Ellie Alexander delivers another charming and suspenseful tale with A Murder on the Mountain, a cozy mystery that effortlessly blends intrigue with comfort. Set against a picturesque mountain backdrop, the story invites readers into a world of murder, secrets, and unexpected twists—all while maintaining the warmth and familiarity fans of the genre crave.
The plot is engaging without being overwhelming, striking a perfect balance between mystery and atmosphere. Alexander’s storytelling is crisp and inviting, with characters that feel both relatable and just quirky enough to keep things interesting. As the clues unfold, so do the layers of the mountain community, revealing that not everything is as peaceful as it seems.
Ideal for curling up with a warm cup of coffee or settling into a favorite reading spot, A Murder on the Mountain is the kind of book that wraps you up like a blanket while keeping you guessing until the final pages. It’s a delightful addition to Ellie Alexander’s body of work and a must-read for cozy mystery lovers.

It all started four months ago with a lousy umbrella.

Mary Margaret Reed needs a job asap. She's been crashing at her bestie's Jill Pettygrove's couch. She meets Greg Dixon at a coffee shop, and he offers her a job at his magazine, Northwest Extreme. And since Meg knows nothing about extreme sports, she is perfect for the job. Meg will cover a very important and coveted race, where one of the contestants is murdered. Meg will push through the pain, cover the race, and find out many secrets that the show's contestants and producers are holding. Very deadly secrets!!!

It is always such fun to read an Elli Alexander book. I laughed, I stressed, I cheered for my FMC, and I was happy when all the tension ends up in a solved murder case. Except this one left us with a cliffhanger!!!!

I’d read this when it was called Scene of the Climb and thought the various little polishings the author gave the text were good and more in keeping with a more professional-sounding Meg. The story hadn’t changed and still gets the five stars I gave it when I first read it which was so long ago, I forgot who the killer was. I just love Gam’s character, she’s such a hoot sometimes! And how Meg was brave enough to try and land this job by pretending to be outdoorsy, well that's braver than I’d be!

I found this an overall enjoyable read, though I do wish it had been a bit shorter in parts. The author's passion for adventure sports, particularly hiking in the mountains around Portland, definitely comes through in the vivid descriptions—though at times, these sections felt a little extended. Similarly, while I understand the purpose of the flashbacks in building toward the ending and setting up a sequel, I felt they could have been more concise.

I did manage to guess the culprit, though not the motive. As is often the case with thrillers, the narrative leads you in one direction, only to reveal someone entirely different. All in all, it was a good and engaging read.

I really enjoyed all the books in this author's Secret Bookshelf Mystery series so I was very interested in starting this new series. We meet Meg Reed who manages to get herself a reporting job which involves extreme sports, despite the fact that she is not a sporty person and is afraid of heights. This was so unlikely that it put me off a little bit, but she manages to rise above all the problems that ensue.

The story begins well with a suicide - or is it murder? Meg begins to investigate and of course manages to get herself into some trouble. There is an interesting male friend who helps her and will presumably be the possible romantic interest in future books.

This was an interesting introduction to a new series and although it did not grab me completely I will look out for the next book to see how it goes.

"A Murder on the Mountain (Meg Reed Investigates #1)" by Ellie Alexander is the first book about Meg Reed and her slightly unqualified for job as an extreme sports journalist. Her boss at the magazine expects his staff to participate in the sports they write about. This particular article he's asked Meg to write is on a tv show about contests doing some of the most difficult climbing hikes across the United States of America. Kicker is that Meg has a fear of heights.

She does the hike but has a bit of a stumble near the top. While hanging on for herself another person goes flying off the trail and isn't as lucky as she is. Things seem like more than an accident and Meg ends up trying to dig up what she can to solve the case.

Meg has some eccentricities that make her a smidge annoying. Her thing about umbrellas for one. She hates umbrellas but has a plethora of coats. These coats are all over the entry way of her best friend's one bedroom apartment because Meg would rather crash on her bff's couch than live in her dead dad's place or her grandmother's place. It's okay to cramp her best friend's style but not her grandmother's. She also refuses to death with her grief over her father rather than have a more suitable place for herself to live. Oh, and her excuse not to be interested in her male bff is that his hair color is the same as her's. I can be picky about some things too but how she narrates these things in her head is like she doesn't realize these are just her preferences but the way things should be for everyone. Overall, an interesting story and there does seem to be some growing that Meg will do in future books.

An entertaining story. A young woman takes a job with an outside adventure magazine but ill equipped for what follows including murder. Quick easy read

Meg Reed has been couch surfing at her best friend Jill's while she searches for a job in journalism after graduating college. She manages to land a job from an encounter with the head of Northwest Extreme Magazine. She gets the job but she kind of embellished how much of an outdoors sports experience she has. She soon finds herself covering a reality show extreme sports cod trying to keep her boss from find out how much she lied about the extreme sports experience when one of the contestants is sent flying past her as she is trying to climb up a cliff. He wasn't very well liked but still she feels the need to find out who killed him.

The story then takes us through her trying to find clues while being warned off investigating by the Sheriff, her boss and an unknown person trying to scare her off. With the help of her friends Jill and Matt (who I believe wants to be more than her friend) help her track down the clues and try to survive the outdoors. This was an engaging story and a pretty good mystery. It was clear that this was the first in a series and along with the mysteries, there is also the question of what happened to Meg's late father. I would love to see her grandmother be more involved in the story, she is one of the most interesting characters, in my opinion. I also liked the fact that Meg is a budding journalist wanting to make her mark, even if she has to confront her biggest fear.... a fear of Hights, which I share with her.

I have read and loved the Secret Bookcase Mysteries. I look forward to seeing where this series takes us.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the chance to read this book and give my opinion.

Meg Reed wants to be an investigative reporter like her father, but she finishes college at a time when newspapers are closing their doors. Meg manages to land a job with an extreme sports magazine. This seems like a really bad idea. Meg is clumsy and she prefers to watch sports and nature activities not participate. But she is determined to keep this job.
The mystery is a good one. There are pieces of information that do not come together quickly and Meg’s assumption that she knows who is behind the murder gets her into trouble.
I’m not sure I like Meg very much. Her dogged determination to do what she wants and to investigate despite counsel not to get involved causes her injury and hurts people around her. I understand that Meg is coming from a place of hurt due to losing her father recently. And maybe it’s too much to expect that an early 20 something would take advice from anyone but herself.
I like the books enough to continue because the author promises there is a growth arc involved in the series.
The advice for outdoor activity planning was a good addition to the end of the book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read the book.

A Murder on the Mountain is an interesting story of a newly graduated journalist finding her way into the new digital world of writing. She does land a job with a Northwest Extreme Sports magazine faking that she is an extreme sport enthusiast. Meg Reed in this first book of Meg Reed Investigates by Ellie Alexander is a natural writer but one who is unsure of herself and doubts her ability to hold on to the job. Then when she witnesses a contestant in the magazine’s sponsored reality race fall to their death, she begins to seek for clues to his death fall. She is an inquisitive soul so becoming an amateur sleuth is in her nature.

Friends and family show up to help before she becomes the next victim. I would like to see more growth in this character’s self confidence as well as the hinted at romance become a true one. I loved the setting and the vivid descriptions of it so that I felt as if I had traveled to a place I had never done so before. Overall, it was an enjoy story.

Meg is a budding journalist and has just landed an amazing job working at Northwest Extreme Magazine! You know, until she learned she would actually have to do some extreme outdoor stuff, that she might have exaggerated her experience with. Then, while struggling up a mountain and slipping, she sees one of her fellow hikers fall off the cliff.

She realizes pretty quickly that something is off with what she saw, and starts putting clues together. I really enjoyed watching her put the clues together with the help of her friends and, hopefully, a future potential love interest. There are plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing, and I can't wait to see where the story is going to go in regards to her father's case!

A Murder on the Mountain is book one in the Meg Reed Investigates by Ellie Alexander.
I’ve been so obsessed with cozies lately especially from author Tonya Kappes (camper series) and I’m so thrilled to start one from the very beginning… brand new!
Alexander has crafted a charming and captivating cozy mystery that will keep you hooked from start to finish. The setting in the Pacific Northwest is picturesque and the characters are all so well-developed and likable.
The mystery itself is intriguing and full of twists and turns. I was thoroughly impressed with how well Alexander tied up all the loose ends. The writing is also amazing, and Alexander has a way of making you feel like you're right there in the middle of the action.
A charming cozy mystery. And I can’t wait for book two!

One of my favorite cozy mystery authors, so when I had a chance to revisit her older works I didn't hesitate. This is everything that we have come to expect from Ellie Alexander. It is a wonderful start to a series that has a fast paced plot and great characters. You always know you are in for a pleasurable afternoon of reading when you pick up a book by this author.

When a clumsy encounter leads to wannabe reporter Meg landing a job at an adventure magazine it will take all the courage she can muster to overcome her fear of heights and her novice outdoor skills to keep her job and stay alive. While following the contestants of an adventure race up to the summit, Meg witnesses one of them plummet to their death and it becomes apparent right away that something is not right and it wasn’t an accident. Channeling her investigative journalism heritage, Meg with some help from her best friends tries to uncover the dark secrets of this niche community while remaining employed at her first real job.

This is Ellie Alexander’s original series revamped and I loved the setting of this series. Similar to her secret bookshop mystery series, there’s a backstory event that happened in the main character’s past that has changed their life’s trajectory and will be one of the driving factors throughout the whole series. Definitely interested to see where it takes us.



Thank you publishers and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback

Meg is freshly qualified in journalism and keen to make an impression in her first job as a reporter for an extreme adventure publication. She exaggerates her experiences in extreme sports which backfires on her when she is asked to cover the final part of the Race the States competition. Meg witnesses the death of one of the finalists and soon the sheriff confirms it was murder. The ensuing investigation has Meg suspecting everyone with an interesting twist at the end.

Although the storyline was good, there were though quite a few inconsistencies within the story. The race finalists, in particular, were not convincing, with one being a drunk and another taking drugs; not the qualities expected of elite athletes. The setting in the Oregon mountains was nicely described although the routes and trails around Angel’s Rest and Devil’s Rest were rather confusing and I gained little understanding of where people were in relation to each other. The author is clearly familiar with the geography of the area and wants to share the details, but I just got lost!

The quality of the writing and the storyline I felt was not as good as some of the other books by this author. I noted that this story was previously published under a different title in 2014 and was this author’s first foray into mystery writing. I was disappointed with this one although expect other books in this series to be better.

Meg thinks the most difficult thing about her new job is faking the outdoor experience her boss thinks she has. Then, while reporting on an outdoor race, Meg witnesses what appears to be an accidental death. And when she starts researching the contestants, too many of them have secrets.

A publishing of Alexander’s first mystery novel! So it doesn’t read as smoothly as her later books and the mystery isn’t as strong. But for me, Alexander’s strength lies in making me care about all of these different characters. Feeling compassion for Meg’s grief over her father, enjoying the time with her grandmother, the empathy for Matt and his troubles with love, and Meg and Jill’s friendship was all delightful.

And I really I loved seeing her start as a writer. Being able to read this, and then to move on to her most recent works really shows how she’s grown as a writer.

Thank you to both NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this arc!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Ellie Alexander for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for A Murder on the Mountain coming out July 21, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I’ve read a lot of books by this author. I really love her cozy novels! This one was a little grittier. It had some real characters. I enjoyed it. The setting was definitely part of the mystery and suspense. I would definitely read more books in this series!

Meg finally has a writing job at an extreme outdoor sports magazine publisher. The problem is that she had to lie about her involvement in sports to get it. Undaunted, she sets out to climb a mountain with a threesome of participants in a reality show contest to prove who is best extreme racer. When one of the contestants falls to his death, Meg's investigative instinct kicks in, and despite danger and warnings, she won't stop until she learns the truth about the death.

This book has it all -- quirky characters, gorgeous mountain settings, sparks of romance, and a satisfying mystery. I eagerly await the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

A fun adventure visiting the Pacific Northwest. Meg is a recent graduate who is dealing with her father's recent death. She has been living on a friend's couch and is trying to find work as a journalist. Fate would have it that she runs into the publisher of an outdoor magazine. While she has never been an outdoor person, this is just the break she needs, but hopefully she doesn't break herself trying to be more outdoorsy than she really is. On her first assignment, she is tasked to cover a reality climbing race. Sadly, a contestant dies, but under mysterious circumstances. Meg takes it on herself, with the help of her friends, to solve the crime, just like her father. A really cute story, with a whopper of an ending. Looking forward to reading the next in the series. Thank you, Netgalley and Storm Publishing, for the advanced copy.

I enjoyed this book when it was released as Scene of the Climb in 2014. I read the entire series and am looking forward to the next adventure.