Cold Clay by Juneau Black
Series: Shady Hollow #2
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 240
Published By: Hodder and Stoughton on 3rd March, 2022
Format: Paperback
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Book Synopsis:
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 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 . . .
Book Review
*This review talks about a lot of the same things mentioned in book 1’s review so I will keep this brief. Think Agatha Christie and the Wind in the Willows combined — this book is a murder mystery set in a cosy village with talking animals and yes, it seems bonkers but it was so much fun!
This book did not take me long to read at all (2 days) and I was sucked in right from the very first page. The writing style is easy to follow and the book has a great pace all the way through. I really like the mix of murder mystery with a fantastical element, it really elevated the book for me.
I still loved the characters and how they interacted with each other throughout. We were able to get a little more depth to some of the characters in this one which I enjoyed. I will admit though that I had an inkling who the perpetrator was from quite early on in the book. This was a little disappointing because I like to still be guessing right towards the end of a mystery… This one was just so predictable.
I will say that I don’t feel like much happened in this book compared to the first one… Hence why the rating is significantly lower because I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first. The plot felt a little lack-lustre with not many twists. Don’t get me wrong this was still a page turner but just didn’t hit the spot for me in terms of the mystery element.
I’d honestly say that this can be a book for any age group. Middle grade, young adult and adult readers would enjoy this in my opinion. It’s a nice palate cleanser to read between more heavier books. Although this one wasn’t as big of a hit for me as the first, I will still be continuing on with the series.
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