This is the second book in the series, and it is nice to revisit these characters and this delightful town and book shop. With the opening night for a film being held in town, a group of people connected to the movie are introduced to us. Martin the obnoxious reviewer ends up being murdered, and there are plenty of people who would benefit from his death. Although entertaining, there does seem to be an element of writing to a formula in these books, and even though I will seek out the next one, I do hope that there is a little more variation in the story. Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for a copy to read and freely review.

Annie and the group at the bookstore are now hosting a movie premiere after the success of their Mystery Fest. It’s touted as a Hitchcock-type horror film, but with more gore. The Hollywood group that come to town includes an obnoxious reviewer, rival directors, and a producer. During the premiere, a body falls from the balcony. Annie’s former professor of criminology, Dr. Caldwell, is the detective in town and enlists Annie’s help.
This is a fun cozy mystery with lots of suspects in a friendly town. I’m looking forward to the next story in this series. As always, I enjoy Ellie Alexander’s books.
Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

California, friends, friendship, amateur-sleuth, tv-film-industry, promotional-event, small-business, small-town, bookseller, local-law-enforcement, movies, unpleasant-suspect, cozy-mystery, publicity, publicity-hound, friction, grief, murder, investigation*****

I was disappointed in the first book in series (I love the author's other series), but this one proves the adage that books improve with each new in series. Annie Murray works in the Secret Bookcase Bookshop and had dropped out of college where she was a criminology student after an old friend was murdered and her grief became a PTSD nightmare. In this episode she is involved in the madness surrounding a film premier. There is more than one who looks good to be the victim, but the film critic is a real piece of work, so he does indeed get murdered and there is no shortage of suspects.
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Storm Publishing via NetGalley.

I was really looking forward to this book being the second in a new series but found it to be very disappointing. The plot premise was the Same as the first book:
• A new event for the town culminating in another obvious murder.
•The thoroughly unlikeable character is the one who ends up dead.
•Annie and Liam continue their same love/hate relationship. (How many books will have to be read before they get together?)
•Annie plays detective with her former professor again to solve the crime herself.
And finally the overuse of adjectives/adverbs to describe every little thing was too much. This was slow, boring and redundant - sadly, I won’t be reading another in this series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Ellie Alexander has done it again. Hooked me on another of her series. While I wasn't quite sure about Annie Murray when I began the first book, by the end of this second one I found myself genuinely liking her and the cast of regulars. We find out more about Annie's demons, so to speak, in this installment, why she didn't pursue a career in criminology, not to mention a very personal connection to her past. Pri, who emerged as Annie's closest female friend last book has her story fleshed out, too, though we don't learn too much more about the irritating but maddeningly attractive to Annie that is Liam Donovan. Maybe next book? I genuinely liked him as well as Hal, the owner of the bookshop that employs both Annie and Fletcher, the Sherlock Holmes buff, too.

As for the murder, well, there didn't seem to be many who grieved the death of arrogant movie critic Martin. On the other hand, the list of suspects for his shocking murder was long. The Hollywood contingent there for the premiere of their supposedly Hitchcock inspired movie all seem to have reasons to want him dead, some of them even voicing them. Annie tries to be the polite, efficient organizer of the event that she was but, well, her background in criminology pretty much guarantees she is driven to ask questions and try to make sense of it all, all the while encouraged by Detective Caldwell. As we learned last book, Caldwell was Annie's much respected criminology professor in college and Annie still calls her Dr. Caldwell, not detective. She's dangling a tempting opportunity in front of Annie. Will Annie leave the Secret Bookcase to accept it? To be honest, I suspect there's a workable compromise in there because, quite frankly, I not only like Annie's bookish self and this is the Secret Bookshelf series, but she seems, while highly competent as an investigator, to still be fragile from events in her past. I must admit, that's it's interesting to get a professorial look at the art of criminology, which Caldwell, ever the professor provides.

Bottom line, I am thoroughly enjoying this new series. Annie is sometimes a mess but, hey, aren't we all, and the circle of friends she's gathered is equally likable. As noted, I want to know more of Liam's back story, though seeing Pri's character being fleshed out was fun. Redwood Grove seems to be a lovely place, one we all wish we could visit in real life, and I'm curious to see where that vital clue that pops up at the end takes us next. It definitely got Annie's attention, that's for sure. Thanks #NetGalley and #StormPublishing for allowing me to continue to get to know Annie, Liam, Pri, and the town of Redwood Grove. I am looking forward with anticipation to my next visit.

Thank you so much Storm Publishing, NetGalley, and author Ellie Alexander for your fantastic second book in the Secret Bookcase series. I absolutely am in love with this little town and its quirky cast of characters. Annie and her friends from the Secret Bookcase Bookstore are asked to help with setting up a weekend premiere for a new movie. Of course, Annie will have to be in close contact with that handsome and infuriating bar owner Liam that always likes to make her a nervous wreck. When a particularly awful movie critic is killed at the opening night, Annie is asked by her old mentor—now head detective to help keep an eye on things. She quickly finds no one is quite what they appear and knowing too much could be detrimental to her own health.
I’m so happy to recommend this series and will be eagerly waiting for the next one to come out. I’m a huge fan of cozies set in bookstores or little towns etc and so definitely if you enjoy these as well grab your copy quick—you won’t regret it 🥰

Annie and the gang are back in the thick of things. I really love the characters. I loved following the clues to the murderer.The descriptions are always so vivid that I feel as though I’m in the book. It’s an awesome book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.