The audiobook of this one was well done! It really brought me in right away at the start, but overall the story really just fell flat for me. This is likely just a personal issue as I tend to stay more on the thriller/suspense end of the spectrum rather than mystery, but overall I'm left feeling very "meh." Was not at all a bad book, but I couldn't bring myself to care much about the constant themes of fly fishing and bougie land purchasing. Was definitely cool to hear the constant references to towns in my home state of Wisconsin and really loved that aspect of it!

If you like domestic, legal mysteries set in a small Wisconsin lake town, I think you should give this one a try! Thank you again NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my ARC!

Wolf Hollow by Victoria Houston is a great cozy mystery with multiple murders and suspects. I loved how the author wrote the unpredictable twists, the small town of Loon Lake, Wisconsin and the endearing characters with a panache for fly fishing. Whitney Deckhouse brought the characters to life with her voice. Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to review this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lew Ferris is a great character and I look forward to more books.

Thank you for a copy to review. The writing was good, the story was okay. I had an issue with the audio part however which made it hard for me to really focus on the work. The reading was slow so I tried to speed it up and it distorted the voice.

This book ended up being only okay for me. The mystery was interesting but I couldn't connect with any of the characters, I was a bit bored for chunks of the book and the writing style didn't really work for me. The book was pretty straight forward without much in the way of twists. It had a cozy mystery vibes for parts but not for the whole book which threw me off a bit.

A cozy mystery that will draw you in!
While tracking child predator, Noah McDonough, and dealing with his mother Grace, Chief Lew Ferris also has to grapple with the death of her brother. The story was an easy listen and Whitney Dykhouse did a wonderful job of distinguishing characters. Overall a fun read in a newer genre for me!

Thank you Dreamscape Media and Net Galley for the audio arc!

Wolf Hollow by Victoria Houston is book one of the new Lew Ferris Murder Mystery series. Lew is the first female police chief of Loon Lake in the northwoods of Wisconsin where fly fishing is the norm.

The audiobook begins with the tracking of child predator Noah that leads to the murder of Noah and his land owner mother Grace. As Lew investigates the crime she is sadly stalled by the death of her environmentalist brother Pete. With an evil mining company looming in the background it is easy to connect the clues but there is a townsfolk member who is the greedy connection to the murders.

For cozy murder mystery lovers this standalone no cliffhanger first book is a delight. Narrator Whitney Dykhouse does a tremendous job with a deep cast of characters.

If you are a fan of Murder She Wrote this is perfect entertainment. I am excited for book two and this would make a great tv series.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the chance to listen to the audio version of Wolf Hollow by Victoria Houston. This was the first book of Victoria Houston's I have listened to or read. The summary sounded interesting but it was cozy mystery which I was not expecting. It also seemed to be a series sequel to the Loon Lake mysteries even though it was Lew Ferris #1. The mystery was ok, but a bit boring. It was nice that Sheriff Lew Ferris was a strong female character and the narrator, Whitney Dykhouse was great. I however just found I seemed to be missing some of the background of the various characters as I had not read any of the other series.

Wolf Hollow (Lew Ferris #1)
Victoria Houston
Several pre-teens set a trap and tried to make a citizen’s arrest of a man that attempted to entice a twelve-year-old girl off of social media. It turns out the man was Noah McDonough. He managed to escape the kid but not Police Chief Lew Ferris. Lew talked to the kids, and they explained what they were up to. She told them how dangerous their plan had been. Then she arrested Noah. He was the son of Grace McDonough an affluent landowner, she pulled strings and had him out of jail in a very short time. Noah was serial predator.
Grace was working with a company wanting to drill on her land. The results would ravage the ecosystem and the fishing in the vicinity. Lew’s brother Pete was an environmentalist and involved with a group trying to stop the drilling on the McDonough’s property. Pete had placed trail cameras along the path to a loon’s nest. They came in handy when Pete was found dead on the path and a bloody pry bar was close by. Neither Noah nor Grace show up at the appointed time for the arraignment. A short time later Grace’s body was found in her car at the bottom of the lake and Noah’s body was found on their property. Three murders and they all appeared to be related.
This is a cozy mystery, a quick, easy read. The novel has clues which are easy to follow. Lew Ferris is the Police Chief in Loon Lake, running for sheriff and teaches fly fishing in her spare time. I enjoyed the references to fly fishing. This is the first book in the Lew Ferris series.

I finished this book in one day. I liked narration of the novel. I found it easy to follow along. But the book it self i wasnt all that into it. The characters needed more depth. The book i felt like it was all over the place with the murders. And also the murderer wasnt really that big of a character in the story. Face pace tho. Just was a average book honestly

I found this to be a very average small town mystery novel. HOWEVER I know that this is exactly the type of story that I could easily recommend to patrons who've read all the A-list mystery authors and are looking for a new series to dive into. Mystery lovers who are also into fly-fishing will be in love with this story!

Our main character Lew is investigating the murder of a citizen of her town - who also happens to be her brother. When more people turn up dead, Lew must kick into high gear to figure this out before more people she knows dies. In the midst of the grief and determination, out MC likes to relax with a little fly-fishing.

Wolf Hollow by Victoria Houston - 2/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for a free copy of this audiobook. I am leaving this unbiased review independently.

If you are looking for a book about fly fishing full of fat phobia, this book is for you. If you're looking for a murder mystery set in a small fishing town, maybe keep looking.

I really wanted to like this book. Middle-aged female protagonist. An adult book that doesn't have a plot that hinges around sex or purity culture. But the amount of fat phobia was an unsurmountable barrier. For protagonist and side characters that were fat, it was just a descriptor, which is fine. Fat isn't a bad word. It was a strangely defining descriptor for characters whose involvement in the story should have lead to more in depth description, but that's beside the point. However, if an antagonist was fat, all bets were off. It was atrocious. And while their fatness wasn't turned into a central plot point like some books I've read, *cough* Sythedom series *cough* it was mentioned often enough that it certainly became a detractor. And any book that has the sentence "his stomach tended to enter a room before he did" is gonna be on my shit list.

Normally a book I had these issues with would be a one star, regardless of the quality of the story. However, out of a want to support Dreamscape Media and adult fiction that doesn't contain explicit sex scenes or gratuitous purity culture worship, I've given it 2/5, which is probably more than it deserves.

Gripping and Intriguing! This storyline grabbed my attention in chapter one and never wavered. A cunning tale of multiple murders. Female police chief Lew Ferris begins her investigation into her brother's murder only to realize it has morphed into multiple murders. An unpredictable plot designed to cover up a plan to obtain drilling rights at Loon Lake and make someone a very rich man. Whitney Dykhouse is excellent as the narrator. If you like mystery and strong female leads, this is a must read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this advanced review copy. In return, I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Usually I know a bit more about the books I intend to read ahead of time, but with this one I took a chance solely based on the cover and description of the novel.

In this case, it paid off. I'm not a huge mystery reader, but Wolf Hollow did a great job of keeping my interest on the crimes while still building out the main characters and their relationships. The author certainly made a point to feature female characters in most of the significant roles, which I appreciated and didn't feel was too heavy-handed (just "handed", maybe). The central mystery is complex enough to keep readers engaged, and it doesn't fall victim to any flashy plot twists (I'm not saying there are no plot twists, just no pointless ones that render it unbelievable). I felt the whole story was paced pretty well.

One small critique I have with the writing is that the author doesn't seem to have enough faith in the reader at times. This is particularly apparent when background and relational information about secondary and tertiary characters is needlessly repeated every time the character is mentioned.

As an audiobook, this one was pretty good. I wasn't completely sold on all of the narrator's inflections, but for the most part it was enjoyable. There were also some weirdly abrupt scene transitions that I suspect are down to the audio editing and don't exist in print editions.

Two notes that are fairly inconsequential:
- I could have gone without so many mentions of "bad actors" - it's kind of a cliche phrase. The first time it's used, it's a great characterization of Lew and how she thinks. But it got old after that, for me.
- I read it, I get where the title of the book comes from - and I don't think it's really a "title-level" detail. Don't get me wrong, it's an enticing title so I guess it's doing its job. But I wish the title had tied into the bigger mystery more.

So, putting it all together: Wolf Hollow is a well-paced, fleshed-out, women-led mystery (thriller?). It's not trying to revolutionize the game, so it doesn't, but it's got enough in there to entertain someone who doesn't usually pick up this genre.

A cozy-ish mystery that takes place in a beautiful scenic community. Just look at that beautiful cover. And I’m definitely going to try to fly fishing after this. I really felt like I was there learning about how to do it. This had likable characters and ones to hate! The mystery wasn’t like all these new books, gruesome and scary. I found it entertaining and enjoyable. The whole thing had a wholesome town feeling with genuine friendships. Something I really don’t see anymore.
I chose to listen to this book on audio and really liked the narrator Whitney Dykhouse. I recommend this if you like a cozy mystery.
Thanks Dreamscape Media via NetGalley.

This is my first Victoria Houston book, but it sure won't be my last! A well plotted mystery surrounding a strong, intelligent female sheriff in a small lake town in Wisconsin that will entertain and delight for hours to come. The characters and victims are extremely realistic and just enigmatic enough to draw you and make you want to untangle their personalities to see what happened to them. This appears to be the first book in a potential new series and I must say it is an excellent one! I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook as the narrator did an outstanding job of bringing the story to life, but I will be looking for a print version of this book for husband to read as soon as I finish writing this review!

Small town vibes, sordid crimes, and a likable, trustworthy police chief. This has everything that you could ask for from a cozy small-town mystery, and I think will be a hit in the coming months with those who want to bunker down and breeze through an uncomplicated but gripping tale.

The story is a murder mystery but it also included wildlife conservation and fishing. The protagonist loves to fish and she also teaches how to fish correctly. Loon Lake a picturesque town in Wisconsin is facing some environmental trouble, with a plot of land pending sell to a sulfide mine , people start showing up dead. Our story begins with Lou the small town sheriff getting called to a citizens arrest by a group of young people attempting to arrest a 24 year old man who was having inappropriate contact with a young girl in the town. This man arrested by these you kids is Noah the son of the property owner Grace who is trying to sell her land to a sulfide mine. The next day Lou is called to the death of her brother Pete who died mysteriously in the woods. Unsure if foul play is involved Lou’s begins an investigation. Not long after the body of Grace shows up in the bottom of the river and Noah is missing. With Noah not showing up for his court date people begin to believe maybe Noah is responsible for both deaths. That is until Noah is also found dead in a hunting cottage. With suspects showing up dead Lou begins to look into the connections between her brother and Grace family to understand what is happening in this small town. My two main issues were that I didn't really connect with the characters, and I didn't like the writing style; I found it dry and flat. I enjoyed the outdoor feel of the book but the characters were not of much interest to me and the writing is flat not too exciting.

Want to thank NetGalley, the author and Dreamscape Media LLC ~ for this audio.

Part environmental thriller and part kids trying to nab a possible predator all small town vibes. Unfortunately it wasn't for me.

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to listen to an advanced copy of this audio book.

Loon Lake Sheriff Lew Ferris, who is thinking of running for the county sheriff’s position, has to respond to the finding of a body on a local river, which turns out to be her brother. First thinking that his death was due to natural causes, some evidence points to the need for an official autopsy which finds that he was killed. At the same time she is dealing with several kids who were trying to make a citizen’s arrest on a possible sexual predator. When the local population is upset about the possibility of a mining company destroying part of the natural habitat, Lew and her team are further stretched while juggling all of what is happening. Such is the life for a resort town sheriff and her staff. Along the way she uses the services of her retired dentist love interest and an unusually flamboyant fishing guide to solve all of the cases before her.

Victoria Houston’s Loon Lake series continues with this first Lew Ferris mystery, and the people of this busy resort town. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audio version of this book, and look forward to many more in the series.

Story stars with four twelve year olds trying to make a citizen’s arrest on Noah the twenty-four year old son of Grace McDonough, a wealthy land owner. The kids say he was trying to pick up one of the friends on social media.
They explain all this to Lew Ferris the Police Chief in Loon Lake, Wisconsin.
As Lew is dealing with this, her finds out that her brother Pete is in the hospital and just died from a heart attack.. We soon find out that he was murder.

Story kept me interested. I like the idea of a fishing village in the mid west.
.I read a lot of mysteries so found it predictable..
I also thought it would have been better as a cozy.
We cozy readers know there is a bit of a formula
 *Entertaining - character based
 *Mystery - no gore
 *The crime-solver is usually a woman who is well liked and has a love interest but no explicit sex
 *Residences know each other and are likeable except for a few nasty characters.
 -Little to no profanity. ~ Nope doesn’t meet this criteria.
In fact, I thought the nasty language wasn’t necessary ~ but that’s me. I am sure most readers didn’t notice.

The narrator Erin Miller did a great job in performing the characters.

Want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Media LLC ~ for this audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 11, 2022