Wolf Hollow (A Lew Ferris Mystery)

by Victoria Houston

Murder stalks the Wisconsin northwoods in a gripping novel from the author of the acclaimed Loon Lake mysteries.

It's mid-May in the tiny northwoods Wisconsin town of Loon Lake, and the fish are biting. Walleye's not the only thing on the hook. There are rumors that a precious vein of nickel and copper is buried on the property of wealthy Grace McDonough, and the drilling is about to begin. But not if environmentalist Pete Ferris can help it.

When Grace's 24-year-old son, Noah, is caught in a sordid sex crime, police chief Lew Ferris makes the arrest. But a day later, Lew is stricken when her brother Pete turns up dead, a bloody pry bar found in the woods nearby. Then, Grace's body is discovered in a car at the bottom of a river--and Noah has vanished. Lew puts out a statewide APB, but before long, Noah is also found murdered on the McDonough property.

It's beginning to look like mother and son were killed by the same person. And when Lew learns that her brother had planned to file a lawsuit to prevent drilling for the sulfide mine, a key piece of the puzzle suddenly falls into place.

Lew is beginning to close in on the truth. But has the killer set his bait again, angling for his biggest catch yet?

• ISBN10: 1643858009
• ISBN13: 9781643858005
• Publish Date: 11 January 2022
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Crooked Lane Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 288
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781643858005

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Wolf Hollow is the first book of a tie-in series to Loon Lake by Victoria Houston. Released 11th Jan 2022 by Crooked Lane Books, it's 288 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out in Dec 2022. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a competently written straightforward procedural mystery with a strong female protagonist who's the chief-of-police in a very small town in Wisconsin. Despite being a fishing and nature paradise, the arrival of skullduggery, greed, and murder can ruin even the most pristine spot. That's where Lew Ferris brings her official and unofficial investigative skills to bear.

I felt the plotting was very linear. Readers who enjoy less back-and-forth in their investigations, and fewer twists, and red herrings will like this one. There is enough action to keep the plot rolling and the secondary characters (her partner "Doc" Olsen and her colleagues) add some depth but there's not a lot of time/effort spent on side distractions.

The language is PG, with some light cursing but nothing egregious. There are mentions of underage/statutory sex crimes and abuse which might be triggering to some readers, though there is nothing graphic on-page.

This is a standalone series and it doesn't seem necessary to be familiar with the author's other series to follow along here. It's a light cozy(ish) mystery and the denouement and resolution were satisfying and complete. Book 2 is due out in Jan 2023, and there are 19 books extant in her other series, so it might be a good candidate for a binge read.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 6 hours and 26 minutes and is capably narrated by Whitney Dykhouse. For this read she has a nondescript lightly midwestern American accent with light nasal quality which was distracting for a few minutes but which became unapparent after a while. The narrator covers a range of ages and both male and female characters without problems. When she read emotionally difficult reactions from some of the characters, I found her overly emotional responses distracting (she nearly screams in a couple places and cries quite distressingly/convincingly). I'm not sure how else it could've been handled, given the subject matter (sudden death), but I did find it a bit much. Sound and production quality were high throughout.

Three and a half stars. I'm intrigued enough to pick up and review book two in the series.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.