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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A Body At The Book Fair is the sixth and final book in the Secret Bookcase Mystery series. Like each of the other books, there’s a separate mystery here plus the conclusion of a mystery that has spanned all six books. Because of that overarching plot, I’d recommend reading the series in order or at least reading the two before this one first.
Annie Murray has a criminology background but has been working at a mystery-themed bookstore in a small town in Northern California for several years. She has been trying to solve the case of the murder of her best friend, Scarlet, for the past ten years and we finally get to see her succeed.
I actually was more interested in the rest of the book. Annie and her co-worker Fletcher are attending a booksellers conference and a death takes place there, during a tech presentation in front of a large audience. There’s a lot of discussion about new book-related technologies (virtual reality and more) and an interesting (to me) discussion about book auctions where publishers vie for the opportunity to publish a particular book with a lot of buzz.
I’ve enjoyed all the main characters in this series: Annie, Fletcher (a Sherlock Holmes aficionado), Priya who runs a coffee shop, and Liam, who runs the local pub. Fletcher and Annie are getting ready to start their own private investigation business, Novel Detectives, and by the end of the book they have all the certifications required to do so. That would be in addition to their roles at the bookstore, apparently. Looks like there’s going to be a spin-off series!
Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A wonderful conclusion in The Secret Bookcase series!
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
This is the final installment of the Secret Bookcase Mysteries – although don’t worry, we’ll get a spin-off, The Novel Detectives series. This time around, Annie and Fletcher are in Santa Clara for a book fair and Liam and Pri are coming along too. It just so happens that the fair is near the company that Annie blames for her best friend, Scarlet’s, death, ten years ago, and Annie has a plan to get the evidence she needs. While we do get some background info on the cold case, this one probably works better if you’ve read others in the series. Of course, there’s also a murder at the book fair. One of the presenters is killed by his own VR device, and Annie is there when it happens.
The book fair sounds amazing and makes me want to go to a bookish event soon. The two mystery plot are balanced well. We have several suspects for the current murder – the dead man was not a nice guy or honest businessman. I didn’t really love how the solution to Scarlet’s case played out, but I’m glad it’s resolved. I’m not a huge fan of over-arching mysteries in my cozies.
The characters are fun to spend time with and it’s a light read. I’m looking forward to catching up with Annie and her crew again.
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
RTC
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A Body at the Book Fair by Ellie Alexander sees Annie and Fletcher attending a book fair and Liam and Pri joining them as part of the trip will be finally nailing Scarlet’s murderer. They have a plan. Then at the very first presentation the inventor of a virtual reality book reader is killed by his own device. Annie is a witness and hops to her feet to organize the situation before the police get there. As it happens the detective is a young woman, Detective Greene, who arrives and it appears they are kindred spirits and bond immediately. Now Annie has two deaths: Fox Andrews, the inventor, and Scarlet, the friend. The other people at the book fair are interesting and Annie and Fletcher soon mark several of them as suspects. They proceed from there. When the time comes for Annie to approach Logan Ashford for a job so she can get an employee badge so she can enter the building in her own time. That goes smoothly so she is able to go back to the book fair to both investigate and shop for the store.
Good characters all, it will be a good thing when Scarlet’s death is no longer hanging over Annie. She and Fletcher have gotten their investigators’ licenses and Novel Detectives is ready to roll. Liam is one character that is not fleshed out as much as I would like and while loyal, is underused. The mysteries, both of them, were well-thought-out and interesting. It’s so sad that in this world there are people so willing to take advantage of others. A lesson to be learned from fiction? Love this series. Great premise. Interesting people. Constant references to books. Couldn’t be better.
I was invited to read A Body at the Book Fair by Storm Publishing. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #StormPublishing #EllieAlexander #ABodyAtTheBookFair
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
3.5 Stars
One Liner: The finale…
Annie and Fletcher, the new co-owners of the Secret Bookcase and private investigators, attend the annual book fair in Santa Clara. Their plan is for Annie to finally solve the mystery behind her best friend, Scarlet’s, death all those years ago. However, Annie ends up becoming a part of another case when an industry colleague dies in front of an audience, and it is clearly a murder.
Can Annie, with help from her friends, solve both cases and come out alive?
The story comes in Annie’s first-person POV.
My Thoughts:
This is the concluding book in the series. While the first two chapters provide the necessary backstory to make this a standalone, I think readers might enjoy it more if they read at least the previous two books. That shouldn’t take long since these are short books and can be finished in a couple of hours or so.
Here, the main mystery is about the death at the annual book fair. The other is not a mystery since the FMC figured things out in the previous book. This is more of a confrontation/ conclusion part, but not without risks, of course.
Technological advancement is the central theme, focusing on the use of tech in the publishing and bookselling industry. Would you like a VR (virtual reality) device that ‘shows’ a book’s setting, characters, story, etc., or do you prefer to imagine it yourself? I fall into the latter category. While VR sounds fun, I don’t want technology to replace my imagination!
We also get some insight into the cut-throat world of publishing, like how stressful the auctions for popular authors’ manuscripts are, how not everything is ethically done, and so on.
There are some mentions of coffee and food, too. On that note, can anyone tell me what a progressive Indian restaurant is supposed to mean? I thought most Indian restaurants in the West don’t serve traditional dishes (even if they say they do) like we have them here (and anyone willing to try avocado raita? Not me!).
Anyhoo, the mystery is solved, and the overarching plot is also handled pretty easily. There’s a bit of danger, but since someone in the FMC’s team is actually sensible, everyone is safe and alive.
There’s a surprise for series readers at the end. Don’t miss the author’s note (it’s a short one anyway). If you enjoyed the books so far, you’ll be happy with the update.
To summarize, A Body at the Book Fair is the final book in the series and keeps the pacing, plotting, and character development aligned with the previous books. Since the series has been a steady 3.5 stars for me, I think it’s only fair to round up this time.
Thank you, NetGalley and Storm Publishing, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
#NetGalley #ABodyAtTheBookFair