We follow Vera and Lenore to Summers End where, inevitably, the two friends get caught up in murder, intrigue, and a vast criminal network. A fan of the series will be happy to know that the hallmarks are all there - general coziness, nice descriptions of food, and a mystery that is twisty but also plays fair with the reader. To be honest, I'm never very good at figuring out the killer/criminal, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that my suspicions were correct. Now, what's new and notable for this entry? 1) A change of scenery - it's fun to see Vera negotiate a community where the creatures don't already know and trust her. 2) A deepening and expansion of the world in the archaeological site. I appreciate that the authors are taking the time to color in details and history. 3) Perhaps the glimmer of a long term villain/criminal syndicate? Maybe? We'll have to see in future installments!

Thank you to NetGalley and Vintage for providing an eARC of Summers End in exchange for this honest review!

Some lil notes I wanted to share:
1. Let me just start by saying that I am an absolute sucker for animals doing human activities. A little hedgehog that is an astronomer??? Yeah, that's flippin' adorable.
2. I have not read the first 4 books in this series. I think the beauty of mysteries is that you can kinda just hop in wherever you want because they are, typically, more like separate stories.

That said, I did love this book and will 100% find myself reaching for others in this series when in need of some literary coziness.
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We find our lovely reporter (and pretty much detective) Vera Vixen ready for an easy breezy summertime trip as a chaperone for the local school to visit Summers End: an archeological dig site full of history supporting the first interspecies civilization. Of course, the rocky start full of high-nosed and ruffled-feathered academics somehow leads to the horrific discovery of a fresh body. With tight-lipped detectives and some fishy exports, Vera's little trip becomes much more intriguing.

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If you are needing something cozy and a good escape from what our lives look like right now (or the dark and looming future ahead), Juneau Black's stories somehow feel like a crackling fireplace and a warm cup of tea.

This fifth installment in the Shady Hollow Mystery series was an absolute delight! It is a rarity that a series maintains its mystique and interest by the fifth installment, but Juneau Black has certainly cracked the code.

I found this mystery highly engaging, comforting, and above all else, a perfect addition to the already beloved series. I particularly liked the change in scenery, the plot twists, and the prominence of Lenore in this tale. I found the cast of characters engaging, the ending satisfying, and the setting divinely intriguing. What more could you want from a cozy mystery novel?

Overall, Summers End was a refreshing installment in the Shady Hollow Mystery series, complete with all the trademarks of a cozy mystery. I cannot wait to see what Juneau Black has in store next for Vera Vixen and our cast of animal sleuths.

A clever and charming cozy mystery and a delightful addition to the series. The tale is filled with intrigue, clever twists, and endearing characters. The mystery is engaging and well paced with that special touch of whimsy.
Many thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Vintage for this ARC copy!

This entire series is just so cute and I love all the different characters. Cozy mystery with woodland creatures, what more could you want from a comfort read. The archology aspect tied in my favorite genre of Dark Academia into the mystery and I just loved every minute of it.

Vera is once again tangled in a mystery when a school trip to an archaeological site turns up the body of a much disliked professor. It’s up to her to prove who the murderer is

This is absolutely my favorite one so far! And these continue to be just as charming as ever. We get a new location which really expands on the world! It also explores some really interesting knowledge about the past of this world. And we also get to learn more about Lenore who has been one of my favorite secondary characters. We also get to meet some fun new secondary characters, like a protege for Vera and Lenore’s estranged sister.

One of my small issues with these books was that the mystery was always pretty predictable. But this one was much better! There was a plethora of suspects and possible motives that kept me guessing. And looking back I can see the breadcrumbs.

I am looking forward to the next installment of this series, and I’m definitely recommending this.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this arc!

Summers End was another great cozy read from Juneau Black. I liked the character exploration and the writing was propulsive. I would read more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Vintage Books for sending me a copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

As always, this duo has given an impeccable mystery in the heart of the woodland! This one was particularly fun with all the culture and archeology embedded in it! I loved the little nod to academia as well as legends and lore. It was such a refreshing little story for the end of summer that really tied everything off so well.

Get your hands on this perfect little series! It will blow your mind but also leave you so cozy!

Thank you so much Net Galley for this arc. I adore this series, I was sucked in from beginning to end. What an interesting concept of artifacts and folklore. I loved that she traveled to another town, met a lot of other creatures, and still managed to solve the mystery. It was cozy and you could just fell summer ending and all of the beautiful things that happen as Fall begins to knock on the door. I adored that Lefty was involved more as well, he is a fav character. YEAH Vera Vixen, the Jessica Fletcher of Shady Hollow!

This book was gripping and hard to put down. It didn't feel like everything else you see out there, it felt very fresh. I really enjoyed this book!

My favorite book in the Shady Hollow series yet. This one sees Vera Vixen investigate a mysterious death at an archeological site. With references to Poe and delightful culinary descriptions, this story gives readers a cozy vibe and breezy escape.

Thank you Net Galley for this e arc. Summers End is the latest installment of Juneau Black cozy woodland murder mystery series. This book features a summer vacation, folk tales, archeology and a little bit of occultism. Vera Vixen and Lenore as always are an adorable pair. This book in the series actually took me by surprise. I would definitely suggest reading Summers End.

This is such a fun cozy mystery series with woodland creatures as the characters. This was a great addition to the series!

I cannot get enough of the critters in Shady Hollow. I want to be a part of every crime Vera Vixen is trying to solve. The world that Juneau Black has crafted is fascinating. I cannot wait for the next installment.

If you’re not familiar with the Shady Hollow series, they are fun reads for fans of cozy mysteries. When I reviewed the first book in the series, I mentioned that the authors described it as a mix of Agatha Christie and Beatrix Potter.

Shady Hollow is a quaint country village set in the north woods. You could easily see it as a town ripe for a visit by Miss Marple or Hercule Piorot. With the twist that this village is populated not by people, but by animals (or creatures as the authors prefer).

In Summer’s End the fox-y reporter Vera Vixen is convinced by her good friend and local bookseller Lenore (a raven who calls her bookstore “Nevermore Books”) to accompany her as one of a group of chaperones for local school students. They will set off on a week-long excursion to a place called Summers End, a famous prehistoric monument that is a two-day journey up the river from Shady Hollow.

Vera plays the role of sleuth in the Shady Hollow books, and her boss is a skunk of an editor at the local newspaper, the Herald. Vera convinces him that she’ll be able to bring a story back from the trip, even if only a human-interest story about the local village and its intriguing prehistoric site. She’ll be joined on the trip by Athena Standish, a vole and college intern who is hoping to learn the ropes of journalism at Vera’s side.

Luckily for the school group, the timing of the trip will coincide with the actual day of Summers End, the one morning of the year when the sun will rise and shine its light through an opening in the monument onto the “calendar stone”, signaling to prehistoric creatures that the end of summer had arrived.

Arriving by boat at the village surrounding Summers End, Lenore, Vera and the school group find the place full of academics from the local university who spend their summers studying the prehistoric site. Academic rivalries and jealousies are hard to overlook as Vera and Athena encounter many of the professors during a walking tour of the small village.

The trip goes according to plan until the morning of the actual Summers End day, when the school group gathers for the big event. But when the sun actually rises it reveals not only the calendar stone but also the dead body of Professor Durham, a big horn sheep who oversaw academic studies of the site and ruled with an “iron hoof”.

And just like that Vera finds herself once again plunged into the midst of a murder mystery. But this time Lenore’s sister Ligeia is a prime suspect. With Athena’s help Vera gets right to work. Is Ligeia really the murderer? What was the significance of the prehistoric artifacts arranged around the body? What role does the evasive antiques dealer have in the events of Summers End day? All these questions and more are answered in Summers End.

I love this series. It's like Nancy Drew meets Beatrix Potter with a slight twist of Dashiell Hammett. Lenore Lee has managed to convince Vera Vixen to volunteer as a chaperone on a school visit to the archaeological site, Summer's End. It's an important archaeoastronomy site, with an amazing solar event that happens once a year. The archaeologists working at the site will give the students a personal behind the scenes tour, so Vera decides that the opportunity to see the site with these guides is too good to pass up. I really enjoyed the action moving out of Shady Hollow although I did miss Orville. The school group is horrified when they discover a corpse on the site, and Vera springs into action when she realizes that the police's main suspect is Lenore's sister. But without Orville, her access to the site and information is restricted, and she finds that she has to nose around in some unconventional ways to discover the murderer. While I did think the culprit was easy to identify early on, that did not detract from my enjoyment at all. I'm a retired archaeologist, and I have to say the authors did a terrific job at creating a culture history and archaeological site, and the description of the site, the lab, the artifacts, etc. was terrific and spot-on correct. It is so well depicted that I wonder if someone has a background in anthropology or archaeology. Highly recommended to those who enjoy whimsy with their mystery.

An incredible book with wonderful characters and a beautiful setting. It will keep you guessing until the end.

Unfortunately, this was just not the book for me. I do love a good cozy mystery but I just could not get past the characters as animals. When I envisioned it all in my head it just didn’t make any sense. I know that there are folks out there that will love this book, the quaint characters & darling scenes, but not me.

Another sublime mystery for cozy crime fans, Summers End follows the intrepid Vera Vixen as she ventures out of Shady Hollow with a group of young animals to Summers End, a historic college town brimming with jealousies, tensions, academic disgrace, and a body or two to boot. Deeply enjoyable, the latest installment in duo Juneau Black's Shady Hollow series shows no sign of slowing down or running out of steam, concocting a perfect blend of mystery, friendship, romance, and small town whimsy.

As someone with a background in archaeology, this book felt right up my alley and just loved every minute of it. I loved the dark academia setting and while I absolutely love the town of Shady Hollow, the change in setting felt like a great way to switch things up while still staying true to the coziness found throughout the rest of the series.