About The Book
A MURDER TO SOLVE. A REPORTER ON THE CASE.
CAN YOU SPOT THE SECRETS IN SHADY HOLLOW?
In the woodland community of Shady Hollow, you’ll discover a secret. Moose and mice, owls and bears live side by side in civilized harmony. Shady Hollow has a coffee shop and a bookshop, a haberdasher and a bank. All is well . . . until the town’s querulous toad shows up dead. It’s something this village haven’t seen before: a murder.
Vera Vixen is new in town. She has a nose for news and catches the scent of a story, one that leads her to dark places. As she stirs up the still waters, the fox exposes more than one mystery, and the folks in Shady Hollow learn that some of their neighbours are lying, while others are downright dangerous. It will take all of Vera’s cunning and quickness to come out alive.
Entertaining and perceptive, Shady Hollow is fast-paced and witty, with characters that jump off the page and a hugely satisfying mystery to solve. Once you’ve met the residents of Shady Hollow, you won’t easily forget them.
My Review
With thanks to the publisher for the copy received. I have always enjoyed crime fiction and I mostly read a police procedural or a psychological thriller. But every now and again I like to read something a little lighter and Shady Hollow was perfect for a bit of escapism but one where I could still try to solve the crime.
There is no doubt, this novel is different to many others. No humans feature, all of the characters are from the animal kingdom and all of their personalities seemed to suit the type of creature they were. The main character was Vera, the fox who was wily, sharp and clever. She had plenty of friends, a raven ( bookshop owner), a wise owl ( tutor) and a hummingbird (town gossip) were just a few of them. All of them felt suited to their roles, based on the type of creature they were.
It is only a short novel, but I found it fun to read. I enjoyed meeting all the characters, the way they interacted with each other and their habits. Joe and his coffee shop was one of my favourite scenes throughout, I was tempted to look up recipes for his scones and cakes but I’ve managed to resist. So far!
I feel that this book could be read by any age group, it is definitely a more easy going storyline. Whilst there are crimes committed most of the focus is on character development and it is an imaginative way of describing animals living as humans do.
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