On the heels of her success coordinating a town-wide mystery festival, bookseller Annie Murray gets a call from Hollywood. Word of the festival quickly traveled south to independent film director Heather Hathaway, who is searching for a venue to debut her Alfred Hitchcock-esque movie, Midnight Alibi. Annie eagerly gets to work, once again enlisting the support and involvement of all of the businesses in Redwood Grove. When Heather and the rest of the cast and producers arrive in town, the culture clash is significant. There is an underlying current of hostility that gives Annie a sinking, sickly feeling. Excited ticket holders fill the seats of the town’s historic theater to view the film’s world premiere. But a body falling from the balcony to the aisle below stops the screening short and sets another murder investigation in motion.

A Murder at the Movies is the second book in veteran cozy mystery writer Ellie Alexander‘s Secret Bookcase series from Storm Publishing. She expertly immerses readers in the idyllic small town and lures us into a captivating story. Readers also get a few more pieces of the puzzle surrounding the murder of Annie’s best friend, a long-game plot point introduced in book one, The Body in the Bookstore. This new series is off to a stellar start, and I have high hopes for Ellie Alexander’s storytelling in books to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.