Title: A Victim at Valentine’s

Series: A Secret Bookcase Mystery

By:  Ellie Alexander

ISBN: 9781805087762 (ISBN10: 1805087762)

Website: https://www.elliealexander.co/

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra                   

Summary:

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 – before she ends up on a hot date with a killer. (Goodreads)

Review:

It never ceases to amaze me how entrenched in the lives of the residents of the small town of Redwood Grove I have become while reading the new series “A Secret Bookcase Mystery” by Ellie Alexander. Each book in the series advances the character development as well as provide the reader with a new murder mystery to solve in every story. Additionally, we get ever closer to having the main protagonist, Annie, get closer to the truth about her best friend Scarlet’s death… and who caused it… and maybe even why! 

Given the name of the book, A Victim at Valentine’s, one can surmise that there might be a “love” theme to this book, and there is ☺. Annie Murray (part owner of the Secret Bookcase bookshop) and the gang at the bookshop are partnering with a professional matchmaker (Storybook Romances) to provide a romance themed weekend. A weekend, I might add, that sounds like a lot of fun. Well, until George Richards (Redwood Grove’s largest benefactor), business advisor and potential investor of Storybook Romances ends up dead. With a murder to solve, Annie’s efforts to pursue the investigation into who murdered her best friend Scarlet are put on hold temporarily… or are they? Some interesting turn of events do push Annie ever closer to finding out who did murder Scarlet – and this puts Annie is some danger of her own.

As stated previously, the character development seems seamless from one book in the series to the next. Every story arc progresses and provides the reader with just the right amount of development while also leaving the reader wanting to learn more about each character…and the mystery surrounding Scarlet’s death.  We get to see Annie sift threw the clues and suspects to come to a conclusion as to who the murderer is. I did not definitively know who the culprit was until the end – which I have said before – is just the way I like my cozy mysteries.

In this book, we get the added bonus of watching Fletcher Hughes (Annie’s colleague and soon to be co-owner of the bookstore) pursue a new love interest. This surprised Annie -> seeing Fletcher flirt! And of course, Annie’s relationship with Liam is still progressing organically. Nice to see Annie having someone close to her that will look out after her and provide her with love and support as she still is working through the trauma of Scarlet’s death, even all these years later.

I love the cover art for this series but I must say, I especially liked this books cover art. I liked the fact that the crows, Jekyll and Hyde, are on the cover – as they do play a role in this book.

This fifth book in the “A Secret Bookcase Mystery” series is a true winner in my mind. It encompasses all that I hope a cozy mystery will be. A mystery to solve, many options as to “whodunit” and a clever amateur sleuth. Let’s not forget a great location (and a bookstore certainly is in my view ☺). I will anxiously await the next installment of the series.  So I suggest grabbing your beverage of choice, sit down in a comfy spot and set aside numerous hours (well – at least for me) to immerse yourself in a truly delightful cozy mystery by Ellie Alexander!

I cannot wait until the next installment of A Secret Bookcase Mystery is released!!!