Twilight Falls - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads:  Twilight Falls (A Shady Hollow Mystery #4) by Juneau Black

Rating: Liked It! (3.5 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:   It's spring in Shady Hollow, and romance is in the air. Even reporter Vera Vixen is caught up in the season as her relationship with new police chief Orville Braun blossoms. But true love is not always smooth sailing, as two of the hollow's young residents come to find. Jonah Atwater and Stasia von Beaverpelt find themselves battling their families in order to be together. And when Alan's father, Shelby, goes over the top of Twilight Falls, all signs point to Stasia being the murderer.

The evidence against Stasia appears overwhelming, and Orville arrests her. It looks like the case is closed, but Vera isn't so sure. There are almost too many clues indicating Stasia is the killer, leading her to suspect someone is setting Stasia up. Besides, what about the mysterious ghostly creature skulking around town at night? Maybe he or she was involved? As Vera investigates further, her sleuthing puts her in direct opposition to Orville, and soon she's stirred up a hornet's nest of trouble.

Genre: Mystery - Cozy    

Why I Picked This Book:  How could I resist that blurb and cover?

My Impression:  This may be the coziest cozy mystery I've ever read.  It's as if the world of Little Bear all grew up and added in some murder.  Our main character is Vera Vixen a curious fox who lives in a cozy little cottage and is an investigative reporter - who also happens to be dating the chief of police, Orville Braun, who is a bear.  I loved the variety of animals that inhabit the world of Shady Hollows and just the mental imagery while reading this book made me incredibly happy and cozy.

The mystery was a good one.  A murder is committed in almost plain sight and the killer's identity seems obvious - except maybe things aren't exactly how they seem.  Vera isn't about to go with the easy answer if it doesn't feel right and I did enjoy the investigation.

I usually prefer to start a series on the first one and I think not doing that with this one did take down my enjoyment of it a bit.  There is a pretty big community of characters to keep straight and this isn't the fastest paced of stories.  I think both issues would have been resolved if I had started the series with book one - an issue I fully intend to remedy.

This is a cozy read with a unique twist on the usual small town cozy mystery.  I definitely recommend starting with the first book as I think I would have been more invested in the characters so the pace wouldn't have been an issue and I would have an easier time keeping track of who is who.  This is only the 4th book in the series and despite the pace it is a fairly quick read so it would be easy to catch up with the series - if you are looking for a cozy fun read with a good mystery.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? I would!  This book didn't exactly knock my socks off but I did enjoy it and I think the setup has a lot of potential.

Would I Recommend this Book?  This is definitely a cozy series worth trying if you're looking for a light read with a cozy feel though I do think it would be best to start with the first book.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *