The Body in the Bookstore Review | A Cozy Mystery with Bookstore Charm

💫🎤 Book Spotlight: The Body in the Bookstore by Ellie Alexander

Genre: Cozy Mystery • Small-Town Mystery • Bookish Mystery • Amateur Sleuth

☕ Book Details & Rating

Format: Audiobook

Series: A Secret Bookcase Mystery #1

Year Published: 2024

Page Count: 274

Rating: ☕☕☕☕☕ (5 Coffees!)

🥤 Coffee Pairing: Cinnamon Vanilla Bookshop Latte

Warm, cozy, and comforting with just the right amount of spice. Think a creamy vanilla latte with a sprinkle of cinnamon and maybe a pastry on the side because… bookstore vibes.

It fits The Body in the Bookstore by Ellie Alexander perfectly. Cozy, inviting, and a little mysterious beneath the surface. It’s the kind of drink you sip slowly while trying to solve the mystery before the main character does.

About the Book

The Body in the Bookstore by Ellie Alexander introduces Annie Murray, a bookseller at a unique mystery-themed bookstore tucked inside a converted manor house. The store has become her safe place after the tragic loss of her best friend years earlier.

When a body is discovered during the town’s Mystery Fest, Annie is pulled into a real-life investigation. With her background in criminology and her lingering desire for answers about her friend’s death, she finds herself unable to stay on the sidelines.

Full of quirky characters, small-town charm, and a layered mystery, this cozy whodunit blends bookish vibes with amateur sleuthing as Annie searches for the truth—both past and present.

My Thoughts

I love a good cozy mystery, and Ellie Alexander never disappoints. I’m already sixteen books deep into The Bakeshop Mysteries, so I decided to try another one of her series with The Body in the Bookstore. Going into this new series, I had high hopes, and Ellie Alexander absolutely delivers.

Annie is a ray of sunshine, even while carrying the heavy guilt surrounding the death of her college best friend. She blames herself for what happened, and that murder still remains unsolved. One thing I love about cozy mystery series is that there are usually two mysteries unfolding: the case in the current book and an overarching mystery that runs through the entire series. I’m guessing her best friend’s murder is going to be that larger thread, and I’m already hooked.

What makes Annie especially fun as a main character is that she genuinely loves a good mystery, both in fiction and in real life. She majored in criminology in college but ended up working in a bookstore, where she creates a mystery-themed event for her small town complete with curated activities. It’s wildly successful… until some old college classmates show up. When one of them ends up dead, it quickly becomes clear that the others are all hiding something.

Of course, Annie can’t sit back and let the investigation unfold without getting involved. She feels responsible for this murder too, especially since it happens in the bookstore during one of her events. Her former college professor, who is now the lead investigator, actually asks Annie to help because of her criminology background, which makes her involvement feel natural instead of forced.

Alexander also does a fantastic job with character development. All of the supporting characters feel rich and layered, each with their own backstories and side plots that grow alongside Annie’s journey. It makes the world feel lived-in and gives you even more reasons to keep turning the pages beyond the mystery itself.

"Lately, I was starting to realize that one of the reasons I'd blocked the possibility of love was that it was too painful to imagine losing someone I cared about again. But where does that leave me? Alone." - Ellie Alexander, The Body in the Bookstore

That’s one of the reasons I love cozy mysteries so much. I never have to worry about language or spice, and while they’re quick reads, they’re still incredibly solid. Ellie Alexander really knocked it out of the park with this one, and I can already tell this series is going to be another favorite.

My Final Thoughts

The Body in the Bookstore by Ellie Alexander is everything I want in a cozy mystery: a bookish setting, a layered murder investigation, and a main character who feels perfectly built for the role of amateur sleuth. Annie’s criminology background and her natural curiosity make her involvement in the case feel believable, while the mystery surrounding her best friend’s death adds an emotional thread that makes me excited for the rest of the series.

As with most cozy mysteries, there’s no spice and no language that stood out, which makes it an easy, comforting read without sacrificing depth. The supporting cast is rich, the bookstore setting is absolutely perfect, and the dual-mystery setup has me fully invested. Ellie Alexander truly knocked it out of the park with this series opener, and I already know I’ll be continuing with book two.