A review by morsecode
Shady Hollow by Juneau Black

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

I picked this up at a local bookstore while visiting my sister. The cover art caught my eye and I was intrigued by the premise (and pleased to see that there were more books in the series). I thought the book was fine. For me, it was better in theory than in actuality. I do like a cozy mystery (and have no issue with the suspension of belief required to imagine all the creatures living side by side), but the book fell a little flat for me and did not do much to sell me on the series. The “cast of characters” in the beginning of the book was unnecessary. There really weren’t that many of them and it was very easy to tell them apart, particularly because many of them had really (and unnecessarily) obvious names and most were not very highly developed.  The mystery also didn’t feel particularly substantive.  I might listen to book 2, if it’s available from my public library as an e-audio when I’m waiting for my holds, but I have no strong desire to do so.