A review by hdabru
The Body in the Bookstore by Ellie Alexander

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I struggled to get into this book. I eventually found the characters, the setting, and the mystery festival to be a compelling backdrop to the murder mystery. I also thought the list of suspects believable and compelling. But I kept expecting more and dealing with disappointment. I really thought the low stakes climax, in which it didn’t matter what Annie discovered at all, was a red herring and we’d find out that someone else did it and they had the wrong person and murderer chases her down just when she realizes they were wrong and… and… but no. Plus a few things that seemed to be set ups for later didn’t end up going anywhere. I also found the back and forth between Annie and the potential love interest to be juvenile and honestly not cute. More like a “he’s yanking on your pigtails because he likes you” situation, which was ick. 
The writing was also really clunky and felt like it was written for a teenage audience. 
So, three stars for the concept. Two stars deducted for execution.