Ma-Row!
We recently came across a new (well new to us) series that we'd like to introduce you to! the Shady Hollow Mysteries!
Set in the fictional town of Shady Hollow, the cast of characters is quite unique in that they are all animals! there' Vera Vixen, a very foxy reporter (mainly because she is a fox - a four footed one) who's got a real nose for trouble and always seeks the truth; Lenore Lee, the raven in charge of the town's bookshop who loves a good mystery, on paper or in real life; Chief of Police Theodore Meade, a bear of a fellow (no pun intended) a brawny individual who's usually more intersted in fishing than crime solving; Dorothy Springfield, a rat who likes to get in the middle of things; Gladys Honysuckle, the town gossip; and so many more!
The first volume, SHADY HOLLOW, introduces us to the town and its quirky characters in the form of the murder of a curmudgeonly toad. Reporter Vera Vixen is, of course, on the job --and her investigations turn up more than one skeleton in quite a few closets! We found ourselves solving the murder right along with Vera!
In the second volume, COLD CLAY, some long-buried secrets come to light, throwing suspicion on a beloved local denizen.
It's autumn in Shady Hollow, and residents are looking forward to harvest feasts. But then a rabbit discovers a grisly crop: the bones of a moose.
Soon, the owner of Joe's Mug is dragged out of the coffeeshop and questioned by the police about the night his wife walked out of his life—and Shady Hollow—forever. It seems like an open-and-shut case, but dogged reporter Vera Vixen doesn't believe gentle Joe is a killer. She'll do anything to prove his innocence ... even if it means digging into secrets her neighbors would rather leave buried.
The third novel in the Shady Hollow mystery series, is MIRROR LAKE, n which Vera Vixen takes on her most challenging case yet: solving the murder of a rat who appears to still be alive.
Change is afoot in Shady Hollow, with an unusually tense election shaping up between long-serving Chief of Police Theodore Meade and Vera's beau, Deputy Orville Braun. But the political tension takes a back seat when resident eccentric Dorothy Springfield becomes convinced her beloved husband, Edward, is dead, and that the rat claiming to be him is actually a fraud.
While most of the town dismisses Dorothy's rants as nothing more than a delusion, Vera has her doubts. More than a few things don't add up in the Springfield household, but Vera will have to tread carefully, since, with Orville's attention on the election, she may be more exposed than ever.
Which brings us to the latest entry, out November 7th - TWILIGHT FALLS.
Our gal Vera gets embroiled in a case involving a pair of star crossed lovers - which Vera can relate to, since she's involved in her own relationship with police chief Orville Braun. Shades of Romeo and Juliet overshadow this mystery of young residents battling their families to find true love - and when the father of one of them goes over the falls, Vera takes it upon herself to find out whodunit, even though her sleuthing puts her in opposition with Orville, which, of course, doens't bode well for their relationship!
Intrigued? Would you like to win a copy of Shady Hollow, the first book in the series? If so, leave a comment with your email address in our comments section below! ROCCO's brother Maxx will select one lucky winner at random! US residents only please. Contest ends midnight, November 7th!