A Victim at Valentine’s is the latest Secret Bookcase Series and is number 4 in what I believe will be a 5 part series. I have enjoyed the previous books in this series and looked forward to this one. It did not disappoint! It had a fun premise of a matchmaking event at a bookstore that goes terribly wrong for at least a few of the people involved. There is an overarching story that goes through the series that is near completion and it was interesting to see that move forward and there was a murder at the event that had to be solved also. It was not hard to see who the murderer was or where the story was headed, but it was an enjoyable read and it was fun to see how the characters figured out who the killer was. I’m looking forward to the next book wrapping up the series and I’m hoping for a happy ending for some of my favorite characters!

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to review this book. All opinions are my own.

The bookstore is working with a matchmaking event in this book. Annie is dealing with the details on this venture because of the local philanthropist, George. He's invested in the business and wants to see how it all works. When George turns up dead, there are plenty of suspects and Annie and friends began their deductions. This is the fifth book in this series and it continues the Scarlett story, which is closer to being solved. The characters continue to evolve and grow. I love these characters and their stories.
I was given an advanced copy of this book in return for a review.

If I could slip inside one book this year and just make it my own little world, I think this might be it.

This perfect cozy mystery centers around a murder that occurs inside of an Agatha Christie-inspired bookshop.

Annie Murray, our FMC, current manager of the Secret Bookcase Shop, and reluctant assistant to local detectives, is one of my favorite literary characters. I want to hang with her and bestie Fletcher as they uncover mysteries that involve psychics, matchmakers and competitive bookstore owners.

I give this a 5 star rating because it moved so fluidly that I just couldn't put in down. No "one more chapter" was available- I just needed to keep reading!

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the chance to read and review this Valentines themed cozy mystery prior to it's release on Feb 10th 2025.

I loved returning to the charming town of Redwood Grove and the Secret Bookcase bookstore. In this instalment Annie is hosting a matchmaking event at the bookstore, but then a beloved pillar of the local community is found dead …

It was entertaining, full of twists and turns and I didn’t completely guess whodunnit until Annie did..
Overall, I'm thoroughly invested in this series and excited to see where the author takes these endearing characters next!

I highly recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends and I can’t wait for book 6 to come out!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Storm Publishing and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

A matchmaking weekend intertwined with a blind date with a book at the Secret Bookcase leads to the murder of Redwood Grove’s benefactor. George is found dead on the patio of the bookstore after being warned about his “dark aura” by a psychic the night before , and Annie investigates. An envelope is left anonymously for Annie with information about her best friend’s murder; will it finally lead to the discovery of the killer? Are the two related?

A Victim at Valentine’s by Ellie Alexander is the 5th novel in the series, but you could read this as a stand alone. As in all the books in the series, there is a murder mystery that is resolved by the end of the book. However, there is an overarching mystery concerning the murder of bookstore employee (soon to be part owner), Annie Murray.’s best friend.

This addition to the series may be my favorite. There was a lot of action and the story moved along quickly. Annie excels at staging events at her Agatha Christie inspired bookstore. This time, she partners with a matchmaker around Valentine’s Day. As always, the descriptions of the fictional Redwood Grove in Northern California and its residents are a large part of the charm of this series. When a new book comes out, it is like having a reunion with old friends. In A Victim at Valentine’s, the romance between Annie and Liam continues to grow, She is also getting closer to solving her friend’s murder. So this was a very satisfying read.

Annie Murray is embarking on her dream as co owner of the Secret bookshop and also of the soon to open Novel Detectives. She is preparing the bookshop for another holiday project themed around Valentine’s Day. George Richards, retired tech millionaire from Silicon Valley and the town’s largest benefactor, has a proposition for Annie. His plan is to combine the forthcoming valentines event with input from a matchmaking company who want to scale up their business. The event opens with a drinks evening as an ice breaker. Gertrude, new to the area after retiring, recognises someone at the event and hastily leaves without explanation and a psychic arrives and prophesies danger for George. The opening chapters lays the foundations for an intriguing valentine themed mystery but with love and romance not the top of everyone’s agenda.

The atmosphere in the bookshop and the buzz around the matchmaking event are nicely described. The central characters are well developed and it’s nice to see the strong relationships between Annie and the other core characters. The plot is well paced with a range of key suspects and various potential motives gradually exposed. There is also the ongoing subplot in the series relating to the murder some years earlier of Annie’s best friend, Scarlet. Each book in this series sees Annie make small advances in her investigations into Scarlet’s murder.

Overall an enjoyable cosy mystery, in a delightful setting with delightful characters and some good plot twists

#AVictimatValentines #NetGalley is another great addition to this new series by Ellie Alexander.
Love is in the air, but not everyone is feeling it.
Odd predictions, strange characters, and crows bring this delightful book together for the reader's enjoyment.
I love everything about these books, the author is a favorite, and I'm always happy to recommend her books.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

A Victim at Valentines by new to me author E. Alexander is book 5 in the A Secret Bookcase Mystery. A sweet story, beautifully written and beautifully thought out.

In the cozy town of Redwood Grove, Annie Murray’s Valentine’s Day plans take a sinister turn when a beloved pillar of the local community is found dead at her Agatha Christie-inspired bookshop.
As Annie assists the lead detective in unraveling the mystery, she quickly identifies a host of likely suspects – from an oddball psychic, to a professional matchmaker, to a rival bookseller – each with a worryingly plausible motive.
With her keen eye for detail, soon Annie suspects there may be connections to the decade-old tragedy of her best friend’s death, which still haunts her. Putting her own Valentine’s Day plans with the irresistible Liam on hold, Annie must solve the crime.

I was invited by the publisher to review this book. This is the fifth installment in a series, but I felt the author did an adequate job of the reader not needing to have read the previous books to be able to understand the flow of this one. I really enjoyed this read, it was the perfect cozy mystery and set during a different time of the year than I normally read cozy mysteries! Plus, I really did love this cover. The mystery was fun and accessible, and there were a host of secondary characters that I enjoyed in addition to the main protagonist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Love is in the air! So are the crows… lol. Another interesting event at the bookstore with lots of twists and turns. The ending was very interesting. I can’t wait for the next adventure. And more of the love connection!

This book was the perfect cozy mystery, set in a bookshop following a novice detective trying to uncover a recent death in her small town.

Going into this book I hadn’t read any other books in the series but that did not negatively impact my reading experience. Everything that needed to be wrapped up was wrapped up perfectly in this book and I will definitely be going back and reading the rest of the series.

A Victim at Valentine’s by Ellie Alexander is book 5 in the A Secret Bookcase series. It is published on 10 February 2025. Thank you to Storm Publishing, Netgalley and the author for the advance copy to review. This cozy series is set in Redwood Grove, in California, in a bookshop. Annie and Fletcher are managing it for the owner Hal who will soon retire. Annie and Fletcher have plans, and they will soon come to fruition. These books are a delight to read for the descriptions of how the store is decorated for the events alone, without the great characters and the story. The Secret Bookcase shop is hosting a matchmaking event combined with a scavenger hunt on Valentine’s Day. When a body is found, there are a few suspects. Annie is not only helping the police with this murder, but she is still investigating the murder of her best friend, Scarlet, around 10 years ago. She has just received some more paperwork which may give her more clues. This book is full of mystery, with just a touch of romance. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Annie Murray and her friends at the Secret Bookcase Bookshop are holding their first Valentine's event alongside the matchmaking company Storybook Romances. As the event gets started Annie is horrified to find a popular Redwood resident's body just outside her beloved bookstore. With no real idea why the victim died Annie finds plenty of suspects as well as worrying links to her friend Scarlet's death a decade earlier. As the danger increases can she save the bookstore's reputation as well as herself?

Book five in this brilliant series is the best yet and I thoroughly enjoyed it. All the main protagonists are once again determined to find the killer and it was fun reconnecting with them all. The author's notes state that there is only one more book in this series which is a shame. I will be sad to see it come to an end.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Storm Publishing, but the opinions expressed are my own. This is a fun series which is easy to recommend.

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

This is the 5th book in a Secret Bookcase series and loved it! I enjoy that every time I read a book from this series, I am getting a 2 for 1 mystery. There is the current mystery and there is the Scarlet's mystery. I so need to find out what happened to Scarlet! I need to know the whole story. Annie continues to get clues about her friend's murder and is getting closer to solving it. As for the current murder, it was interesting and kept me guessing. As always there are so many suspects and motives. It was upsetting to see who the victim was since he was someone that I liked. Heartbreaking. I did like the introduction of the crows in this story. Fletcher is doing a great job of training them, they may need their own series and they can start to solve murders.

I always say that this is a great series for anyone who loves cozy mysteries. I am hooked on it and can't wait for the next one. I also won't complain if we get a prequel with Annie and Scarlet. It would be great to see their friendship and really get to know Scarlet. Sad that Annie and Scarlet weren't able to solve crimes together.

What a fun adventure at the Bookstore in the redwoods! Yes, I know, murder
is not really supposed to be fun, but it is so interesting to the crew that I
would not want to minimize the entrainment value !
My thanks to Storm Publishing via NetGalley for the download
copy of this book for review purposes.

This book was delicious and the perfect book for Valentines Day. This focused mainly on the mysteries surrounding Annie and I wish there was a little romance in it between her and Liam but this was a cute short story with a wonderful ending. Can’t wait for the final book and wrap up the murder that’s been haunting Annie! I also want to befriend some crows.

Annie Murray is one of those characters that stays with me when I read. That's actually surprising as, quite frankly, I wasn't immediately particularly taken with her when I read the first book in the series. Too....everything. Too intense. Too guarded. Too emotional. Too closed off, determined to push others away. As the plot evolved, however, I can to understand why she was that way and see the caring, detail oriented person she was. Annie has opened herself up once again to the world, to the possibilities it offers, including love. I'm glad I stuck around, even if I was sad to see the selected victim this go-round., although he ultimately symbolized the possible results of poor choices and broken promises.

I won't detail the plot, which revolves not only around the current murder and a cold case, but lots and lots of pink and valentines. Aaliyah is in town promoting a showcase for her matchmaking service. Even if you roll your ideas of the thought, I have to admit to being rather impressed at how well thought it was, throwing potential love matches together under both calm and stressful activities after matching them via a meticulous application. I mean, "Which side of the bed do you prefer?" was basically one of the questions.

Yet, all isn't well. Gregarious senior George, who happens to be a multimillionaire, is suddenly ill at ease, even to the point of avoiding various characters who appear. One he'd like to have avoid is Elspeth, who says his aura is black and predicts death. Whoa. But, guess who comes up dead? While hardly a believer, Annie is shaken when she's the one to discover the body. What transpire afterward is both maddeningly confusing and meaningful. Trust me, it all makes sense at the end, even Fletcher's budding romance with Violet of the potentially competitive bookshop idea. Annie and Fletcher are about to debut their private detective agency, Novel Detectives, so she's suspicious and protective all at the same time. Best friend Pri pops in and is happily enjoying life with Penny but, hey, what's going on with her new employee? What was going on with them and George? And, oh, so much more. As usual, Alexander's books are crammed full of wonderful detail, from Valentine's Day decorations to the trail the group will follow toward the end, not to mention continuing to flesh out the already well-described characters. And, oh, you'll learn quite a bit about crows, too, which have a role to play.

The plot moved along nicely, allowing time to reflect on things like Valentine's Day and old, now gone friends. Annie remains obsessed with the tragic cold case murder of her friend Scarlet, a case that is smoothly worked into the whole here. There's also time to enjoy the building closeness of Annie and Liam Donovan, a man she couldn't tolerate in book one. Ah, love is never simple. So, i thoroughly enjoyed the setting, plot, and spending time with characters I've come to feel like I know. Well worth getting acquainted with Annie, who I'm betting will grow on you just as she did me. Thanks #StormPublishing for introducing me to her and allowing me this sneak peek into how her ever evolving life is going. Looking forward to seeing how her partnership with Fletcher evolves, not to mention what is next for Liam and her.