It started out like every other day at the Secret Staircase Bookshop, until a man staggered in covered in blood...
Death in the Dark
A Novel Detectives Mystery Book 2
Ellie Alexander
Storm Publishing
Book two of A Novel Detectives Mystery series is a stand-alone cozy but it starts out like a noire mystery complete with a man who has no memory of the night before or why he would be covered in blood. Josh Bynaum, the local track team head coach and English teacher, comes stumbling into the office. Redwood Grove is a quiet and cozy town. The kind of cozy town with a mystery bookstore called The Secret Staircase that doubles as the office for The Novel Detectives, the professional and dynamic sleuthing duo of Annie Murray and Fletcher Hughes. Annie and Fletcher decide to take the case and in the process of retracing Josh’s footsteps, they discover the body of assistant track coach Rob Meyers.
Of course, the blood-caked client and the body drop grabbed my attention and teased me into reading more. Josh seems like the obvious choice for a person of interest, maybe even a suspect, but he isn’t the only one. There is plenty of suspicion to go around. Thankfully, the police are wise enough to utilize the talents of the Novel Detectives since there will be quite a bit of footwork to do for this case. There is a rival high school team’s coach, a very vocal and rich booster parent, the school administration and a few teachers. Is this a case of Occom’s Razor or is there a dark and sinister subplot. Okay not so dark or sinister, this is a cozy mystery after all. You can’t help but to keep turning pages as Annie and Fletcher follow the clues and ask the questions.
All of the characters are well crafted; the descriptions make it incredibly easy to picture all that takes place. I was even craving a spring chicken sandwich after reading about the lunch that Annie’s boyfriend Liam had made for her at the Stag Head pub. Fletcher Hughes is the quintessential (young) Sherlockian and I think it is very unique that he and Annie are such good friends. Dr. Caldwell, the local detective, was Annie’s criminal justice professor and mentor. Annie has an interesting back story so be sure to read the series starter, A Very Novel Murder. Even Professor Plum the furry feline character has quite the bit of character, as do Jekyll and Hyde the shop’s pseudo mascots who take up residence just outside the bookshop.
I look forward to catching up by reading the series starter and then checking out books three, A Murder at the Mansion.
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