In the dead of winter in Crozet, Virginia, Harry’s friend Ned Tucker is in the House of Delegates trying to pass a bill for better snow removal and clearing. But his opponent, a feisty Amanda Fields is very much against it, saying it costs too much. When one of the young pages who assist the delegates dies, it’s seen as suspicious. Was it related to their political rivalry or was it something bigger than that? Harry and her pets are on the case. There is a lot that happens in this novel, but the reader didn’t feel bombarded by all the different plot points. Instead, Brown brings her reader in slowly and gently introduces each element step by step. Sure, it’s not always easy to follow, but the way she wrote this never felt overwhelming; it just felt cozy. One thing the reader really loved was how the animals that our main character, Harry, has, are also characters in this. The cats and dogs all talk to each other, but the humans can’t understand them, which worked really well because it was this fun element in a murder mystery. This is the latest book in the series, and this reader hasn’t read any of the past novels (although they are very tempted now), so they can’t say how much the animals play a role in solving mysteries in the past, this one, they didn’t really solve anything; they were just around for more moral support than anything else. Even though this novel was really heavy on the politics, this reader didn’t find that to be a bad thing. The reader could see how the addition of certain characters and statements could look like this was trying to be too inclusive or politically correct, but again, this reader didn’t find it too bashing over the head with it. It felt quite subtle in its approach. The ham radio plot felt really out of left field and the reader was curious what that had to do with anything; it did pay off in the end, really nicely. The way this ended was a bit lacklustre in the fact that we don’t really know what happens to these characters. Do they get caught? Will we ever find out what they were truly up to? Brown left it very open ended and the reader didn’t care for that. As for the characters though, they all felt very flushed out and were easy to tell who was who, as well they were compelling to read. Each of them had their own storyline where they each grew a bit as a character and they each came together in their stories. In the end, this was a fun cozy mystery where the reader can’t wait to read more from these characters and this world.