Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Wolf Hollow by Victoria Houston

 
Wolf Hollow (Crooked Lane, 2022) by Victoria Houston is the first book in a new series, except really the only change from her long-running flyfishing mystery series is the main character. Set in Loon Lake, Wisconsin, a fictional town in northern Wisconsin, all of the earlier books focus on fly-fishing and its complexities as much as they do on solving homicides. Nineteen books centered on retired dentist Paul Osborne, a widowed recovering alcoholic, and his fishing adventures. Long-time readers will be relieved to know that this new series has the same idyllic location and the original cast, except the spotlight is on Police Chief Lewellyn Ferris, Osborne’s professional and personal partner.

Residents of Loon Lake are upset: rumors are flying about the possibility of a mining operation moving in and despoiling their pristine wilderness. The owner of the land in question is so wealthy no one can understand why she would even consider the mining company’s offer. Lew’s brother, a fervent conservationist, is working with others to take legal action to stop the prospective ecological disaster. He’s found dead near the nest of some loons he had been checking on, and the autopsy said it wasn’t an accident. Lew is stunned and pulls in her fishing buddy Bruce Peters from the state crime lab and Osborne to help investigate; they manage to make time to visit their favorite fishing spots in between tracking down leads.

Ray Pradt, the local hunting and fishing guide, expert tracker, and all-round colorful character who is always looking for a way to generate income, has discovered podcasts, so he’s full of his latest presentation and plans for the next one. There’s excellent information about the use of DNA analysis as a genealogical tool, and the DNA analysis website GEDmatch is highlighted for its work with law enforcement to solve cold cases.

Fans of the series will happily feel that not much has changed. I noticed that since Lew is a working woman, she has less time to fish than the retired Osborne does. As a result the lyrical descriptions of the Wisconsin forests and lakes are less frequent. The theme of natural conservation and wilderness protection is still loud and clear though. The next book in the series is scheduled for publication in January 2023.

 

·         Publisher: ‎ Crooked Lane Books (January 11, 2022)

·         Language: ‎ English

·         Hardcover: ‎ 288 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎ 1643858009

·         ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1643858005 

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2022

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.