Summers End

Summers End (2024) Juneau Black (Shady Hollow #5)

Vera Vixen has taken on her most dangerous case yet.

She’d agreed to chaperone a school group. Specifically, she’d agreed to join the upper class of Shady Hollow High School on their annual field trip.

Vera, Lenore, and Arabella board the ferry with the students, teachers, and other chaperones to head for Summers End, the ancient monument that is part calendar and part barrow.

This series remains a delight.

“Haven’t you heard the old joke? How is a raven like a writing desk?”

“Um, how?” asked Vera.

“Mmmm, come to think of it, the joke is probably only funny to ravens. Never mind.”

But also:

Vera checked in with all of them, gave them firm warnings about sneaking out, and assumed that once they were in their rooms that they would stay there. (Some readers may notice that while the fox was an excellent reporter, she had little experience with teenagers.)

Although this is a cozy series, it isn’t fluff.

It’s a major turning point in our history,” he said. “No single species could have built it, so by definition, all sorts of different creatures had to be able to communicate with each other to get the work done. That means such language capabilities existed before the site was built, whether written or spoken.

I really like this series, and hope we get more stories.

Characters: Vera Vixen, Lenore Lee, Lefty, Augustus van Hoote, Arabella Boatwright, Athena Standish, Calliope Standish, CJ Mapleton (chipmunk)., Georgette Ashbridge (partridge), Gerald Rosewood., Joshua Chitters (mouse), Professor Chesley, Isaiah Ford, Ligeia Lee, Vick Sumner (stoat), Keats Loring. Cora Rosewood, Adelaide Chesley, Athena Standish, Chief Lawrence C. Buckthorn, Deputy Titus Poole, Emmeline Greenleaf, Ridley Durham, Roxanna Cobb

Cover design and illustrations by Perry De La Vega

Publisher: Vintage

Rating: 8.5/10

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