In the latest Secret Bookcase Mystery novel, readers return to Redwood Grove where Annie Murray is ready for the Valentine Day’s plans she has in store when a pillar of the community winds up dead in the bookshop. As Annie helps the police solve the mystery and explore the list of suspects, each with a plausible motive for the murder, she must also keep an eye on her investigation into her friend’s death a decade ago. With time running out on the latest investigation, Annie must solve the crime and find the killer before she ends up on a date with them! Another fantastic novel in this entertaining book-themed cozy mystery series, readers will love the new exploits, investigations, and adventures that Annie finds herself caught up in, and while the number of murders in this town is concerning, readers should definitely keep up with this holiday-murder mystery series. In unfolding new details about Annie’s friend’s death alongside this new and entertaining mystery, readers will love the community and character development that Alexander adds in this latest installment, and the brilliance of this complex mystery will really immerse readers in this brilliant and entertaining story from a fantastic mystery series.

This was my 1st Ellie Alexander book. I probably shouldn't have started with book 5 in a series. I did enjoy this cozy Valentine's mystery with Annie and friends trying to find out who would have murdered a loved pillar of their community.

I would first like to thank NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC.

Annie Murray with help of Hal and Fletcher get ready for Valentine’s Day, by hosting a matchmaking event at the Secret Bookcase. To Annie’s dismay, George, a stalwart member of the community, is found at the bookstore, as a corpse. As the weekend of matchmaking continues, Annie embarks upon a journey to uncover the mystery of who killed George? Is this in any way linked to the death of Annie’s close friend 10 years back?

Though this is Ellie Alexander’s 5th book in the series, I was new to her work and found it fulfilling my requirements of a perfectly cozy read. The plot was crisp, and the pace was appropriate for the genre.

I hope to read more of Ellie Alexander’s work!

I liked this book better than the earlier books in the series. I found some of it to be annoying, especially that you never get all the answers at the end but otherwise it’s a good story. #AVictimatValentines #NetGalley

This is a commen review for Death at the Dinner Party, A Holiday Homicide, A Victim at Valentine's
I'm loving this series and hope there will be more instalments as it's well written, the characters are likeable, the solid mysteries keep me guessing.
Well done, very entertaining
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series so far. I like the continuous and developing thread that runs through the books and also the new characters and context for each plot. I particularly enjoyed this book. I found the characters interesting and colourful. The development of the Secret Bookship to include private investigators is a natural progression. I am constantly intrigued to find how more plots can be worked from within this bookshop and its characters. I find the descriptions clear and colourful and have my own picture of what this small town and bookshop look like. Highly recommend.

Enjoyable cozy mystery set in a small American town. I felt this did ramble on quite a bit though.

You may enjoy this more if you have read the previous books in the series.

I have enjoyed all of the books in the Secret Bookcase series written by Ellie Alexander. Books about bookshops and murder just grab my attention and I’m ready to get lost in the pages! The characters are well developed and you will come to love Annie and the rest of the gang in Redwood Grove. A murder mystery while the bookshop is hosting a Valentine’s Day matching making event will grab your attention and have you flipping through the pages quickly. Lots of twist and turns and clues that will have you wondering who is guilty of murder. And then you get a shock at the end when new information is revealed about the death of Annie’s best friend, Scarlet. You will gasp out loud! I am, however, sad to know that there will only be one more book in this series. So I strongly encourage you to go back to the first book in the series and read them all while we anxiously await the release of the final book. I can’t wait to see what the gang at the Secret Bookcase will get into next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Adult
Contemporary
Cozy Mystery
Mystery

I picked up A Victim at Valentine’s only to realise that the book is a part of the A Secret Bookcase Mystery series — a whodunit in small town in a bookshop/bakery with Valentine’s Day as a backdrop seemed like the perfect light read for the weekend.

Unfortunately, it didn’t deliver for me. The mystery felt underwhelming — no tension, no build-up, and the reveal at the end didn’t provide that emotional closure I was hoping for. The plot moves along quietly and that is it. Without urgency and high-stakes.

As someone who is new to the series, I found it a bit difficult to engage with Annie, the protagonist. I guess I was missing out on long established character traits, inside jokes, character arcs that only fans of the series would know and appreciate.

The author, Ellie Alexander has a knack though of creating and writing in an easy manner. The comforts of small town relations and their preference and conversations around food… for a first time reader, it can get a bit on the nose after a while.

If you are a beloved fan of the series, then you will enjoy the familiarity of all, but if you are like me, I would suggest that you start from the first book in the series, perhaps a better introduction to the beloved character of Annie.

This is the fifth book in the Secret Bookcase Mysteries series. It was an enjoyable read, that's great for when you want something light but still entertaining. The predictable nature of a cozy mystery like this one is just perfect sometimes.

The mystery itself was well thought out, the characters were likable, and the setting was really quite charming. If you're looking for a quick read with some Valentine's Day fun, this book is a good choice.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is a cozy mystery set around Valentine’s Day. While it was a quick and fun read. If you love short mysteries, themed reading, and cozy detailed scene descriptions, you may enjoy this book.

I wasn’t able to find much personality within the main character to build a connection. The final reveal felt like there was not much build up nor investigating by Annie. I enjoyed the concept of the book and feel the potential is there. Overall, I did not enjoy the execution.

Thank you for the early copy obtained through NetGalley in return for this review.

I really enjoyed this book up until the ending. The idea of speed dating and matchmaking was so interesting, and Alexander did an excellent job setting up the bookstore for the event. It truly felt like a cozy Valentines! The mystery itself was also full of twists and turns. I couldn't guess whodunnit and loved all the red herrings Alexander wove into the story. Unfortunately, I felt like the ending was ruined because of being completely overshadowed by Scarlet's mystery. I wish that this mystery had taken precedent in the end because it really was interesting! Instead, the solution was tied up in a rushed conversation with the killer and the mystery closed.

Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a supremely binge-able series and I can’t believe this is nearing the end of this series 😭 I know it can’t go on forever, but when you find a cozy mystery series that has been consistently solid, you just want there to be more!!

Thank goodness we’re finally truly getting somewhere on Scarlet’s death. I was starting to get a little frustrated honestly and this brought me back to loving that aspect of this story.

Of course, I enjoyed the Valentine’s matchmaking themed event and I so with I had a bookstore like this near where I live!

This was a cute cozy mystery. Located in a small quaint town in California, a matchmaking event is taking place at a local bookstore during Valentine’s weekend. Unfortunately, the death of George, one of the town’s biggest benefactors and investors, puts everyone in a frenzy! There were so many outgoing characters that were in close relation with George that kept me wondering who the suspect was. It was the last person I suspected, which I messed up giving the person I least suspected the benefit of the doubt 🤣.

In this book, we almost got 2 suspects for 2 different cases! While one mystery was solved, the second ongoing case received a promising lead getting a few steps closer to being solved. I go into almost every book I read blindly, and realized about 30% in that this was book 5 of a 6 part series 😂. Luckily, the author’s writing style vividly painted a picture for me to get a good little backstory of what happened with the ongoing case. This was my first book by this authors and I look forward to reading more, specifically the other books in this series!

In A Victim at Valentine's, Ellie Alexander brings readers back to the cozy town of Redwood Grove for a Valentine’s Day mystery filled with twists, secrets, and plenty of heart. When a well-loved member of the community is found dead at Annie Murray’s Agatha Christie-inspired bookshop, the town is rocked to its core. Annie, ever the detective at heart, teams up with the lead investigator to help crack the case, uncovering a web of motives that points to a colorful cast of suspects.

From a quirky psychic to a professional matchmaker, to a rival bookseller with a grudge, each suspect offers a plausible—and worrying—motive. As Annie digs deeper, she begins to wonder if the murder is connected to a decade-old tragedy: the death of her best friend, Scarlett, which still haunts her to this day. Putting her own Valentine’s Day plans with her charming love interest, Liam, on the back burner, Annie must find the killer before she ends up as the next victim.

Alexander's writing shines as she perfectly captures the atmospheric charm of Redwood Grove, making it a perfect setting for a Valentine’s Day mystery. The Secret Bookcase is decked out with paper hearts, blind-date-with-a-book packages, and the promise of a matchmaking weekend, but the murder of a beloved town figure quickly turns the festivities into a deadly game.

As Annie works through the case, I couldn’t help but feel on edge, trying to piece together the puzzle alongside her. The suspense is palpable, and I found myself second-guessing every suspect. What truly stands out in this installment is how Annie's pursuit of justice for Scarlett ties into the current case, providing a deeply emotional layer to the mystery. Annie gets closer and closer to the solution.

If you’ve been following the series, A Victim at Valentine's is a brilliant continuation that keeps you on the edge of your seat while tugging at your heartstrings. If you love a well-paced, cozy mystery with emotional depth, this is a must-read. I’m eagerly awaiting the next book to see how Annie’s journey unfolds!

Great series. Love Annie and all the characters and the setting in the bookstore.
Suspense . drama ,twists ,romance.
A fun series.
Voluntarily reviewed.

There are exciting plans for the bookshop for Valentine’s Day. Annie is fully engaged in making the romantic match up weekend a huge success. But when the guest of honour is murdered, things threaten to go way off plan. The doom ladened prediction of a psychic don’t make her feel very comforted but there might be something to the threats she perceives. And that threat might be in the clues that will solve the murder of her best friend. The only problem is Annie could very well be another victim.

I do enjoy this series with the great characters who have evolving relationships. The mysteries are always compelling but what I like best is Annie is an intelligent heroine. She was trained by the lead detective who calls upon her powers of observation to assist in solving murders. It is refreshing to have a plot that seems like it could happen. There is no sneaking behind backs. They are open and above board and it helps with the believability of the storyline.

Five purrs and two paws up.

A Victim at Valentine's is the nicely done fifth book in Ellie Alexander’s Secret Bookcase cozy mystery series. I’ve loved everything about this series from the start – the bookstore setting with the Agatha Christie overtones, main character Annie Murray, her coworkers Hal and Fletcher, her best friend Pri and Pri’s girlfriend Penny, her cat Professor Plum, her ex-professor Dr. Caldwell, and of course her relationship with Liam which has grown through the course of the books. Truthfully, I have not been as fond of the ongoing storyline of who killed Annie’s friend Scarlett but it does play an important part of who she is as a calendar and (thankfully) is winding up. The mystery is a good one – Annie finds what turns out to be a murder victim outside the bookstore and helps Dr. Caldwell solve the crime. There are plenty of suspects (there is a Valentine’s Day event going on at the bookstore), plenty of clues, a few red herrings, and some suspenseful moments. I really enjoyed reading this book and was sorry when my visit with Annie and friends ended.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

I love this series. Each book has its own unique mystery but there’s also a big underlying mystery throughout the whole series and I really like that part. I also really love watching Annie and Liam develop a relationship with each other. The world and the side characters actually play a role in the plot as well, which makes the story so much more fun. This is definitely making its way into my list a favorite mystery series!

Who murdered the popular and generous George during a Valentines event at The Secret Bookcase? Annje Murray is on the trail as she fulfills her dream to be both private eye and a bookshop owner (no, me neither). Apart from that this was a good read, although it might help if there was less alluding to another case from an earlier book in the series.