What do you think?
Van Life #2
Wanderlust
A standalone novel: Van Life mysteries do not need to be read in order!
Synopsis:
When Amanda ditched her lucrative job and high-rise apartment for a life of adventure on the open road, she got way more than she bargained for...
After months of documenting her adventures on social media, Amanda’s channel is a huge success. Better yet, she’s visiting one of her dream destinations: Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone is everything she’d hoped it would be: It’s wild, beautiful, and teeming with life. Erik, the tall, good-looking campground employee is a pleasant surprise as well. Then Amanda gets another, less pleasant surprise: The Body.
Amanda’s discovery of a murder victim near the campground revives haunting memories from her childhood. The police may never solve the crime, but Amanda isn’t willing to let it go. She enlists Erik’s aid, and with the help of a retired writer named Margaret Applewood, they set out to solve the murder. When a second body appears, Amanda begins to realize just how complex the web of intrigue and deception is. If she’s not careful, the killer may set his sights on her next.
Synopsis:
When Amanda ditched her lucrative job and high-rise apartment for a life of adventure on the open road, she got way more than she bargained for...
After months of documenting her adventures on social media, Amanda’s channel is a huge success. Better yet, she’s visiting one of her dream destinations: Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone is everything she’d hoped it would be: It’s wild, beautiful, and teeming with life. Erik, the tall, good-looking campground employee is a pleasant surprise as well. Then Amanda gets another, less pleasant surprise: The Body.
Amanda’s discovery of a murder victim near the campground revives haunting memories from her childhood. The police may never solve the crime, but Amanda isn’t willing to let it go. She enlists Erik’s aid, and with the help of a retired writer named Margaret Applewood, they set out to solve the murder. When a second body appears, Amanda begins to realize just how complex the web of intrigue and deception is. If she’s not careful, the killer may set his sights on her next.
205 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 1, 2023
About the author
Jeramy Gates
14 books47 followersJeramy Gates is the author of numerous Amazon lists bestsellers in the categories of Mystery, Thriller, Science Fiction and Fantasy (as Jamie Sedgwick). Jeramy spent his childhood on a ranch in the Montana Rockies, but now lives among the grapevines and redwood groves of northern California with his wife and three children. When traveling, you may encounter Jeramy with his family and their three dingoes, camping in their fifth wheel trailer.
For more info, visit www.jeramygates.com
For more info, visit www.jeramygates.com
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 26, 2026
This is a so bad it's good kind of read.
First: we have level 5 instalove. Immediately after meeting Erik, Amanda's inhaling him like a search and rescue dog. “It was an elusive, but tantalizing scent … it fit Erik’s looks and personality.” His personality?? This man's said four sentences. Two of them were to introduce himself. Amanda’s had one bland customer service-y conversation with him and is already like, “mm… the ancient cedarwood truth of his soul.”
Girl stand up. Get your ass on Tinder and get whatever 👋this👋 is out of your system.
“You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried. I’d follow you to the ends of the earth. I was always going to follow you.”
Taken out of context, this sounds less like romance and more like audio recovered during a missing persons investigation.
Can someone call Olivia Benson? 😭😭
The writing constantly swings between glossing over major emotional beats and over-explaining things 20 pages later like it’s doing damage control in real time. It feels like the author forgot to include reactions during scenes, then went back later in a panic.
Case in point: Amanda reflects that “Her near-accident had been rather traumatic." Interesting, because when the near-accident actually happened it had all the emotional weight of someone almost dropping their Tesco meal deal.
But when it comes to things that don’t matter, the book goes all in.
Every character introduction reads like someone introducing their OC in a self-insert fanfic from 2012.
“An attractive woman in her mid-thirties smiled up at her. The woman had dark wavy hair with bright red highlights. She wore jeans and a leather jacket, and had a nose ring that matched her braided silver choker. Amanda caught a glimpse of a tattoo under the collar of her shirt.
This woman (Michelle) has a more detailed intro than some MCs in romantasy trilogies, and then proceeds to do ✨absolutely nothing✨ She just drifts around in the background like a Sim. “Michelle wandered off.” “Michelle was making hot drinks.”
Did I really need her full character customisation settings then?
But Michelle still gets more presence than the character the book keeps insisting I should care about, despite never actually putting them in a scene. Other characters mention them constantly, but they remain completely theoretical.
The book also takes an absurd amount of time to get anywhere. Like, we're 200 pages into a 237 page book before the romance starts romancing. And it's so unsexy. Exorcisms are more erotic.
“She pressed her lips against his. They pulled close, squeezing, the heat of their bodies warming the air around them."
SQUEEZING WHAT???
I’m just going to assume they both had Capri Sun pouches hidden somewhere.
For a book that insists on describing everything like it’s filing a police report, it develops stage fright the moment two humans touch.
And then it gets worse/weirder: “Flesh and spirit came together, intertwining in a way that could never be undone, even voluntarily."
THIS IS A KISS. Not a blood ritual.
Meanwhile, every single sound is italicised.
The whine of the engine. The rattle of the phone. The buzz of the lights.
By chapter 10 I was ready to start italicising my own screams.
And underneath all of this is a structure that feels very paint by numbers. It's like the author read a bunch of cosy mysteries and romances, noticed they usually contain a traumatic backstory, and decided Amanda needed one too. So we get a 5 page emotional exposition dump about childhood trauma, and it’s never mentioned again.
But I didn't hate it. It was perfect as a “can’t sleep, need to switch my brain off” book, and all of its faults make it a super entertaining (hate) read.
First: we have level 5 instalove. Immediately after meeting Erik, Amanda's inhaling him like a search and rescue dog. “It was an elusive, but tantalizing scent … it fit Erik’s looks and personality.” His personality?? This man's said four sentences. Two of them were to introduce himself. Amanda’s had one bland customer service-y conversation with him and is already like, “mm… the ancient cedarwood truth of his soul.”
Girl stand up. Get your ass on Tinder and get whatever 👋this👋 is out of your system.
“You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried. I’d follow you to the ends of the earth. I was always going to follow you.”
Taken out of context, this sounds less like romance and more like audio recovered during a missing persons investigation.
Can someone call Olivia Benson? 😭😭
The writing constantly swings between glossing over major emotional beats and over-explaining things 20 pages later like it’s doing damage control in real time. It feels like the author forgot to include reactions during scenes, then went back later in a panic.
Case in point: Amanda reflects that “Her near-accident had been rather traumatic." Interesting, because when the near-accident actually happened it had all the emotional weight of someone almost dropping their Tesco meal deal.
But when it comes to things that don’t matter, the book goes all in.
Every character introduction reads like someone introducing their OC in a self-insert fanfic from 2012.
“An attractive woman in her mid-thirties smiled up at her. The woman had dark wavy hair with bright red highlights. She wore jeans and a leather jacket, and had a nose ring that matched her braided silver choker. Amanda caught a glimpse of a tattoo under the collar of her shirt.
This woman (Michelle) has a more detailed intro than some MCs in romantasy trilogies, and then proceeds to do ✨absolutely nothing✨ She just drifts around in the background like a Sim. “Michelle wandered off.” “Michelle was making hot drinks.”
Did I really need her full character customisation settings then?
But Michelle still gets more presence than the character the book keeps insisting I should care about, despite never actually putting them in a scene. Other characters mention them constantly, but they remain completely theoretical.
The book also takes an absurd amount of time to get anywhere. Like, we're 200 pages into a 237 page book before the romance starts romancing. And it's so unsexy. Exorcisms are more erotic.
“She pressed her lips against his. They pulled close, squeezing, the heat of their bodies warming the air around them."
SQUEEZING WHAT???
I’m just going to assume they both had Capri Sun pouches hidden somewhere.
For a book that insists on describing everything like it’s filing a police report, it develops stage fright the moment two humans touch.
And then it gets worse/weirder: “Flesh and spirit came together, intertwining in a way that could never be undone, even voluntarily."
THIS IS A KISS. Not a blood ritual.
Meanwhile, every single sound is italicised.
The whine of the engine. The rattle of the phone. The buzz of the lights.
By chapter 10 I was ready to start italicising my own screams.
And underneath all of this is a structure that feels very paint by numbers. It's like the author read a bunch of cosy mysteries and romances, noticed they usually contain a traumatic backstory, and decided Amanda needed one too. So we get a 5 page emotional exposition dump about childhood trauma, and it’s never mentioned again.
But I didn't hate it. It was perfect as a “can’t sleep, need to switch my brain off” book, and all of its faults make it a super entertaining (hate) read.
June 16, 2024
Amanda leaves her executive job to live on the road in her RV. She is traveling for her channel when she finds a body that reminds her of the past. She meets handsome Erik, where love might bloom and an author, Peggy, who becomes a good friend.
I give this book 8 Stars out of 10 Stars or 4 Stars out of 5 Stars!
You don’t have to read these books in order, I got this book free on kindle. I am definitely going to buy the first and third book of this series. I enjoy the mystery, guessing who the murderer was. I was always wrong. I love the romance and how sweet Erik and Amanda were. I really enjoy all the side characters, especially Peggy. The writing is very well done. I enjoyed every second of this book and couldn’t put it down.
I would strongly recommend this book for anyone looking for romance or mystery.
I give this book 8 Stars out of 10 Stars or 4 Stars out of 5 Stars!
You don’t have to read these books in order, I got this book free on kindle. I am definitely going to buy the first and third book of this series. I enjoy the mystery, guessing who the murderer was. I was always wrong. I love the romance and how sweet Erik and Amanda were. I really enjoy all the side characters, especially Peggy. The writing is very well done. I enjoyed every second of this book and couldn’t put it down.
I would strongly recommend this book for anyone looking for romance or mystery.
April 22, 2026
Wanderlust
Awesome read, characters and storyline. Going around the country making videos and talking about all of the scenery and everything that had happened, which including finding a body. Amanda is amazing at her job, she has a great adventure going in her RV.. doing her videos, making friends and a lot more. Definitely a must read. Definitely a must read. A+++++
Awesome read, characters and storyline. Going around the country making videos and talking about all of the scenery and everything that had happened, which including finding a body. Amanda is amazing at her job, she has a great adventure going in her RV.. doing her videos, making friends and a lot more. Definitely a must read. Definitely a must read. A+++++
June 6, 2024
Amanda
This story is about Amanda who travels in her RV. When she comes to Wyoming she meets Eric and discovers a body. How she finds the killer and what happens between her and Eric makes for a great read. Good editing, good characters and a great story.
This story is about Amanda who travels in her RV. When she comes to Wyoming she meets Eric and discovers a body. How she finds the killer and what happens between her and Eric makes for a great read. Good editing, good characters and a great story.
July 13, 2024
Great campground mystery
I enjoyed the book , the characters were well written and believable. I liked that it was set in Yellowstone and the descriptions of the park made me want to visit. It was a page turner without being gory. Great romance included.
I enjoyed the book , the characters were well written and believable. I liked that it was set in Yellowstone and the descriptions of the park made me want to visit. It was a page turner without being gory. Great romance included.
September 3, 2024
Excitement in Roaming Free
Great storyline and the possibility of freedom from being tied down to a job you don't love - hehehe. Good mystery and finally one that ties up all the ends.
Great storyline and the possibility of freedom from being tied down to a job you don't love - hehehe. Good mystery and finally one that ties up all the ends.
Read
June 18, 2024Read 6/24
June 27, 2024
Feel good for sure...
April 9, 2026
Great Read!
A cozy mystery with some twists in the story line. Has an expected ending. If you like cozy mysteries I recommend this book.
A cozy mystery with some twists in the story line. Has an expected ending. If you like cozy mysteries I recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews