The Body In The Bookstore by Ellie Alexander Series: A Secret Bookcase Mystery #1
Published by Storm Publishing on June 19, 2024
Genres: General Fiction / Mystery / Thriller / Amateur Sleuth / Cozy
Pages: 274
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley
Behind the shelves of The Secret Bookcase, where the sun slants through the windows onto rows of classic crime novels, a body lies...
Bookseller Annie Murray is thrilled when the mystery-themed book festival she sets up to revive the dwindling fortunes of her workplace and sanctuary seems poised for success. But events take a shocking turn when a body is discovered hidden behind the shelves, and it’s revealed that the victim is Annie's old college acquaintance.
Determined to ensure the festival’s success and save the small town of Redwood Grove from a killer, Annie begins piecing together clues with the help of her friends. But as the list of suspects grows longer – a local boutique-owner, an envious old classmate, a bitter ex-boyfriend – Annie is drawn deeper into the case.
With the aid of her old criminology professor-turned-detective, can Annie unmask the murderer before they turn her festival into a real-life whodunit?
Full of lovable, quirky characters and small-town charm, The Body in the Bookstore serves up an irresistible blend of intrigue for fans of cozy crime including Lauren Elliott, Merryn Allingham and M.C. Beaton.
My Review
I was so excited to receive this ARC from NetGalley that I was beside myself. Before getting into this review, I want to take a moment to thank NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and Ellie Alexander for a digital copy of The Body In The Bookstore in return for an honest review. I am so happy to say that I absolutely loved this book. Reader, tell me, have you read anything by this author? If you have, which book(s) did you read? I would be interested to know. I just have to say that I have loved getting lost in the little town of Redwood Grove, CA. Ellie Alexander has managed to create another destination that I need to see, fictional or otherwise. Oh, and I absolutely can not forget to mention that bookstore. I just can’t even. It sounds like a dream. I get it enough gushing already and get into what the book is about.
In this story, we are following Annie, a college graduate who lost her best friend days before they were set to graduate. Scarlet, her bestie, was murdered, and sadly, the murderer was never found. The super frustrating thing about it is that both of the girls went to school for Criminal Justice (I think), and Annie is not able to figure out who killed her friend even after all these years of searching. Annie never went into her degree field; instead, she ended up in a little town in CA as a bookseller/event coordinator. She works in the cutest little bookshop that specializes in mysteries and only mysteries. The owner, Hal, is super adorable and leaves the day-to-day stuff to Annie and Fletcher. Hal is convinced that he is the grandson of Agatha Christie and has many thoughts on how that is even possible. Fletcher is the other bookseller in the shop, and he is a Sherlock-obsessed individual who can tell you anything and everything about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He even does talks on the author and the beloved Sherlock series.
Sadly, the bookstore is in trouble when it comes to finances, and Annie, along with Fletcher, fears that Hal will close the store and sell it. This would be devastating not only for Hal and Fletcher but for Annie as well. In a way, Hal saved Annie after her friend died, and the store brought new life back into her. She loves the store, the people she works with, and what she does. She can not imagine the bookstore not being there anymore. Annie comes up with a wonderful idea one night and talks with Fletcher about it, and he agrees because it is worth a shot to save the store. They approach Hal about the idea, and needless to say, he loves it. Redwood Grove will be hosting its first-ever Mystery-Themed Festival, which will last over a weekend. Annie sets to work on getting the local businesses involved in her idea because this festival will be throughout the town. Each business will have something special in store for their customers (sleuths) having to do with the case they are solving and also just to get into the spirit of things. For example, the local restaurants will serve a dish that is author/story-themed, and the same goes for the local bars and coffee shops. The whole town gets involved, with the exception of one business whose owner is a man named Liam. Liam is the bane of Annie’s existence, or at least that is how she feels about him.
Things are going well with getting everything ready for the festival when it comes to creating the clues and the town’s involvement. The authors that Annie reached out to have all confirmed and will be doing signings, readings, and talks. People are beginning to arrive in the small town excited for the festival to start, which is a good thing for sure. Annie, however, is surprised to see three people she has not seen in years, people she thought she would never see again, some old college acquaintances. These people knew her during her college years and time with Scarlet. They are also aware of what happened to her friend. Their coming to town leaves Annie uncomfortable. She becomes even more uncomfortable when one of these acquaintances ends up dead in her bookstore. This gets her mind going on if the killer is the same person who killed her friend all those years ago. Are the murders related? Did they come for her? Are they only killing people from her graduating class? What is going on?
Ellie Alexander did a great job of including Annie’s past into her present (Scarlet’s death), making the reader not only want to know who killed the college acquaintance but also who killed Scarlet 10 years prior. The story was fast-paced and kept me interested and guessing the whole time. I know it is a murder mystery, but the coziness is also there. The friendships between Annie, Hal, Fletcher, Pri, and some others in town, not to mention the setting and all the book talk, transported me right into the story. I loved it, and I am excited to continue in the series. Seriously though, this was such a great cozy mystery and one I would absolutely recommend.
Trigger Warnings:
- Murder
- Blood
- Murdered Friend
- Unsolved Murder
- Excessive Drinking
- Lurking Around At Night Peeking In Windows
- Talk Of A Gambling Addiction