A Death in the Dark by Ellie Alexander Series: Novel Detectives Mystery #2
Published by Storm Publishing on April 21, 2026
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 279
Format: eBook
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An assistant athletics coach is found murdered at Redwood Grove High School and all evidence points one way—but the Novel Detectives are about to face their most puzzling case yet.
When beloved local teacher and track coach Josh Bynum stumbles into the Secret Bookcase distressed and with no memory of the previous night, Annie and Fletcher’s instincts tell them something doesn’t add up.
As the duo delve deeper into the tight-knit world of high school athletics, they uncover a web of secrets. Between ambitious parents, suspicious fundraising activities, and a star athlete with a lot to lose, everyone has something to hide.
Annie and Fletcher will need all their investigative skills and the support of their Redwood Grove friends if they’re to solve this mystery. Has Josh been set up? And what if there’s a clever killer somewhere in their beloved hometown, who might decide to target them next?
This is the second in the Novel Detectives series, which is a spin off of another series, but I think it be easily read as a stand alone. Annie and Fletcher run both a bookstore and a detective agency. Thankfully, they have solid employees at the store, so can take the time they need for their investigations. This time around they are in the office early, when running coach from the local high school arrives, covered in blood, with no memory of the night before. He wants their help figuring out what happened. Of course, it’s not long till they find a dead body and start to wonder if their client is a murderer.
Our mystery centers around the high school and the track team. We have a couple of solid suspects and Annie gets to use some of their new techy purchases to gather clues. It’s pretty easy to guess the killer though.
As always, I love Annie and Fletcher. They’ve been friends for a long time and it comes through in how well they split tasks and can communicate with just a look or nod. They both have hobbies and love interests and they’re nice people to spend time with. I appreciated that Liam, Annie’s boyfriend, took a bit of a backseat this time around – he can annoy me.
While the main mystery is self-contained there is an over-arching one that fits the theme well, but a) I’m not a fan of over-arching plotlines and b) it seems unlikely. That’s a minor quibble though, and I will definitely read the next in the series.
About Ellie Alexander
Cozy mystery author, Ellie Alexander, is a Pacific Northwest native who spends ample time testing a multitude of pastry and other recipes in her home kitchen or at one of the many famed coffeehouses nearby. When she’s not coated in flour, or hard at work on the next book in one of her cozy mystery series, you’ll find her outside exploring hiking trails trying to burn off calories consumed in the name of research.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges: