Thank you NetGalley for this arc!
4.5 stars I adored this book the setting was so cozy I love how the mystery unraveled. In addition to enjoying the presence of all the side characters and references. I will definitely be checking out Ellie Alexander’s other novels.

This is the second book in Ellie Alexander’s newest series and one of only three books I managed to finish this month 😵‍💫

It answered a lot of the lingering background questions I had after reading the first one, developed each of the supporting characters a bit more, and set the stage for what I think will be a super fun series (A Victim in the Vines at the old Wentworth property, Foul Play at the Festival at the Harrogate Festival, etc. - I’m obviously not a writer😆).

My only bit of caution is around the Annie/Liam plot line. I’m not a fan of a love story that overshadows the mysteries in any way. This book felt like it was pushing it at times, but hopefully that was just to set up the relationship.

Thank you @netgalley for the #arc of this new series!

Book manager and event organizer Annie is working on the event that launches her town’s first ever film festival. An infamous book critic has his final breath during the screening of a thriller that has been inspired by Alfred Hitchcock. Annie once again decides to investigate and find out who the culprit is. It was nice to visit this Small Northern California town of Redwood Grove again and getting to know all the characters more. There are also some romantic storylines for Annie and Pri.

Once again the. Queen of the Cozy Mystery has written a fabulous book. So looking forward to reading more I. This series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the free book!

Annie Murray organizes a film festival as the second event in Redwood Grove. While it brings in a crowd, it also drives in a murderer.

As sure as Annie knows her name, she is also sure that the death of film critic has nothing to do with natural causes. Can she solve the murder, will she suffer a fatal review of her own?

The second entry in this new cozy series is even better than the first! Ellie Alexander is the queen of cozies. She brings lovable protagonist, a precious pet, fabulous supporting characters, red herrings, and a plot that keeps you guessing to the end. If you have never read a book by Ellie Alexander, you’re missing out.

5 stars
I love a cozy mystery, and one set in a bookstore is always going to be a yes for me. The premise sounded pretty darn intriguing - an independent horror film, opening weekend festivities happening in small town California, an accompanying murder - and I was not disappointed! The setting was super fun and I really enjoyed all the kooky characters that you can typically find in small towns clashing with the high faluting out-of-towner Hollywood types. (I live in a small town myself and can 100% attest to their authenticity. Lol.)

I have to be honest - I didn't realise until I started the book that it was the second in a series. I was a bit worried I might end up missing important things, but this story was pretty great even as a standalone. There was enough backstory given that I could figure out what had happened in the first book, but now that I've finished this one I definitely need to go back and read A Secret Bookcase Mystery #1!! Now to try and bide my time until book #3 comes out...

Thank you to NetGalley, Ellie Alexander, and Storm Publishing for this advanced digital readers copy. All opinions are my own.

Annie Murray is excited when she is asked to help organize a film festival and film premiere in Redwood Grove – it will bring much needed money to the town and the bookstore she works at. She quickly discovers that the movie world is completely different from the book world and soon she is once again using her background as a criminology student to solve yet another murder mystery. She needs to be careful though not to become the next victim.

“A Murder at the Movies” is the nicely done second book in Ellie Alexander’s A Secret Bookcase cozy mystery series. I like a lot about this series – the bookstore setting, Annie as a main character, her relationship with book store owner Hal, fellow bookstore worker Fletcher, her best friend Pri, former college professor Dr. Caldwell, and her prickly relationship with Liam (which is growing much less prickly!). If there is one thing that I don’t like about this series is the ongoing mystery of who killed Annie’s best friend Scarlett ten years ago – this is a bit of a downer and I’ll be glad when the mystery is solved and Annie can (hopefully) move on. The current day mystery is well done with just the right amount of suspects, plenty of twists and turns, and a few red herrings. I did figure out who the killer was but still enjoyed reading it as Annie came to the same conclusion that I did. All in all and enjoyable mystery.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

A Murder at the Movies, the second book in Alexander's new A Secret Bookcase mystery series, was a real treat to read. I enjoyed investigating with Annie as she tried to help figure out who could have done in a rather infamous movie critic. There's twists and turns, some interesting red herrings, danger, suspense, and maybe the beginning of a romance for our intrepid amateur sleuth.

If you like your mysteries on the cozy side and set in a small town, then you'll definitely enjoy reading this book.

Many thanks to the author, Storm Publishing, and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

A Murder at the Movies is the second book in Ellie Alexander’s new cozy mystery series set in the picturesque small town of Redwood Grove. Annie is a local bookseller and following the success of the mystery festival has been contacted by a movie producer to host a film premiere. Everything is going great until the guest from Hollywood begin to arrive and it’s clear that there are obvious tensions in the group. When the visiting film critic is found dead during the film premiere, it really puts a damper on the event as well as raises the question who has the most to gain from this.

I’m enjoying this new series and I’m really liking Annie as a main character. There’s more to Annie and the residents of Redwood Grove than meets the eye and we are slowly learning more about them especially Liam and his interest in Annie. Can’t wait for the third book in the series to be out later this year.


Thank you @ellie_alexander @netgalley and publishers for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback

The second in the Secret Bookcase Mystery series features a glamorous film premiere. After the successful Mystery Festival, the small Northern California town hosts a movie premiere sponsored by the bookstore. Annie meets a cast of eclectic characters, including a particularly unlikeable film critic who uses his power destructively. When there is an unfortunate incident at the premiere, the victim is unsurprising, but the numerous suspects make solving the crime problematic. Vibrant characters and a clever mystery make this an engaging story.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

A Murder at the Movies is the second book in Ellie Alexander's Annie Murray series. While I thoroughly enjoyed the first book The Body in the Bookstore, I found this second book rather predictable, I was pleased that it did contain the same likable characters as the first. I hope the third book resolves the slowly evolving relationship between Annie and Liam. All in all A Murder at the Movies is a satisfying Cozy novel, a quick and entertaining read. Thanks to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Ellie Alexander for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book, my review reflects my honest opinion. 3 stars.

A Murder at the Movies is the second book in the A Secret Bookcase Mystery Book series, and in my opinion, another fantastic hit. I can’t tell you how much I love this series! I completely devoured the book in just a couple of hours.

Annie Murphy, Criminology major turned bookseller, revitalized the beloved bookstore she works at with a Mystery-themed weekend for readers. She’s now been asked to help an Indie director bring Hollywood to Redwood Grove with a Hitchcock-inspired film for its movie premier. Annie and the town are excited to have another influx of tourists and movie and book fans for a weekend-long festival. But more than Hollywood glamour arrives with warring directors, an actress with secrets, the producer, and an egotistical movie critic who could make or break the director with nothing more than his pen. Murder strikes at the movie premier, and Annie is on the case to save the weekend and find the killer.

Cozy Mysteries are my favorite genre to read, and this series skyrocketed to one of my top favorite series of all time. This book includes all the aspects of Cozies that I love: small towns, close-knit communities, amateur sleuth, best friend, quirky characters, a beloved cat, a bookshop housed in an English manor-themed mansion, plenty of plot twists and red herrings, and an intricately planned mystery. Those aspects can be found in many Cozies, but the way the author, Ellie Alexander, writes is what makes this series so incredibly excellent.

I read the first two books in this series over the weekend, and I’m breathlessly waiting for the third book to be published in September!

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for allowing me to read the arc. I’m happy to leave my honest opinion of this exciting book!

The Body in the Bookstore & A Murder at the Movies by Ellie Alexander (ARC review)- both released on 19th June. @ellie_alexander @netgalley

To say I was pleasantly surprised by these two books would be an understatement. Even though I lean more towards the darker murder mysteries I thoroughly enjoyed both of these books and felt compelled to follow the story to the end.

These two books make up volumes 1 & 2 in a new series "A Secret Bookcase Mystery" by Ellie Alexander and if you enjoy cozy murder mysteries then these books will scratch an itch.

The series follows Annie Murray, a former criminology student now working in a bookstore, as she investigates two cases in Redwood Grove. Fortunately, Annie is a warm protagonist and the people she interacts with are equally as easy to like. While both books are whodunnits there is a strong emphasis on relationships with the side characters featuring heavily.

The mysteries are well written with plenty of intrigue and suspects to keep the momentum up. There is one overarching mystery storyline that will probably make up the backbone for the series but I'm not sure how long that can be drawn out for.

Both books fall to the usual cozy murder mysteries contrivances you come to expect (an amateur sleuth invited into the investigations because of historical ties, overactive imaginations, etc) but none are so great that they cannot be overlooked.

These books are homages to the murder mystery genre and accomplish that task admirably. The inspiration of Agatha Christie is worn on the sleeve and these books are fitting tributes. The mystery genre is continuously alluded to via Easter eggs and direct references. These books truly are love letters to the mystery genre.

If you enjoyed the Saturday afternoon murder mysteries, in particular Murder She Wrote, then you will enjoy these books. I haven't read any other Ellie Alexander books so I cannot attest to differences or similarities to her other books but these two books are worth reading.

Finally, there are some T-Shirts that many readers would love to have (e.g. "I closed my book to be here" and "Punctuation Saves Lives. Let's Eat Kids. Let's Eat, Kids).

A murder at the movies follows on from the end of the body in the bookstore, this time we follow Annie as she helps set up a movie preview in her small town following the success of mystery fest in the body in the bookstore.. A death at the premiere sees Annie don her sleuthing cap once again as she goes in search of answers and questions suspects. This is a cosy mystery full of small town charm with a great descriptive writing style that will have you wanting to visit the secret bookcase bookstore with one of Priya’s delicious coffee blends in hand. Eager to read book 3.

A Murder at the Movies is book #2 in the Secret Bookcase Mystery series by Ellie Alexander.

It was nice having the first two books of the series available the same day. I like meeting the characters and then not having to wait months to see them again.
Annie is asked to launch a Hitchcock film festival. Unfortunately, a death occurs and Annie is drawn to investigate. I really enjoyed the mystery and it kept me guessing until the end. I can’t wait for the next book!

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.

This is another great entry in the series. I like the premise of a murder occurring in an old movie theater during the showing of a thriller/murder mystery. The only issue I have is the same issue I have with Alexander’s Bakeshop Mysteries series: the mc has too much access to and influence over the lead detective. I look forward to reading the next installment.

After the success of their first book festival, Annie Murray and the Secret Bookcase store are asked to organise a film premiere for a Hitchcock inspired movie. Bringing Hollywood to Redwood Grove proves to be more challenging than expected, especially when a much hated film critic creates his own big scene in the opening sequence of the film.

Annie’s criminology degree is put to use by her old mentor, now the leading detective in the murder investigation. We get to know more about the main characters, with their backgrounds being fleshed out nicely. Hal and Fletcher, from the book store are people you would want to be friends with, and Priyas menu of delicious sounding drinks makes you want to go out and buy one. There are numerous suspects, red herrings and interesting stories. Izzy is quite the drama queen, Cora the plucky leading lady with a secret she is desperate to keep and the tension between Annie and Liam is developing nicely. An enjoyable read, well written and very satisfying. It’ll be interesting to see where this series goes next. Recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

'A Murder at the Movies' is a wonderful addition to Ellie Alexander's A Secret Bookcase Mystery series. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know more about each character and the tie-in to old movies was engaging. A murder takes place at a film festival and Annie and her crew are involved in solving it. There is much more about pub owner Liam and and I like the way the relationship is developing. The ending is surprising the end promises more great things to come for Annie in solving Scarlet's murder. I can't wait!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This is the second book in the Secret Bookcase mysteries series. Book One, The Body in the Bookstore, was published the same day. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for the opportunity to read & review both titles.

After the success of the book festival that occurred in Book one, Annie Murray, ex-criminology student, bookstore employee at the Secret Bookcase, is asked to host of movie premiere for an indy horror film in her small town of Redwood Grove. Annie agrees & it seems things are going well until a famous film critic plunges from the theater balcony to his death during the premiere. Annie & her friends are again drawn into the investigation.

What a delightful book! It continues the background stories & characters from the first book. We get to know about them & they develop a bit more. Annie's best friend, Pri, continues to delight and we learn a bit more about pub owner, Liam. The mystery and movie references in this one are lots of fun. The mystery is well plotted and an intriguing puzzle to solve. I so enjoyed my time w/Annie & her friends and look forward to more adventures from the Secret Bookcase crew.

Second in series.
Annie is planning another event for the town and bookshop but of course it doesn't go smoothly.
Good mystery,suspense,surprises,twists and slight romance.
Great characters especially Liam.
Voluntarily reviewed,

Each installment gets better and better. There was more than one mystery afoot!

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