In January 2022, Juneau Black—the pen name used by collaborators Jocelyn Cole and Sharon Nagel—launched the Shady Hollow Mystery series. It’s the perfect blend of traditional police procedural, cozy mystery aesthetic, and anthropomorphic woodland creatures. For those looking for a brief escape from the “real world,” this delightful visit to a magical wonderland may be just the ticket.
With the first novel—Shady Hollow—readers are introduced to the conceit for the series. There is this woodland environment where talking animals live and interact in human manner. They live, shop, and work just like humans would, regardless of what animal species they identify as. Readers must fully commit to this seeming incongruity to completely enjoy this series. So, in this fantasy realm, you can have a hummingbird (Gladys Honeysuckle) working as a reporter at the local newspaper alongside a female fox (Vera Vixen) without a problem. Or note that the local bookstore, Nevermore Books, is run by a raven named Lenore Lee. Just in these brief examples, readers and the literary-minded can see the types of wordplay on display throughout the novel(s).
Despite this seeming like a storytelling concept more common in kids books, the actions in Shady Hollow (the book) and Shady Hollow (the town) are anything but childish—there is lust, revenge, sabotage, competition, and of course, murder. As the novel opens, the body of Otto Sumpf—a toad with a curmudgeonly nature—is discovered in the sawmill pond with a knife in his back.
And with that, the blend of police procedural and cozy crime commences. Ambitious reporter, Vera Vixen, believes she can solve the crime faster than professional police deputy Orville Braun (a large brown bear). Readers witness as these two approach the investigation differently before eventually realizing that maybe working together is a better tactic. Unfortunately for them, a second death means they might have a serial killer in their midst.
Juneau Black packs the reading experience with clever turns of phrase and expertly designed uses of the various creatures populating this small town. Before too long, the citizens of Shady Hollow become as beloved as the residents of Louise Penny’s Three Pines—because of, not despite, their quirky animalistic traits.
Taking things even further into the land of imagination, Shady Hollow is home not just to the bears, beavers, foxes, and birds one might expect, but also more exotic animals—like the recent arrival of bamboo bar owner Sun Li (naturally, a Panda Bear). As the series continues—it currently stands at five novels and several short stories—the cast of creature characters expands in an effort to avoid Cabot Cove Syndrome.
In short, if you are looking for something original and slightly-less-somber, dive into Juneau Black’s Shady Hollow Mystery series. Readers are guaranteed to find a smile on their face and a fair bit of respect for how successfully this duo pulls off what seems almost impossible to achieve—a cross-subgenre series that feels both completely familiar and yet totally unique simultaneously.
BUY LINKS: Shady Hollow by Juneau Black
