Read time: 4 minutes
📱📖 Read on Kindle
📃 248 pages ⏱ Duration: 3 hours
🏷️ Publisher: Storm Publishing
📚 ARC provided by NetGalley
Genre: cozy mystery
Book Blurb:
When wealthy recluse Bernadette Garst disappears from her grand estate in Redwood Grove, bookshop owner and amateur investigator Annie Murray is called in to help crack the case. Alongside her partner Fletcher, Annie uncovers a mansion full of tension — feuding relatives, secretive staff, and a household with plenty to hide. Things take a darker turn when Bernadette’s lawyer also vanishes, raising the stakes even higher. As Annie digs through the estate’s long-buried secrets, she races to solve the mystery before anyone else goes missing. It’s the Novel Detectives’ biggest case yet, perfect for fans of small-town cozy mysteries with bite.
Let’s talk … murder!!!
The Novel Detectives Mystery series and I hadn’t gotten off to a good start. Book one did not hook me, book two only loosened my grip a little, and by the time this one landed in my queue, I was ready to quietly bow out. Only loyalty to Ellie Alexander won, and this time, I am so glad it did.
This installment finally puts the mean on the bones of this cozy mystery series. Nothing here feels forced. The plot, the characters, and the mystery itself lands so well Annie and Fletcher are sent to investigate the disappearance of a recluse heiress from her sprawling family estate, and what unfolds is a genuinely well-built whodunit stacked with family secrets, rival heirs, and a house full of people who all see to be hiding something. The side characters have teeth, the pacing has purpose, and the crime is layered enough to keep you guessing till the end.
What struck me most is that this book finally brought back the charm from The Secret Bookcase Mystery series. By the final chapter, I was already anticipating the next book. There’s a small teaser tucked in near the end that has me building theories on the next story possibility, and if I am reading it right, the next chapter for Annie and Fletcher is going to be a good one.
Would I recommend it?
This is the book that turned me from a lukewarm follower of this series into someone actively counting counting down to to the next release. The mystery is sturdy with beautiful atmosphere, and the character work finally clicks in this one. This is the cozy mystery equivalent of a series finding its footing and sprinting.
If You Loved This, Try These Next
- Marla Cooper’s Terror in Taffeta — Another cozy mystery with a strong-willed amateur sleuth and a plot that leans into big personalities and bigger secrets.
Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy - Lauren Elliott’s Murder by the Book — A bookish detective, a small town, and slow-burn charm that mirrors the Novel Detectives vibe perfectly.
Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy - M.C. Beaton’s Death of a Gossip — For readers who loved the estate-and-secrets angle, this brings the same small-community intrigue with sharper edges.
Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | Litsy - Merryn Allingham’s Tremarnock Summer series — If the atmospheric setting was your favorite part, this delivers coastal charm with mystery undertones.
Indiebookstores.ca | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary - Ellery Adams’ A Killer Plot — Bookish sleuths, cozy small-town energy, and a series that rewards patience the same way this one did.
Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy
Secrets, Estates, and Heirs Behaving Badly
Big, sprawling family estates always seem to hide the juiciest secrets in cozy mysteries, and this one delivers. If you could inherit one fictional mansion from a book (murder mystery included, apparently), which one would you pick, and which suspicious relative would you keep the closest eye on? Drop your pick in the comments!
Book Links:
Want to purchase this or any of your favorite books while supporting a local bookstore? Consider purchasing using the sites below. These sites work with independent local bookstore owners to fulfill your book orders. #SupportLocal
- Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org
- Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Hardcover | Booktrovert
- Follow Ellie Alexander for the latest on the series
- Check out more books from Storm Publishing
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