A Very Novel Murder by Ellie Alexander

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Annie Murray along with her friend and business partner Fletcher Hughes run the Secret Bookcase Book Store, but recently have added “private investigators” to their resumes.  Annie has already solved a number of mysteries in a private capacity. As The Novel Detectives, she and Fletcher are ready for their first paying client, who turns out to be an elderly woman who believes her neighbor Kelly was murdered.  The police, on the other hand, believe the woman was the victim of an accidental drowning in her bathtub.

If so, it would be most ironic as Kelly was an accomplished surfer, an up and coming star with a big endorsement on the horizon.  She also had a number of complicated relationships, including with her roommate, a creepy landlord, and another surfer.  The more they learn, the more Annie and Fletcher believe that Kelly’s death was no accident.

Ellie Alexander knows her way around a cozy mystery.  The Bakeshop Mystery series has run for over a decade, and she’s also the author of the Sloan Krause and Meg Reed Investigates series.  Her books feature relatable characters, interesting settings (the Secret Bookcase Bookstore is an homage to Agatha Christie, created by the original owner who believes he is Dame Agatha’s secret grandson), and entertaining plots.  I found this entry to be quite memorable—which, given the number of mysteries I read, says something.

The previous six book series, The Secret Bookcase Mysteries, followed Annie as she finally decided to look into the death of her college friend. Along the way over a six book series, she solved a number of unrelated mysteries and honed her detective skills with the encouragement of her former mentor, now chief of police.  You need not have read those books to enjoy this one, however.

And as with The Secret Bookcase, it appears that there is going to be an ongoing mystery that will appear as a subplot in this series.

The second book in the Novel Detectives series is A Death in the Dark.

Secret Bookcase series

The Body in the Bookstore

A Murder at the Movies

Death at the Dinner Party

A Holiday Homicide

A Victim at Valentine’s

A Body at the Book Fair