aaAHHHHHHH so good so cozy 😭😭 time for book 3!!!!! ( )

It was a fun trip back to Shady Hollow for a new cozy mystery with Vera Vixen and all of her friends. In this installment we are introduced to a fancy mink and dive into Joe’s past when moose bones are unearthed. Quaint and simple, this was much like the first one in that the mystery is not hard to figure out, but the characters and the town have such charm that it makes for an easy enjoyable read. ( )

Fall has come to Shady Hollow and among the fallen leaves a shallow grave, containing the bones of a moose, is found.

Joe Elkin, owner of Joe’s Mug coffee shop, draws suspicion from Deputy Orville Braun. It seems that Joe’s wife, Julia, had walked out on Joe and their son, some years back and never has been heard from since. Could the bones be Julia’s? If so, who buried her and why?

Meanwhile a new resident has come to Shady Hollow, Octavia Grey, a silver furred mink. She is setting up Grey’s School of Etiquette. Bringing manner to the masses.

Vera Vixen is determined to prove Joe Eklin isn’t connected with the burial of the bones or the reason of their being there. Vera is also interested in why Octavia Grey feels Shady Hollow, a small village, needs an etiquette school. Could there be a connection between the bones and the school?

Book 2 in this series and another enjoyable visit to the world of Shady Hollow. ( )

> The Leveritt family had owned Cold Clay Orchards for generations—which wasn’t saying much, because the Leveritts were rabbits.

> He looked vaguely familiar to Vera, but as she only knew two moose in her limited experience, it was hard to be sure if they all looked the same, or if this photograph was of a creature she knew. ( )

Cold Clay is the second book in the Shady Hollow series by Juneau Black.

I love this young series with the animals being the characters.
The series contains multiple chuckles throughout, and I particularly enjoy imagining the various animals as they go through their day-to-day activities.

It’s a chilly autumn morning and Vera Vixen, a fox, is on her way to work at the Herald where she is a reporter. She comes upon movers moving someone into a long-empty building; the movers have no idea who is moving in. She makes a mental note to check later. As she continues along, she meets Orville, a deputy. They have been stepping out since solving the murder of Mr. von Beaverpelt. They decide to head to Joe’s Mug for some breakfast; as they are leaving after breakfast, a rabbit who works at the Cold Clay Orchard, owned by the rabbits of the Leveritt Family. Panting heavily, the rabbit says Orville has to come right away to the orchard.
When they arrive, they find that a large bone has been buried for years. Soon, more bones of a rather large animal have been unearthed. It will be identified as the bones of a moose. Vera remembers that Joe’s wife, Julia, left some ten years ago and has never been heard from or where she might have gone. Later one of the rabbits, Winifred, that works at the orchard, gives Vera a locket she had found the day after Julia disappeared. Vera feels sure this has to be Julia and wants to get closure for Joe; she will begin an investigation, hopeful that she can learn who the killer was.

Vixin learns that a silver mink, Octavia Grey, is who has moved into the vacant building and plans to open a school on etiquette. Vera knows she will never be friends with Octavia. First, she finds Orville dancing closer than necessary one day. Second, her boss BW Stone wants her to forget about the bones, take some classes with Octavia, and write stories on Shady Hollow’s newest resident.

The book is well-written and plotted, and at times funny. The book is a quick read and is one that is hard to put down. There were enough twists and turns that I was kept guessing until the end as to who the killer was. The characters are all enjoyable and well described.

I am anxious to read the next book in the series, Mirror Lake, due on April 26, 2022. ( )