Book Review: “Shady Hallow” by Juneau Black

Feb 4

Håfa adai! Welcome to my review of Shady Hallow, the first book of the Shady Hallow Mystery series by Juneau Black.

This book review consists of two parts: a spoiler-free plot summary and my thoughts on the story. In the second part, I give my personal rating and break down the setting and worldbuilding, storytelling, cast of characters, and themes. There may be some lightweight spoilers—such as how characters interact with each other and the world around them—but I will not give away any major plot twists or endings. I want to share my opinions of the book and maybe encourage you to purchase a copy of your own.

Click on the tags at the bottom of this post to see all reviews with the same tags in the Mystery bookshelf.

Spoiler-Free Plot Summary

Shady Hallow is not the sort of place where criminal activity happens. Sure, there is the occasional theft or vandalism of public property. But the many woodland creatures of this small harmonious village do not even have locks on their front doors. That is until the morning that Gladys, an empty-nester hummingbird and notorious busybody, discovers the body of a murdered resident. Never having handled anything more serious than petty crime, Chief Theodore Meade and Deputy Orville Braun—the bears running the Shady Hallow Police Department—have no idea what to do next. Red fox Vera Vixen, a reporter with the Shady Hallow Harold, is determined to follow the clues to their end with the help of her friend Lenore Lee, the raven bookshop owner. But as they work together, Vera and Lenore uncover more than one mystery hidden in the quiet village of Shady Hallow.

My Thoughts on Shady Hallow: 4 stars

I find the notion of a “cozy mystery” to be a both perplexing and relieving. Cozy mystery is a subgenre of crime fiction meant to be palatable for young readers—featuring a relatable amateur sleuth in a small setting, typically not depicting sexual violence, lightly depicting physical violence, and usually avoiding vulgar language—while investigating a fully committed act of violence. This approach provides a great segue for newcomers to mysteries, thrillers, and horror as well as a “safer” or less triggering body of fiction for those who prefer less intense works of fiction. And Shady Hallow is definitely a good example of a less intense mystery.

This story was an entertaining and cozy break from a lot of the more intense fiction and non-fiction I have been finishing lately. Juneau Black’s inclusion of a list of characters and detailed village map spoke to my nerdy heart! Set in the small village of Shady Hallow, Shady Hallow follows how the lives of many anthropomorphic woodland creatures are turned upside when one of their own is murdered. The village’s absolute lack of experience with investigating murders effectively means that every character, including the two law enforcement officers, is an amateur sleuth and a possible suspect.

Juneau Black utilizes a third-person narrator to primarily follow reporter Vera Vixen as she follows the trail of clues in order to solve the murder, while also briefly following other characters throughout the story. Their prose is witty, concise, and easy to follow while still having distinct voices for each character. I appreciate that Juneau Black associated specific animals’ geographic origins with the ecological range they would be observed in in real life without utilizing offensive accents, speech patterns, or other derivative tropes to emphasize that not every species living in Shady Hallow is from Shady Hallow.

I also appreciate how Shady Hallow depicts the way misconceptions and stereotypes lead some to make harmful assumptions about the people (or creatures) around them. Soon after the murder of a Shady Hallow citizen is discovered, another creature is arrested and assumed guilty simply because of who and what they are. As the story goes on, a new-comer citizen of Shady Hallow is suspected by longtime citizens simply because the new-comer is not originally from Shady Hallow. Another character is looked down on by many Shady Hallow citizens because of the rumors surrounding their dating life. Shady Hallow is a young adult mystery that does not shy away from showing how assumptions can sometimes cause real harm.

My overall rating for Juneau Black’s Shady Hallow is 4 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed reading this book! Juneau Black is the pen name shared by Jocelyn Cole and Sharon Nagel. The story utilizes some well-known tropes of cozy “whodunit” mysteries, but their prose is witty, observant, and easy to follow. The characters’ species types influence the individual character traits without being derivative—sometimes personifying certain stereotypes of human group dynamics—and each character has a distinct voice. I am not sure if I agree with the book cover quote comparing it to Richard Adams’ Watership Down, since that is a very different kind of story. But, like Watership Down, this story has an un-put-down-able quality. And there are already six books and two short stories published in this series! I look forward to reading more Shady Hallow mysteries.

Dångkulo' na' saina ma'åse'! Thank you so much for reading my review of Shady Hallow by Juneau Black.

Rating Cheat Sheet

4.75 - 5.00 stars: Everyone should read this book! (If you’re into that sort of thing.)
4.00 - 4.50 stars: I appreciated many aspects of this book. I recommend it!
3.00 - 3.75 stars: I liked some aspects of this book. I won’t revisit it, but someone else might really like it.
2.00 - 2.75 stars: There were some things I appreciated about this book, but I do not recommend it.
0.25 - 1.75 stars: I do not recommend this book. I did not enjoy or appreciate the experience of it.

Post Date: 30 June 2025