About The Book
A MURDER TO SOLVE. A REPORTER ON THE CASE.
CRIMES OF THE PAST WON’T STAY BURIED . . .
In the woodland community of Shady Hollow, you’ll discover a secret. Moose and mice, owls and bears live side by side in civilised harmony. The town has a coffee shop and a bookshop, a haberdasher and a bank. Life is peaceful, until a skeleton is found buried deep under an apple tree. Danger has returned to Shady Hollow.
Ace reporter Vera Vixen only wants a good news story as harvest time arrives with the promise of glorious feasts ahead. But the discovery of the body casts a darker shadow. Soon enough, the coffeeshop’s owner is being dragged down to the police station. Vera can’t believe gentle Joe the moose is a killer. To get to the bottom of the matter, she will have to dig into the secrets her neighbours would rather leave buried forever . . .
My Review
With thanks to the publisher for the copy received. Cold Clay is the second in the series to feature Vera the Vixen, journalist/ detective in the Shady Hollow series. There are no spoilers in the novel but I do recommend reading them in order. If the only reason is because they are very light- hearted for a crime novel, are easy to read and they are pure escapism.
If you have read book one you will have met Joe the moose who owns the coffee shop. You would know that his wife, Julia, left him years earlier. But this novel shows a different explanation for her disappearance and Vera is determined to prove that he wasn’t involved. Even if it causes an argument with Orville who she has become very close to.
I did see who was responsible for Julia’s disappearance but I don’t think it was meant to be a surprise. What I couldn’t see was who and how, and I enjoyed reading how Vera discovered the answers. She couldn’t see though, that others were also suspicious.
I don’t really think of these characters as creatures, probably because you wouldn’t expect foxes, bears, ravens etc to eat cake and drink coffee. Many feature from the earlier book, some of them I saw in a different way. Esme, in particular, was much nicer and I feel that Vera’s friendship with her could grow. I love her relationship with Orville, the detective and the descriptions of both her frustration and love for her job.
Another very entertaining read and I’m looking forward to book three.
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