{"id":25507,"date":"2025-11-09T16:55:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T21:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=25507"},"modified":"2026-01-01T12:05:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T17:05:16","slug":"mockingbird-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/25507","title":{"rendered":"Mockingbird Court"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mockingbird Court<\/em><\/a> (2025) Juneau Black<\/a> (A Shady Hollow Mystery #6)<\/p>\n

\"Mockingbird<\/a>This is the final Shady Hollow mystery.<\/p>\n

I’m not mad, though I am a little sad. <\/p>\n

The authors have every right to walk away, and with a series as enjoyable as this one has been, I can see how hard it would be to keep up the quality of the stories while ticking all the boxes that made the books so phenomenal.<\/p>\n

And I’d far rather they walk away now, then that they keep trying to write stories if their hearts aren’t in it.<\/p>\n

So what is this final mystery?<\/p>\n

Vera has returned to Shady Hollow from the city–a place she once called home. She did some research for an article, visited some friends, and then headed back, only to be unpleasantly surprised by a an unexpected visitor.<\/p>\n

First, we aren\u2019t friends. Second, last time you were here, you were told to leave Shady Hollow and never come back. And third, never call me cute. Not if you want to live long.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There’s been a murder in the city, and the prime suspect decided to run to Vera for help–not realizing that Vera herself had a connection with the victim.<\/p>\n

She huddled under the comforter, curled into a near-perfect circle with her paw over her snout and her tail wrapped protectively around her, in a vain attempt to shut out the world.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now I know this is the last book, it makes sense why almost everyone from previous books makes an appearance.<\/p>\n

Bradley Marvel is very much himself.<\/p>\n

Or maybe they didn\u2019t like the way the last book was edited. I mean, that would be totally understandable. You know, we had a whole extra subplot where Percy meets a cougar and they nearly get married, but then the cougar is kidnapped by Percy\u2019s archnemesis, and then Percy goes to rescue her, but then it\u2019s revealed that she was working for the archnemesis the whole time, and Percy\u2019s heart is broken\u2014of course he still battles all the minions and wins\u2014but the entire time he\u2019s fighting, he\u2019s really fighting his own sense of betrayal and sadness, and it\u2019s tragic really. Fantastic subplot. But my editor said it slowed the pacing and the readers don\u2019t care if Percy Bannon is sad, so he cut it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There is (of course) a festival.<\/p>\n

Sun Li had won the competition last year with his Soup\u2019s In Pumpkin and Wild Rice Soup Dumplings. A few of the judges had wept actual tears of joy, the recipe was so good. The panda graciously decided not to enter this year, to give others a chance at winning. Instead, he\u2019d been invited as the Judge of Honor.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And Vera and Lenore remain best of friends.<\/p>\n

“Sorry about the less than friendly greeting. I thought you were a dark omen of my future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAw, you\u2019re so sweet!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And as always, stray bits of wisdom dropped in.<\/p>\n

Everything is obvious in retrospect,\u201d Lenore said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re looking back, you only see the path that was traveled. When you move forward, you have endless options in front of you.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Characters<\/strong>: Vera Vixen, Chief Orville Braun, Lenore Lee, Lefty, Richard Renard, Priscilla Renard, Bradley Marvel, Darcy Montrose, Chloe McKibben, Geoffrey and Ben Eastwood, Walter Fallow, Detective Wendell Knox, Gladys Honeysuckle, Sun Li, BW Stone, Joe Elkin, Barry Greenfield, Ambrosius Heidegger, Mayor Windthrow, Callie Standish, Keats Loring, Violet Chitters, Thad Chitters, Flint Lennox, Dorothy Springfield, Mr. Unterwald, Muriel Lodge, Ligeia Lee, Lucy, Mrs. Binsley, Maverick Brown, Christopher St. Pierre<\/p>\n

Cover illustrations by Perry De La Vega<\/p>\n

Publisher: Vintage<\/p>\n

Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mockingbird Court (2025) Juneau Black (A Shady Hollow Mystery #6) This is the final Shady Hollow mystery. I’m not mad, though I am a little sad. The authors have every right to walk away, and with a series as enjoyable as this one has been, I can see how hard it would be to keep […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12,190,292,2,204,8,148],"tags":[757,758],"class_list":["post-25507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-10","category-cozy","category-ebook","category-fantasy","category-good","category-mystery","category-queer","tag-juneau-black","tag-shady-hollow"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-6Dp","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24719,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24719","url_meta":{"origin":25507,"position":0},"title":"Shady Hollow, Audio Book","author":"Michelle","date":"July 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Shady Hollow, Audiobook (2015) Juneau Black narrated by Cassandra Campbell (A Shady Hollow Mystery #1) I still love the story, but the narration isn't my favorite. After finishing Blitz, this became the listen-in-the-car book. When I previously suggested Michael might enjoy this series, he scoffed and said it wasn't for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Shady Hollow","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Shady-Hollow.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23261,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23261","url_meta":{"origin":25507,"position":1},"title":"Shady Hollow","author":"Michelle","date":"February 24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Shady Hollow (2015) Juneau Black (A Shady Hollow Mystery) This is cozy mystery, set in a fantasy world with intelligent animals. The characters\u2019 resemblances to real creatures, alive or cruelly murdered, is incidental indeed. For those who feel compelled to resolve this issue before continuing with the story, you may\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Shady Hollow","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Shady-Hollow.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Shady-Hollow.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Shady-Hollow.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25457,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/25457","url_meta":{"origin":25507,"position":2},"title":"Twilight Falls, Audio Book","author":"Michelle","date":"October 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Twilight Falls, Audio Book (2023) Juneau Black narrated by Cassandra Campbell (A Shady Hollow Mystery #4) And everywhere, you hear the sound of water flowing. It begins with tiny trickles from melting icicles and the rivulets running down the slopes. Whether seeping or meandering or tumbling madly, they all meet\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Twilight Falls","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Twilight_Falls-195x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23565,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23565","url_meta":{"origin":25507,"position":3},"title":"Twilight Falls","author":"Michelle","date":"May 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Twilight Falls (2023) Juneau Black (Shady Hollow) It's spring in Shady Hollow, and romance is everywhere. Vera even convinces Orville to take her on a picnic to the famous Twilight Falls. Wooden rails had been erected close to the banks to prevent anyone from straying too close. And for good\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Twilight Falls","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Twilight_Falls.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Twilight_Falls.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Twilight_Falls.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23569,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23569","url_meta":{"origin":25507,"position":4},"title":"Phantom Pond","author":"Michelle","date":"May 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Phantom Pond (2023) Juneau Black (Shady Hollow) It's Mischief Night, and everyone is ready for games and treats and tricks--and everyone knows not to go into the woods, or creeping Juniper, the witch who lives there, will get you. First, I really love this series. She jumped in surprise but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Phantom Pond","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Phantom-Pond.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":25500,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/25500","url_meta":{"origin":25507,"position":5},"title":"Summers End, Audio Book","author":"Michelle","date":"November 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Summers End, Audio Book (2024) Juneau Black narrated by Cassandra Campbell (A Shady Hollow Mystery #5) Buckthorn had told her to stick to her specialty. But what Buckthorn didn\u2019t know was that Vera\u2019s specialty was sticking her nose in other folks\u2019 business. Vera checked in with all of them, gave\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Summers End","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Summers-End.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25507\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}