Love finding new authors that just keep me turning pages, and in this case, it almost makes me take up fly fishing!
Lew Ferris police chief of Loon Lake and master fly fisher has a problem, Grace McDonough, majority landowner at the lake, is found in a car in the river, Grace’s son Noah is found dead in wood hideaway, and to top all off their land was about get drilled for nickel and copper. Environmentalist are about the file a lawsuit; Lew’s brother was part of this, and is also found dead.
A great story, with lots of twists and turns, looking forward to the next book
Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an early copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Set in small town Loon Lake, Wisconsin, this mystery was such a treat to read. Victoria Houston is a new-to-me author and I am so happy to have discovered her! How refreshing that the sleuth is older and more mature than many. Police chief Lew teams up with her retired boyfriend Doc Osborne in dead body cases as he is adept at tooth identification. As Doc is retired he enjoys early morning coffees with his circle of friends.

A young man is caught attempting a crime. Soon after a dead body is discovered, that of Lew's brother. Lew has a personal reason to find the killer and she cannot rest until she does. Meanwhile, there are other murders, property drama and the care of a environmentalist...a lot of angst and layer peeling. Deception and lies galore. Lew knows the importance of mental health in her occupation so takes time to fly fish with her close friends when she can. She also instructs others. How interesting to learn more about it! I've only seen it at a distance. The nature details are lovely, as is the cover.

We all deal with grief differently but Lew's reaction was a bit unconvincing. Her character is likeable, enough to care about what happens to her. The range of characters is great and the subplots are written in beautifully.

My sincere thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this fascinating mystery! I look forward to reading more of this author's works.

Written by Victoria Houston, Wolf Hollow is the first in the Lew Ferris Mystery series, an off-shoot of the Loon Lake Mysteries – Lew Ferris is a lady police Chief in a small town in Wisconsin, and her town seems to have a tendency for dead bodies. In this book, a few things are going on. Lew’s brother is found dead, and a summer resident’s son is caught by some pre-teens soliciting… something… from a girl their age.

This is a well-written story, and you can hop into the series with this episode (I did) and get along through the book perfectly fine. Some notes, Lew has two adult children, but I don’t think any grandchildren yet, and a non-traditional relationship with her boyfriend.

If you enjoy murder mysteries, particularly those more on the cozy-ish side, I think this is a good read, very interesting, and I’d love to find out what happens with Lew in the future.

I did receive a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Although this is showing as the first Lew Ferris mystery, Lew and Doc Osborne have been the sleuths throughout the first 18 Loon Lake Fishing Mysteries. This one has more of a focus on Lew, the female and less on Doc but, as with the first 18 Victoria Houston mysteries set in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, is very enjoyable.

First off, I've read every one of these Victoria Houston Northwoods mysteries soon after publication. It's one of my favorite series (I notice that I read my first one back in 2000), and this installment is among my favorites in this long-running series. Every time I read one, I want to go back to the Northwoods on vacation. The depiction of the location, and the Northwoods lifestyle, are very well done. Add in a great plot and characters I've grown to love and you've got an outstanding, long-running series.

Very highly recommended!!

A define 5 star Read. Anyone who loves a good police procedure story will love this. It's fast paced with a great mystery. Brilliant xx

This was a really good book! It was a good police procedural book. It had a good mystery that moved fairly quickly through the book. I found the fly fishing interesting too. I’m looking forward to reading more in the series.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

Return to a beloved series for me and it was like coming home and visiting with old friends. The book was so well written that I have searched out the unread books by Houston.

This book has intriguing characters…I especially like the protagonist, a police officer, and her man friend… this novel was sent to me by Netgalley on Kindle for review…the main character is intriguing, mature, and determined to discover the truth on several murders…there is no facade of always happily ever after…no fluff reading…just mysteries to solve…there are characters one might not like at all with no redeeming features. The back story of fly finishing is a unique thought…especially for those of us who know little about it. I liked this book…it moved at a fast pace…was honest and forthright…no bad language…I look forward to the next on this series…

Good book! Seemed a little short but still worth reading! This book had suspense, intrigue, and a few who done it! While it was short I still felt that I got the whole story. I would recommend reading it! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Thank you Crooked Lane Books, NetGalley and Author for this readers ebook copy in return for an honest review!

The mystery itself was complex and intricately plotted. As someone who reads a lot of mysteries, I am always delighted to find one that can surprise me.
The development of the characters was highly entertaining and I felt I knew them intimately by the end. The story had it's share of twists and turns and kept me guessing until the final reveal.

Thanks again NetGalley, Publisher and Author for the chance to read and review this amazing book!
I'll post to my Social media platforms closer to pub date!