Shady Hollow

A good reminder that there's a limit to how cozy a book can be when it's a murder mystery. Charming cover and woodland menagerie aside, you're still steeped in gossip, prejudice, xenophobia, infidelity, blackmail, embezzlement, classism and negative depiction of the non-monogamous. The end makes some efforts to address the downsides of small-town life, and suggests there may be improvements, but I find myself less eager to continue in the series.

I think part of that may be the writing, it felt like it took too many cues from middle grade adventure stories or children's picture books in simplifying action and emotional depth, which felt kind of jarring given the subject matter.