The Body in the Bookstore by Ellie Alexander - Book Review

Series: A Secret Bookcase Mystery #1

Publication Date: 19th June 2024 

Genre: Small Town Cozy Mystery 

3.5 stars 

One Liner: Decent series starter 

Annie Murray has made the Secret Bookcase her home for the last eight years. Located in a small town in Northern California, the independent bookstore is struggling to attract enough customers. A chance comment sparks an idea in Annie’s mind. She plans an elaborate Mystery Festival weekend to bring people to her town. This is supposed to help every small business in the town. 

The event starts on a high but Annie is shocked to find a dead body hidden behind the bookshelves in the Secret Bookcase bookstore. Annie knows the victim too! When her professor in criminology arrives as the detective on the case, Annie becomes a part of the investigation. She is back doing what she does best. But can Annie find the killer before it is too late? 

The story comes in Annie’s first-person POV. 

My Thoughts: 

A new cozy mystery series for me to try! 

The opening is quite a hook. It starts with the overarching mystery and provides us an insight into the main character’s past. Her being a student of criminology certainly helps the arc. 

There is some repetition, but it helps understand how much the past weighs on the MC’s mind and how it changed her life drastically. 

The setting is beautiful. I love how cozy small towns are (at least in books). The descriptions of the bookstore make me want to go there. Such a lovely place! 

The side characters like Priya, Fletcher, and Hal are also well-etched. Though we don’t get a lot of information about them, there’s enough to imagine their roles in the story. Dr. Caldwell is also likely to be a recurring character. She could be interesting. 

The list of suspects is decent, making it an engaging read to guess who the killer could be. I did guess who it was but not the reason. It makes sense, though I wish we had more detail about the relevant events. 

The investigation could have been stronger. It’s mostly done through conversations where people reveal details without persuasion. Though it makes a little sense given how everyone in the town has a good opinion of Annie, it doesn’t really show us her skills as a criminology student. Mentioning spreadsheets is not enough. She needs to do more brain work. Since this is the first book in the series, I have hopes for some improvements. 

There’s a possibility of a love track with a guy. I know it is bound to happen. Just not sure if the transition will be seamless based on how things are now. I hope it works out well. Let’s see. As long as we don’t have any triangles to make it even more messy! 

To summarize, The Body in the Bookstore is a decent start to a new cozy mystery series. While it is not great, it has the potential to become better. I have a copy of book #2, so reading it right away. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Storm Publishing, for eARC. 

#NetGalley  #TheBodyInTheBookstore