likes to read a long drawn out murder. I am eagerly waiting for the next one. This book is also making small town living seem the right way.

PS: At 96%, there is a name switch. It should be Martin instead of the culprit.

I thank NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the E-Arc and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A Murder at the Movies is the 2nd book in the A Secret Bookcase Mystery series. Our protagonist Annie, former Criminology student and current bookstore employee, finds herself in the midst of another mystery. In this second installment our murder happens in the middle of a movie premiere, and it seems impossible that our victim was killed in the midst of a full theater.
I am really enjoying this cozy mystery series. It is the perfect amount of cozy but still enough high stakes and suspense to keep me interested. Annie, Hal, Fletcher, Pri and Liam are all becoming more interesting as we learn more about them and their dynamics with one another. I am looking forward to continuing this series.

Thanks to Storm Publishing for supplying this free copy for my honest review.

I enjoy Ellie Alexander’s books even if they are all the same trope over and over again. They are just good zoning out east reads everytime.

This was really good and a very solid installment in this new series by Ellie Alexander, whom I absolutely love.

The Secret Bookcase is hosting a movie festival when a famous film critic ends up dead and Annie investigates.

This has a lot of lovely touches - a lot of Hitchcock talk, but also Agatha Christie (as per) and one of the secondary characters is queer and has a few dates, which is always so nice to see. Annie also has an unexpected crush in this book which I didn't see coming but which will be very nice to explore. I thought the first book was a lot cosier with absolutely gorgeous details about the bookshop and Hal, the Luddite who owns the shop, but this was good read and I'm so excited about the third book!

My endlesst thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC.

A Murder at the Movies is a great cosy mystery read.

Annie is hosting Redwood Groves first film festival and the town is buzzing with excitement.
With the stars in town there is drama and murder.
Dr Caldwell investigates with help from Annie to try and identify the killer.

I really enjoyed this cosy mystery and look forward to the next book.
Annie’s adventures are sure to become a favourite for cosy mystery enthusiasts.

Thank you Ellie Alexander, Storm Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC!

Annie returns for her next crime solving adventures. This time it involves movie people.
The book follows on from the first, but you do not have to have read book one to enjoy this book or follow Annie's story.
A nice easy enjoyabe read.

A Murder at the Movies by Ellie Alexander is book 2 in the Secret Bookcase series. It is published on 19 June. Thank you to Netgalley, Storm Publishing and the author for the advance review copy. Annie Murray works at a bookshop in Redwood Grove, California. Hal Christie, her boss, is a gentle soul, and Fletcher is a colleague, another great character who loves and knows everything about Sherlock Holmes. Annie gets a call out of the blue aking her help co-ordinate a film premier weekend in her town. It is fascinating all the egos of those attending the film premier, some so pretentious. Not only that, but all the bickering. Through all this Annie, Fletcher and Hal try to help keep the peace. Until there is a murder during the film premiere. Dr Caldwell is the detective in charge and a professor from Annie’s college days when she did criminology. It is certainly interesting to follow the evidence with both of them. An enjoyable read.

Months after bookseller Annie Murray’s successful mystery-themed book festival, she organizes Redwood Grove’s first film festival, the premiere of a Hitchcock-inspired thriller. On the evening of the much-anticipated event, tragedy strikes when a prominent film critic falls to his death from the theatre balcony to the seats below. At first, it appears to be an accident, but after Annie begins investigating on her own, she isn’t so sure.
The film's cast and crew, who were attending the event, appeared to be hiding something and were reluctant to speak. The lead actress in the film was desperately trying to hide her past. A past that appeared to be linked to the dead film critic.
Annie, driven by her insatiable curiosity, is now thrust into the heart of another mystery. But as she races against time to unmask the killer, she finds her own life teetering on the edge of a precipice. She must rely on the help of others, as they navigate a treacherous web of deceit, to find the killer and save the film festival.
Another fantastic, edge-of-the-seat cozy from an exceptional author.

Another great cozy mystery. I don’t normally read two books in a series back to back, but both of these books from the #asecretbookcasemystery are being published on June 19 so I figured, why not? Andrea I’m so glad I did. Everything I enjoyed from the first book, the quirky characters, the rich background, the ideal bookstore, were all back and still as enjoyable as ever. The thing I wanted to see improve (the character of the love interest) absolutely improved! I now find myself rooting for Annie and Liam. I can’t wait to see what happens next! 5⭐️

Well, what can I say?!?

As soon as I saw Ellie had added book 2 of this series to Netgalley I jumped out of bed (it was like 4:30 am) and requested it.

I checked my email every half hour until the email arrived that I was approved.

I saw the approval email and was so excited.

As the book starts, I figured out who the victim would be. I was confident. I was WRONG.

Then, as I read further, several characters easily could have been the killer.

The actual killer was pretty low on my list until closer to the end.

Now, in both book 1 & this one, I really felt like Liam was going to be a bad guy 😂

We also get a very significant clue to Scarlet and her murder at the very end, so I’m hoping book 3 gets here quick!

Thank you Ellie, NetGalley & Storm Publishing. You have a hit series on your shelf!

Books 1 & 2 release on 6/19/2024

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of A MURDER AT THE MOVIES (Book 2 of the Secret Bookcase Mystery series) by Ellie Alexander in exchange for an honest review. The success of the book festival brings another business opportunity to town. The director of a new independent horror film contacts Annie to request her assistance in planning the movie’s release in Redwood Grove and other “film fest” type events. When the Hollywood types arrive for the release party, they bring more drama than just that in the film. A highly influential movie critic is murdered during the showing, and the director is arrested. However, that answer is too easy, so the detective in charge, once again, asks Annie to assist her in identifying the killer.

I liked the book and look forward to the next in the series. I am a fan of Ellie Alexander’s other series and am excited for the new books. I recommend this book to fans of Ellie Alexander and to fans of cozy murder mysteries featuring small towns, town events, struggling small businesses, destination murder, and boutique bookstores.

#AMurderattheMovies #NetGalley

An excellent follow on to the first book, A Body in the Bookstore. At the end of book 1 Annie is approached to put on a movie premiere and festival. Well, that time has arrived and Hollywood descends on Redwood Grove. The first evening consists of a dinner party and its clear from the get-go that tensions are running high and not everyone gets along. At the screening the next day, one of the evening's guests is murdered and there's no shortage of suspects. Dr Caldwell (Annie's college criminology professor) is again the detective on the case and enlists Annie's help. I'm really enjoying this series so far. It's a fun, quirky little town with lovely characters. It's also nice to see the various relationships and friendships develop, including the one between Annie and Liam. And there's an interesting development at the end of this book that means I'll definitely read the next one! No, its not a cliffhanger (which is something I hate), just something to move the story of Scarlet's case forward!
Thanks to Netgalley, Storm Publishing and Ellie Alexander for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Ellie Alexander for this ARC.

Wow! I really enjoyed the 1st book in this series but in my opinion, this 2nd one is better. I'm not sure if it is because now I knew the characters or what, but this one was a little more difficult to put down.

In this book, Annie is organizing a film festival and is in charge with setting up a showing for a premiere of a movie. The premiere's guests are some interesting characters and they are all murder suspects when one of the guests falls to their death. I won't say who the victim is but it wasn't a surprise but in a way, I thought it was going to be one of the other guests. As for who the murderer was, I didn't guess it until towards the end of the book. I think the writer wrote it so that we could all guess at the same time.

There wasn't much investigating at least not in the way that I'm used to. It seemed like clues would present themselves to Annie instead of her seeking these opportunities. She had her suspicions but it didn't feel like she was actively investigating. But then that could be because Annie does have a criminology background so it just comes natural for her.

Let's talk characters, i am enjoying to get to know Annie and her friends more. I am enjoying watching Annie and Liam's friendship grow. Yes, they seem to be frenemies but you can see the spark between them.. Pia and Double Americano also have developed a friendship and I'm loving it. Dr. Caldwell is back on the case and it feels like she is still mentoring Annie and encouraging her to get back into criminology. I do wish there was more of Fletcher and Hal, I would like to get to know them more and for Fletcher to become more involved with the mystery solving. He is such a fun character.

Annie is still thinking about Scarlet's murder in this book and it is obvious that this mystery will continue for awhile. I would love to have a book only on Scarlet and her murder, it would be great to really get to know her. These little bits and pieces are great but a whole book would really be amazing. She has made an impact on Annie's life and the path that Annie took, working in a bookstore instead of crime. But then she is solving crimes and still loving her job at the bookstore so she has the best of both worlds..

I do believe that I this series has drawn me in and I will continue to read it especially since the Scarlet mystery has my attention. I highly recommend this series to cozy mystery readers. The mystery and characters will draw you into their world.

#AMurderattheMovies #NetGalley is the second book in this fun, light cozy mystery by Ellie Alexander.
Annie is a delightful character, she's devoted to her job and her friends, and is excited to have another event in her small town.
The Hollywood stars come with a lot of drama, and when a death shakes up a movie premier, Annie helps to uncover the clues.
I like this series because it's fresh and new. In typical cozies, the police don't like amateur sleuths, but since Annie has a connection to the detective, her assistance is appreciated.
I also love the relationship between Liam and Annie, the author is creating a very real relationship which makes it a joy to read.
I'm looking forward to reading more in this new series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.