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Shady Hollow #1
Shady Hollow
The first book in the Shady Hollow series, in which we are introduced to the village of Shady Hollow, a place where woodland creatures live together in harmony--until a curmudgeonly toad turns up dead and the local reporter has to solve the case.
Reporter Vera Vixen is a relative newcomer to Shady Hollow. The fox has a nose for news, so when she catches wind that the death might be a murder, she resolves to get to the bottom of the case, no matter where it leads. As she stirs up still waters, the fox exposes more than one mystery, and discovers that additional lives are in jeopardy.
Vera finds more to this town than she ever suspected. It seems someone in the Hollow will do anything to keep her from solving the murder, and soon it will take all of Vera's cunning and quickness to crack the case.
A VINTAGE CRIME/BLACK LIZARD ORIGINAL.
Reporter Vera Vixen is a relative newcomer to Shady Hollow. The fox has a nose for news, so when she catches wind that the death might be a murder, she resolves to get to the bottom of the case, no matter where it leads. As she stirs up still waters, the fox exposes more than one mystery, and discovers that additional lives are in jeopardy.
Vera finds more to this town than she ever suspected. It seems someone in the Hollow will do anything to keep her from solving the murder, and soon it will take all of Vera's cunning and quickness to crack the case.
A VINTAGE CRIME/BLACK LIZARD ORIGINAL.
222 pages, Paperback
First published October 21, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,469 reviews
February 3, 2022
The book has me smiling from the get go with the clever cast of characters who inhabit Shady Hollow, far from the hustle and bustle of the cities. Here woodland creatures from the teeniest mouse to large bears and a moose live mostly harmoniously. At its heart is the sawmill, overseen by its wealthy owner Reginald von Beaverpelt. One day, the peace is shattered when humming bird Gladys Honeysuckle, the town gossip, makes a startling discovery. Otto Sumpf, a curmudgeonly loner of a toad is belly up and quite, quite dead. Vero Vixen, The Herald’s ace reporter and who has a real nose for story, overhears Gladys and off she goes to investigate. Stop the press, Vero has a scoop! Otto has been murdered and this is just the start of Shady Hollows problems.
I so enjoy this mixture of a cozy mystery murder with humour and a fantastical concept. I love the woodland characters especially Vera, who is smart with a twitchy nose for the truth but there are plenty of others also to like. Lenore the Raven who owns the bookshop is a good loyal pal to Vera and there’s Joe the Moose who owns the coffee shop keeping everyone’s caffeine and sugar levels topped up and Sun Li the giant panda who owns the Bamboo Patch restaurant. You actually forget they’re woodland creatures as they have their own personalities and you just happily go with the flow.
It’s vivid, colourful, delightful and clever. It is a read that would appeal to most age groups (there is a murder so maybe not little ones!) as there are things to make everyone smile at some of the smart allusions. Some things make me smile, others a chuckle and some a real laugh out loud!! It has all the ingredients you’d expect from this genre with some surprises along the way.
Overall, it’s different, as it’s a sort of Beatrix Potter meets a ‘cozy’ with extra pepperings of humour giving it a fantastical charm and quirk all of its own. I’m looking forward to the second instalment of this entertaining series!
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Hodder and Stoughton for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
I so enjoy this mixture of a cozy mystery murder with humour and a fantastical concept. I love the woodland characters especially Vera, who is smart with a twitchy nose for the truth but there are plenty of others also to like. Lenore the Raven who owns the bookshop is a good loyal pal to Vera and there’s Joe the Moose who owns the coffee shop keeping everyone’s caffeine and sugar levels topped up and Sun Li the giant panda who owns the Bamboo Patch restaurant. You actually forget they’re woodland creatures as they have their own personalities and you just happily go with the flow.
It’s vivid, colourful, delightful and clever. It is a read that would appeal to most age groups (there is a murder so maybe not little ones!) as there are things to make everyone smile at some of the smart allusions. Some things make me smile, others a chuckle and some a real laugh out loud!! It has all the ingredients you’d expect from this genre with some surprises along the way.
Overall, it’s different, as it’s a sort of Beatrix Potter meets a ‘cozy’ with extra pepperings of humour giving it a fantastical charm and quirk all of its own. I’m looking forward to the second instalment of this entertaining series!
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Hodder and Stoughton for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
February 5, 2023
Have you ever wondered what you'd get if Agatha Christie wrote The Wind in the Willows? That's probably the best I can do to describe the feel and premise of this book. Its a cozy village murder mystery in a world of talking, humanoid forest animals. Which is either going to strike one as kind of charming or absolutely bonkers.
It worked better than I thought it might, though it doesn't escape some of the flaws of the cozy murder mystery genre. But if you like cozy murder mysteries and are willing to accept a slightly fantastical premise, it's a quick, entertaining read. And I have certainly read a lot of mysteries I enjoyed less.
It worked better than I thought it might, though it doesn't escape some of the flaws of the cozy murder mystery genre. But if you like cozy murder mysteries and are willing to accept a slightly fantastical premise, it's a quick, entertaining read. And I have certainly read a lot of mysteries I enjoyed less.
March 14, 2023
Just the read I needed
I picked this up because I was in the mood for a cozy read after a really rough speculative fiction. This was on my TBR pile for a while and I very much enjoyed it. The village of Shady Hollow was a very nice place to visit even with a murderer running around.
The creatures were fun to get to know. Reporter, Vera (a fox) was rootable as she chased down the facts for her story. Her best friend, bookshop owner, Lenore (a raven) was great and I wished she had more to do. Deputy Orville (a bear), Joe (moose) coffee shop owner, BW (a skunk) newspaper owner, the von Beverpelts (richest residents of Shady Hollow; own & run the sawmill), Sun Li (a panda) restaurateur among other things and others made this just a great reading weekend,
The mystery was well done and whenever I put this down, I looked forward to picking it up again. The map of the village was too cute. This cozy was just the bookish soft landing I needed.
I read this through the library and am looking forward to reading the next. Recommended.
I picked this up because I was in the mood for a cozy read after a really rough speculative fiction. This was on my TBR pile for a while and I very much enjoyed it. The village of Shady Hollow was a very nice place to visit even with a murderer running around.
The creatures were fun to get to know. Reporter, Vera (a fox) was rootable as she chased down the facts for her story. Her best friend, bookshop owner, Lenore (a raven) was great and I wished she had more to do. Deputy Orville (a bear), Joe (moose) coffee shop owner, BW (a skunk) newspaper owner, the von Beverpelts (richest residents of Shady Hollow; own & run the sawmill), Sun Li (a panda) restaurateur among other things and others made this just a great reading weekend,
The mystery was well done and whenever I put this down, I looked forward to picking it up again. The map of the village was too cute. This cozy was just the bookish soft landing I needed.
I read this through the library and am looking forward to reading the next. Recommended.
March 12, 2024
Charming, whimsical premise. Unfortunately the writing is flat and lifeless, and the "mystery" (lol) was thinner than a piece of paper - there is only one suspect and as soon as we meet them, we understand that they are the culprit.
March 23, 2022
Plot was weak, characters were one dimensional, and it never really got interesting. It flat lined the whole time in my opinion. I wasn’t able to become invested in the story or the characters. Maybe a middle schooler would like this. MAYBE. But if you’re looking for an exciting murder mystery, this is not it.
December 28, 2022
This was exactly the quick, cozy read I have been looking for. The story and the characters were so cute and funny and the ending put a big smile on my face :))
March 2, 2022
Talk about a cozy mystery! This is an animal story. Shady Hollow is a delightful little village complete with a sawmill, a newspaper, and a coffee shop. Now a murder has happened. Otto Stumpf, the curmudgeonly toad has been found dead, with a knife in his back. Sure, he was a bit unpleasant, but who wanted him dead? This is the first book in a series of three novels. Very enjoyable!
August 3, 2022
this murder mystery set in a town full of talking animals is the healing bandaid i needed right now :”) will definitely be visiting shady hollow again <3
October 25, 2022
Sweet mystery! Loved the cozy setting and the woodland creatures who populate the sweet town of Shady Hollow. Will pick up more in the series!
April 7, 2023
when i saw this pitched as zootopia meets gossip girl and then my friend said also meets gilmore girls, i was sold. this was the epitome of adorable & cozy & im absolutely finishing the series!
June 10, 2022
While this was definitely a cozy mystery, I never quite got cozy with it. The story takes place in a woodland community made up of all different species of animals. Who lived like humans, drinking coffee, wearing clothes, working in bookstores and newspapers and mills. Yes, I know it’s fantastical, but I just had too many questions and I couldn’t block them out to enjoy the story. Plus, they call handkerchiefs pawkerchiefs. Surprisingly, the word is used more than once.
How does the raven stock her bookshelves?
How does a moose pour coffee? Or make coffee, for that matter?
How big are the muffins? How big is the newspaper?
Where do they get their clothes? A moose and a mouse definitely can’t shop in the same place. And of course, why do they wear clothes?
How does this dating cross species work? Can a bear and a fox really date?
And,
And so many many more.
How does the raven stock her bookshelves?
How does a moose pour coffee? Or make coffee, for that matter?
How big are the muffins? How big is the newspaper?
Where do they get their clothes? A moose and a mouse definitely can’t shop in the same place. And of course, why do they wear clothes?
How does this dating cross species work? Can a bear and a fox really date?
And,
And so many many more.
December 30, 2021
I received a digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I don't read a lot of mysteries, but I do prefer cozy mysteries when I do read them. This fits that description. What drew me to this book was the idea of a small community of animals living together -- it reminded me of any number of animal fantasies I read when I was younger. Unfortunately, the authors rely too heavily on stereotypes to create these characters, which took away from my enjoyment of what would otherwise be a simple and fun quick read.
I don't read a lot of mysteries, but I do prefer cozy mysteries when I do read them. This fits that description. What drew me to this book was the idea of a small community of animals living together -- it reminded me of any number of animal fantasies I read when I was younger. Unfortunately, the authors rely too heavily on stereotypes to create these characters, which took away from my enjoyment of what would otherwise be a simple and fun quick read.
December 28, 2022
Such a cozy, cute read with amazing characters and immaculate vibes! I loved everything about this book and the ending was so wholesome :)
August 28, 2022
DNF at 13%
This feels like a book that was written with human characters who were turned into animals at the last second in a (failed) attempt to make it more unique and interesting.
I loooove animal as main character books. Love them. This book, on the other hand, made me cringe from the start. The author's note telling us to just go with it and not worry about predators and prey hanging out together...did not set a good tone for me. Then there's the world building. Are these animals who act like animals or animals who act like humans? For example, we have a mouse character who works very hard as an accountant for his large family (fine) that is constantly having multiple litters (weird) in a town where he buys coffee next to his acquaintance the owl his natural predator who makes him nervous (fine) but the owl is vegetarian for ethical reasons (what) who is buying a sticky bun (what what?) but he's still nocturnal because he's an owl remember so this is his bedtime snack even though it's the morning (make up your mind - does he act like an owl or not?!)
Also all the animals are two-dimensional stereotypes. Lefty the Raccoon made me wince! I decided to check out other reviews to see if things get better as the book progresses, and it sure sounds like it doesn't. So I'm out.
This feels like a book that was written with human characters who were turned into animals at the last second in a (failed) attempt to make it more unique and interesting.
I loooove animal as main character books. Love them. This book, on the other hand, made me cringe from the start. The author's note telling us to just go with it and not worry about predators and prey hanging out together...did not set a good tone for me. Then there's the world building. Are these animals who act like animals or animals who act like humans? For example, we have a mouse character who works very hard as an accountant for his large family (fine) that is constantly having multiple litters (weird) in a town where he buys coffee next to his acquaintance the owl his natural predator who makes him nervous (fine) but the owl is vegetarian for ethical reasons (what) who is buying a sticky bun (what what?) but he's still nocturnal because he's an owl remember so this is his bedtime snack even though it's the morning (make up your mind - does he act like an owl or not?!)
Also all the animals are two-dimensional stereotypes. Lefty the Raccoon made me wince! I decided to check out other reviews to see if things get better as the book progresses, and it sure sounds like it doesn't. So I'm out.
March 4, 2023
How did this author manage to make the book racist when it's about animals 😒
The author relies on some racist and sexist stereotypes and the characters that aren’t offensive are just boring. You’ve got the panda who runs a restaurant called “Bamboo Patch” and he used to be a doctor in his home country but now here he’s working a low-income job. He has special herbs from his homelands in a cabinet in his office (aka playing on eastern medicine). It all feels like low-hanging fruit, relying on surface level cultural information to recreate stereotypes.
Everything feels so predictable and neither the worldbuilding nor the writing made up for the lack of good characters. There's a bookshop and a coffee shop and I wanted these to be richly detailed, cosy, and memorable. They're so lack luster that they blend into the rest of the scenery which is also boring.
I only finished this to see how it ended (who was the murderer) and that was a disappointment reliant on stereotypes as well. It just flopped.
The author relies on some racist and sexist stereotypes and the characters that aren’t offensive are just boring. You’ve got the panda who runs a restaurant called “Bamboo Patch” and he used to be a doctor in his home country but now here he’s working a low-income job. He has special herbs from his homelands in a cabinet in his office (aka playing on eastern medicine). It all feels like low-hanging fruit, relying on surface level cultural information to recreate stereotypes.
Everything feels so predictable and neither the worldbuilding nor the writing made up for the lack of good characters. There's a bookshop and a coffee shop and I wanted these to be richly detailed, cosy, and memorable. They're so lack luster that they blend into the rest of the scenery which is also boring.
I only finished this to see how it ended (who was the murderer) and that was a disappointment reliant on stereotypes as well. It just flopped.
February 6, 2022
cozy mysteries + talking animals = my kind of comfort 🤍✨
February 19, 2024
I should’ve liked this book because I enjoy cozy mysteries and animal characters. But I didn’t. I don’t care about the characters or the storyline, if I’m honest. I wasn’t given a reason to. The audio performance was just ok as well.
If you’re interested in a good cozy mystery series with animal (and human) characters, in this case working in parallel to solve mysteries, I can highly recommend The Tale of Hill Top Farm. I’ve read about 3/4 of the series and it is solid all the way through. The author makes the animal characters believable without being too cutesy, the recurring characters are all interesting, including the animal characters, and you’ll learn about Beatrix Potter in the process. (She was quite a woman, definitely ahead of her time). Also the audiobooks are well done.
Maybe I disliked this because I’m really enjoying that series? Being generous, I’m going to go with that. (But the writing here just …. it really wasn’t good enough for a children’s or adult series. It just didn’t give you a reason to read on. I read it for a reading challenge or I’d have dumped it.)
If you’re interested in a good cozy mystery series with animal (and human) characters, in this case working in parallel to solve mysteries, I can highly recommend The Tale of Hill Top Farm. I’ve read about 3/4 of the series and it is solid all the way through. The author makes the animal characters believable without being too cutesy, the recurring characters are all interesting, including the animal characters, and you’ll learn about Beatrix Potter in the process. (She was quite a woman, definitely ahead of her time). Also the audiobooks are well done.
Maybe I disliked this because I’m really enjoying that series? Being generous, I’m going to go with that. (But the writing here just …. it really wasn’t good enough for a children’s or adult series. It just didn’t give you a reason to read on. I read it for a reading challenge or I’d have dumped it.)
December 27, 2015
I was first drawn to this book because of the quirky premise - it's promise of 'Twin Peaks meets Fantastic Mr. Fox'. I love both of those things so I thought I'd love this book. As it turns out, the only thing it really had in common with Mr Fox is the animal characters, and the only thing it had in common with Twin Peaks is the sleepy town.
The mystery of Shady Hollow's first murder could easily have been done with human characters, but only at the risk of making it less significant. Since this was a cozy mystery I guess the point is to not have anything happen that was too jarring or profound, and it was very much like that. Had this book not been about animals, it probably would not have been memorable at all.
It took some effort to be able to visualize the characters and the town. I was really unsure of what I should be imagining. Were they all the same size? Did they have human bodies? Did they wear clothes? I eventually learned that they didn't wear shoes. It would have been nice to have some of that spelled out for me near the beginning. Granted, there was a brief message in the author's note, but it was still a bit difficult to put some of the imformation together as far as what they looked like.
It's not that I hated it for any particular reason, it's just that the book doesn't stand out to me except that it's about a society of animals working through the concept of murder for the first time. I'm not sure that it could have been done differently, but in the end, it wasn't really what I'd hoped for.
The mystery of Shady Hollow's first murder could easily have been done with human characters, but only at the risk of making it less significant. Since this was a cozy mystery I guess the point is to not have anything happen that was too jarring or profound, and it was very much like that. Had this book not been about animals, it probably would not have been memorable at all.
It took some effort to be able to visualize the characters and the town. I was really unsure of what I should be imagining. Were they all the same size? Did they have human bodies? Did they wear clothes? I eventually learned that they didn't wear shoes. It would have been nice to have some of that spelled out for me near the beginning. Granted, there was a brief message in the author's note, but it was still a bit difficult to put some of the imformation together as far as what they looked like.
It's not that I hated it for any particular reason, it's just that the book doesn't stand out to me except that it's about a society of animals working through the concept of murder for the first time. I'm not sure that it could have been done differently, but in the end, it wasn't really what I'd hoped for.
April 14, 2022
the lack of world-building made it hard for me to get into this book. I know the author says at the beginning to just go with it but that seems a cop out. Plus, the panda character struck me as problematic.
Plus plus how do a bear and a fox date ????
Plus plus how do a bear and a fox date ????
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2022
2022-05: 3.5 stars. Yeah, so still kind of weird. The animals as people overlay on the cozy format makes me think of a grown up version of a Richard Scarry town, or any number of children’s programs where everyone is an animal. So, the authors making up Juneau Black present the quaint little town of Shady Hollow. Then add in murders.
Vera Vixen is a reporter who is eager to write about the shocking (and maybe a little exciting) death of local crank Otto (the frog). As she investigates, crossing paths frequently with the deputy (a bear), she finds the clues, suffers some murder attempts, then is confronted by the murderer.
A light, fast read, always straddling that line cozies do of being a little silly, and definitely stretching that silliness but owning it, too. I think I’ll check out the next book.
2020-10: 3.5 stars. A bit of a strange premise for a story, but all the characters are animals who live in the small town of Shady Hollow.
This is a cozy, so under the delightful aspect of the town and its sheer niceness hide anger and jealousy and criminal behaviour. And intrepid and dedicated reporter and fox Vera Vixen plugs away at a case that should have been simply a drowning and that turns out to be so much more, exposing a few unpleasant truths about the town.
The case isn’t that hard to figure out, and the animals-thing isn’t too goofy. This was light and interesting enough to keep me reading, and was fairly relaxing.
Vera Vixen is a reporter who is eager to write about the shocking (and maybe a little exciting) death of local crank Otto (the frog). As she investigates, crossing paths frequently with the deputy (a bear), she finds the clues, suffers some murder attempts, then is confronted by the murderer.
A light, fast read, always straddling that line cozies do of being a little silly, and definitely stretching that silliness but owning it, too. I think I’ll check out the next book.
2020-10: 3.5 stars. A bit of a strange premise for a story, but all the characters are animals who live in the small town of Shady Hollow.
This is a cozy, so under the delightful aspect of the town and its sheer niceness hide anger and jealousy and criminal behaviour. And intrepid and dedicated reporter and fox Vera Vixen plugs away at a case that should have been simply a drowning and that turns out to be so much more, exposing a few unpleasant truths about the town.
The case isn’t that hard to figure out, and the animals-thing isn’t too goofy. This was light and interesting enough to keep me reading, and was fairly relaxing.
December 27, 2023
4⭐️
Based on the cover, I toooootally thought this was a middle grade series: IT IS NOT MIDDLEGRADE 😂
A small town reporter investigates the murder of an unlikable fella….the twist with this story is that the characters are not human-they are animals
Based on the cover, I toooootally thought this was a middle grade series: IT IS NOT MIDDLEGRADE 😂
A small town reporter investigates the murder of an unlikable fella….the twist with this story is that the characters are not human-they are animals
March 31, 2023
this was SO CUTE WHAT THE HECK!!!! i am officially a fan of the “cozy murder mystery” genre which sounds so silly but it’s really fun tbh. verrrrrrry easy to read this all in one sitting! i did knock a star off bc the twist ending wasn’t as shocking as i would have liked but the setting and cast of characters really made up for that. this book is literally all of my cottagecore dreams come true in murder mystery form. 🥹
March 25, 2022
I wanted to love this story so much! A cozy mystery full of talking animals, yes please. However, the writing was to simplistic for my taste, the characters were stereotypical (fox as a reporter, Panda runs an Asian restaurant, etc) and I just was never engaged. Pretty disappointed especially since this was written by two people. It’s targeted for YA but I would even let me 11 yr old read this…
June 3, 2023
Well, I loved this!
I'm getting more and more into the whole cozy vibes, cozy fantasy, now cozy mystery, and I truly love this genre. It's like the softest and warmest hug, and I'm not even a hugger.
I love how this has murder, but made it super adorable at the same time. The characters are just great and so many fun dynamics between them.
Can't wait to dive into this whole series.
I'm getting more and more into the whole cozy vibes, cozy fantasy, now cozy mystery, and I truly love this genre. It's like the softest and warmest hug, and I'm not even a hugger.
I love how this has murder, but made it super adorable at the same time. The characters are just great and so many fun dynamics between them.
Can't wait to dive into this whole series.
April 21, 2022
This cozy little mystery is just my cup of tea. It’s set in the forest and all the characters are forest creatures. It was just what I needed and I can’t wait to pick up the next ones in this series!
If you’re looking for a cozy murder mystery I’d say definitely put this on your radar. The overall reveal of “who done it” I didn’t see coming which I loved!
If you’re looking for a cozy murder mystery I’d say definitely put this on your radar. The overall reveal of “who done it” I didn’t see coming which I loved!
October 27, 2022
Was the mystery aspect a bit mediocre? Yes
Could I give a book with a FOX detective and a BEAR police anything less than 5 stars? Never
Could I give a book with a FOX detective and a BEAR police anything less than 5 stars? Never
June 26, 2023
animal crossing/zootopia but with murder
October 11, 2022
Such a clever, fun read. I really enjoyed this almost cozy mystery.
October 9, 2022
It felt like being swooshed into the middle of Stars Hollow after a mysterious murder. Oh and all of the characters are animals.
Need I say more?
♥️🧡💛
Need I say more?
♥️🧡💛
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,469 reviews