#vacationread No 1: SHADY HOLLOW by @juneau_black, from Vintage Books

I just finished this cozy murder mystery and all I can say is it is paws-itively delightful! When Otto Sumpf, the curmudgeonly toad who lives on the millpond, is found dead by possible murder, it is up to Vera Vixen, star reporter at the Shady Hollow Herald, to piece the puzzle together and find answers before another beast falls to the same fate!

Shady Hollow is a small forest village inhabited by woodland creatures of every sort, living their lives in peaceful coexistence. The whole story and setting immediately put me in mind of Twin Peaks, with its quirksome characters juxtaposed against the hometown feel of Shady Hollow. Juneau Black does an excellent job of fleshing each character out, while leaving any necessary secrets to be found out at the appropriate time; I found myself wishing several times I could be sitting in Joe’s Mug, sipping a cup of coffee, listening to the town’s gossip with Vera.

The cover (and interior map) are by Perry de la Vega, and it perfectly captures the woodsy feel of the story; I love it!

Michelle at @greenhandbooks recommended this series to me, and she was spot on. It’s the perfect palette cleanser if you find yourself in a reading slump or just need something a little on the lighter side to read. I’ll probably be ordering the rest of the series, because who am I kidding? I can’t wait to see what the townsfolk of Shady Hollow are up to next!

🏷️ #ShadyHollow #JuneauBlack #PerryDeLaVega #cozymystery #murdermystery #VintageBooks #books #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #bookworm #booklover #bookreview #frommybookshelf #frommybookshelfblog ( )

sHUT UP THAT WAS THE COZIEST CUTEST MURDER MYSTERY EVER WITH THE MOST WONDERFUL ENDING I DON’T THINK ILL EVER RECOVER *immediately buys the next three books* ( )

DNF @page 116/53%

Just didn’t care after a while.

Summary
Shadow Hollow is a little village of woodland creatures, who live a happy life in harmony. Although they live a happy life, there are many characters who have unique and strong personalities. This first book from the series starts with a curmudgeonly toad who turns up dead in the local pond. Vera Vixen, the local fox news reporter, wants to get to the bottom of the case. Through her investigation she finds more than she expects and this Shadow Hollow town!

Review
This book was very cute. It has a light hearted tone that is unexpected for a murder mystery. The blend of fantasy characters and murder is unique. You can help but make predictions for what really happened as you are reading and rooting for Vera to crack the case.

As I was reading, I was trying to figure out the target audience. It is written very innocently and I think would be appropriate for upper middle grades through adults. I found the book on adult reading lists as well as young adults. Since it is a murder mystery, it makes the content automatically older, but its readability is younger. It was such a fun cozy read. ( )

Hear me out: a mystery set in a small town in which all the inhabitants are animals. Vera Vixen, a fox and reporter for the local paper, investigates the death of a curmudgeonly toad since the police force (made up of bears) don't seem to have a clue about what to do. And then a beaver, owner of the local mill, also turns up dead. This could have been really clever or really bad. In the end, it was a little of both, and not enough of the former to make me want to try the next in the series.

3 stars
(According to my "new" rating system, 3 stars means "Some redeeming qualities, but I wish I’d read something else") ( )