I like a lot about Fox Crossing, Maine, the setting and name of Melinda Metz's smalltown series. This is a good-humoured town seen during winter in OUTFOXED, the third book. A local legend tells that spotting the vixen is good luck, and can bring a couple together. This was the first book I read from this series and it mainly follows Victoria Michaud, or Vic, who runs the antique/junk shop she inherited.  

Bowen Gower and his younger sister Tegan have also inherited something – their grandfather’s large house. They come back to town to sort the contents for sale. Junk & Disorderly, Vicki’s store, is a possible outlet. The two siblings are a contrast. Bowen works in business finance, and his college tuition was paid for by his granddad provided he received good grades. He loves his job and doesn’t think about his time growing up in Fox Crossing anymore. Tegan has an inferiority complex because she never went to college and she is inheriting a smaller portion. She’s between jobs and intends to stay in the house during the clearance. Unfortunately, I didn’t like Tegan; she had a habit of telling lies for no reason. She lied that she won the lottery and most of it went on taxes, for instance, when she just had to say that she enjoys bar work. She may sound funny the first time, but it’s not humour, it’s rude, in my opinion.  

The town is located on the popular Appalachian Trail, so some people have a trail nickname. Another returnee is Henry, Vic’s brother. At this point, the two sets of siblings can get confusing. Henry was bullied incessantly in high school and Bowen was responsible for much of it. They were kids, but Bowen should have known better. He’s forgotten how mean he was, and Henry and Vic can’t trust him, even if he’s doing business with the store. Speaking of the store, Vic seems to be deliberately sabotaging it by buying and placing all manner of rubbish for sale. I had to stop reading the descriptions. I think less may be more.

A few issues surround the developing romance. Vic and Henry’s parents are divorcing and can’t be in the same room, so poor Vic has to have two birthday parties as she turns thirty. We see the generational expectations, role models, and stress play out in both families. And the good local people put up with everything, support the family members and help out with a free drink or a plate of nachos, a job in the bar, or a purchase at the store.

Melinda Metz has created a warm space for all the drama, dressed it up with snowy trees and a golden-eyed vixen. OUTFOXED shows the town with a different character to the summertime so I’ll have to keep reading the Fox Crossing, Maine series.