The Body in the Bookstore - A Secret Bookcase Mystery #1

 

The Body in the Bookstore is the 1st Secret Bookcase shopfront cozy by Ellie Alexander. Released concurrently with the second book in the series on 19th June 2024 by Storm publishing, it's 262 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The second book in the series is also currently available on KU. A third series book is due out from the same publisher at the end of Sept. 2024.

This is a well written light cozy with a MC who runs a bookshop in a small tourist town destination. The background is well interwoven in the book, and it works as a standalone. When an acquaintance from her past winds up dead in her bookshop, Annie tries to solve the crime to save the bookshop and clear her name. It was an interesting choice to release the first two books simultaneously, but it would make a good binge/buddy read for that reason, and given the timing of the third book, it looks like the author/publisher might be on a semi-annual publishing schedule, which is nice.

The author is prolific and quite experienced, the plotting is fairly tight and it doesn't drag.  The book is very clean, with only a sprinkling of light cursing and nothing more objectionable in the book than off-page murder, and the requisite threatened violence in the denouement and solution.  Definitely safe for reading at work or on the bus.

Four stars, a fun light cozy mystery. The series will be a hit with fans of "Jessica Fletcher", Cleo Coyle, and Jenn McKinlay and other small town storefront cozies.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.