What do you think?
Rate this book
Will Travel for Trouble #16
Trouble in Santa Fe
Book 16 in the Will Travel for Trouble series of cozy mysteries. Minnie and Ben are back for more murder and mayhem! Minnie Crockwell, recreational vehicle enthusiast and traveler, and her ghost companion, Ben, overnight in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Stubbing her toe in the cramped trailer for what she swears is the absolute last time, she delays their departure and heads off to the nearest RV dealership determined to find something roomier, or at least less dangerous to the health of her feet! But death seems to follow Minnie and Ben everywhere they go, even RV shopping. How does a woman choose an RV when one of the upgrades is a dead body? Minnie puts shopping on hold as she focuses on discovering the truth about the Trouble in Santa Fe. Each story in the series can stand alone, but to avoid extensive repetition of the backstory, the books would be best read in order. Book 1 - Trouble at Happy Trails Book 2 - Trouble at Sunny Lake Book 3 - Trouble at Glacier Book 4 - Trouble at Hungry Lake Book 5 – Trouble at Snake and Clearwater Book 6 – Trouble in Florence Book 7 – Trouble in Tombstone Town Book 8 – Trouble in Cochise Stronghold Book 9 – Trouble in Orange Beach Book 10 – Trouble at Pelican Penthouse Book 11 – Trouble at Island Castle Book 12 – Trouble at Yellowstone Book 13 – Trouble at Devils Tower Book 14 – Trouble in El Paso Book 15 – Trouble in Diablo Canyon Book 16 – Trouble in Santa Fe
160 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 20, 2019
19 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Minnie Crockwell
30 books39 followersMinnie Crockwell is the author of the "Will Travel for Trouble" series of short cozy mysteries featuring Minnie, recreational vehicle (RV) enthusiast and traveler, and her companion, Peregrine Ebenezer (Ben) Alvord, a 19th century cartographer with the Lewis and Clark expedition who just happens to be a ghost! The short cozy mysteries feature Ben and Minnie's adventures on the road as they discover that no one knows what goes on behind the closed doors of those happy campers. Join them for a bumpy ride!
Minnie lives, travels and writes full time in a Class A recreational vehicle. Although she owns a house in Washington State, she enjoys living in other towns and states which the RV allows her to do. She enjoys hearing from readers. You can contact her at minniecrockwell@gmail.com. Minnie also writes time travel romances as Bess McBride.
Book 1: Trouble at Happy Trails
Book 2: Trouble at Sunny Lake
Book 3: Trouble at Glacier
Book 4: Trouble at Hungry Horse
Book 5: Trouble at Snake and Clearwater
Book 6: Trouble in Florence
Book 7: Trouble in Tombstone Town
Book 8: Trouble in Cochise Stronghold
Minnie lives, travels and writes full time in a Class A recreational vehicle. Although she owns a house in Washington State, she enjoys living in other towns and states which the RV allows her to do. She enjoys hearing from readers. You can contact her at minniecrockwell@gmail.com. Minnie also writes time travel romances as Bess McBride.
Book 1: Trouble at Happy Trails
Book 2: Trouble at Sunny Lake
Book 3: Trouble at Glacier
Book 4: Trouble at Hungry Horse
Book 5: Trouble at Snake and Clearwater
Book 6: Trouble in Florence
Book 7: Trouble in Tombstone Town
Book 8: Trouble in Cochise Stronghold
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 18, 2020
This is another fun book in the Will Travel for Trouble Series. Minnie and her traveling companion, Ben, which just so happens to be a ghost, are entertaining characters. I loved the changes that are happening with Ben. I am enjoying how the plots of the books are changing up in the last couple of books. This is giving the readers a nice change of pace for the characters of Minnie and Ben. Minnie's nosiness still gets the better of her and she has to investigate. The mystery is full of twists and turns and although they are not a lot of suspects this time I never saw guessed whodunit.
I listened to the audio version of this book, and narrator Michelle Babb gives another extraordinary performance. Mrs. Babb can convey different emotions easily through her different accents and tone of voice. There is never any difficulty in telling the characters apart from Mrs. Babs's narration. She adds so much to your reading experience. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.
I listened to the audio version of this book, and narrator Michelle Babb gives another extraordinary performance. Mrs. Babb can convey different emotions easily through her different accents and tone of voice. There is never any difficulty in telling the characters apart from Mrs. Babs's narration. She adds so much to your reading experience. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.
November 19, 2020
Minnie Crockwell has done it again with #16 in her Will Travel for Trouble series. Minnie and Ben stumble on another dead body as she is shopping for a new RV and the adventure begins. I love this cozy mystery series, seems like there are all kinds of ways to get embroiled in a murder investigation and Minnie finds them all! Lots of twists and turns and lots of suspects but Minnie & Ben know their stuff and will ferret out the murderer. Michelle Babb does a great job narrating the story which made for an enjoyable listening experience. I was given a complimentary copy of the audiobook and was not required to write a review. The opinions are my own.
November 12, 2020
Having left Diablo Canyon, Minnie and Ben have headed north, Colorado bound, and have stopped for a day or two in Santa Fe, at a rather barebones RV park.
Ben remains frustratingly insubstantial.
Minnie is growing frustrated with the small camper she bought a few months ago, and stubbing her two yet again pushes her to decide to go shopping for a bigger rig. That's how she winds up at Redstone's RV Sales & Service, the only such business in Santa Fe that carries (some) new vehicles as well as used. Owner Carl Redstone is an arrogant, sexist jerk, but he does have at least one rig Minnie wants to look at. She swallows her objections, steps into the rig he's led her to, and squeaks in startled alarm when she sees the man laying on the couch, apparently asleep.
Of course he's not asleep, though he does seem to have died peacefully. The police are called, with some prodding from Minnie, and an ambulance. It turns out the sheriff's deputy is Carl's son--a much nicer person, but it does seem a little awkward. Far more awkward is that after the body is removed, Carl still wants to sell her the RV. Despite the awkwardness, and her dislike of Carl, she does have a certain morbid curiosity about the trailer, so she agrees to take another look, And when he leaves her there unsupervised for a few minutes, she finds a sales receipt from Sadie's Coffee Shop, and, inside the rig's refrigerator, a half-empty cup of coffee from the same coffee shop. Carl returns and startles her, and she drops the cup of coffee she had intended to properly dispose of.
When she tries to clean it up, with paper towels provided by Carl, something badly burns her hands. It's not the room-temperature coffee. At least, not due to the temperature.
Minnie and Ben naturally become very suspicious about how the dead man, Carl's only other salesman, really died. And with her burned hands, she's not going to be able to drive immediately, not for several days the doctor at the urgent care facility says.
It's not long before Minnie and Ben are discovering an impressively complex extended family around Redstone's RV Sales & Service--and most of them seem to have had a motive to kill the dead salesman. Sadie, of Sadie's Coffee Shop, is Carl's estranged wife, and the dead man's lover. His wife believes he had broken it off with Sadie and was not going to divorce her after all. The RV mechanic, Julian, wanted the salesman's job--and so does Julian's wife, Kerry, who is Carl's daughter...but Carl had no intention of giving that job to either of them.
And yes, it was murder, with a toxic substance in the coffee, which also burned Minnie's hands.
At one point, Minnie, in great frustration, asks why she's sticking around and is so involved in this case, when she could have just driven away--and Ben quite reasonably points out that she can't drive till her hands are more recovered, and the medical examiner had wanted to talk to her about how her hands got burned. This time, it's really not just that she's irredeemably nosy!
It's fun, and interesting, and Michelle Babb's narration is excellent as always.
I received a free copy of this audiobook from the narrator, and am reviewing it voluntarily.
Ben remains frustratingly insubstantial.
Minnie is growing frustrated with the small camper she bought a few months ago, and stubbing her two yet again pushes her to decide to go shopping for a bigger rig. That's how she winds up at Redstone's RV Sales & Service, the only such business in Santa Fe that carries (some) new vehicles as well as used. Owner Carl Redstone is an arrogant, sexist jerk, but he does have at least one rig Minnie wants to look at. She swallows her objections, steps into the rig he's led her to, and squeaks in startled alarm when she sees the man laying on the couch, apparently asleep.
Of course he's not asleep, though he does seem to have died peacefully. The police are called, with some prodding from Minnie, and an ambulance. It turns out the sheriff's deputy is Carl's son--a much nicer person, but it does seem a little awkward. Far more awkward is that after the body is removed, Carl still wants to sell her the RV. Despite the awkwardness, and her dislike of Carl, she does have a certain morbid curiosity about the trailer, so she agrees to take another look, And when he leaves her there unsupervised for a few minutes, she finds a sales receipt from Sadie's Coffee Shop, and, inside the rig's refrigerator, a half-empty cup of coffee from the same coffee shop. Carl returns and startles her, and she drops the cup of coffee she had intended to properly dispose of.
When she tries to clean it up, with paper towels provided by Carl, something badly burns her hands. It's not the room-temperature coffee. At least, not due to the temperature.
Minnie and Ben naturally become very suspicious about how the dead man, Carl's only other salesman, really died. And with her burned hands, she's not going to be able to drive immediately, not for several days the doctor at the urgent care facility says.
It's not long before Minnie and Ben are discovering an impressively complex extended family around Redstone's RV Sales & Service--and most of them seem to have had a motive to kill the dead salesman. Sadie, of Sadie's Coffee Shop, is Carl's estranged wife, and the dead man's lover. His wife believes he had broken it off with Sadie and was not going to divorce her after all. The RV mechanic, Julian, wanted the salesman's job--and so does Julian's wife, Kerry, who is Carl's daughter...but Carl had no intention of giving that job to either of them.
And yes, it was murder, with a toxic substance in the coffee, which also burned Minnie's hands.
At one point, Minnie, in great frustration, asks why she's sticking around and is so involved in this case, when she could have just driven away--and Ben quite reasonably points out that she can't drive till her hands are more recovered, and the medical examiner had wanted to talk to her about how her hands got burned. This time, it's really not just that she's irredeemably nosy!
It's fun, and interesting, and Michelle Babb's narration is excellent as always.
I received a free copy of this audiobook from the narrator, and am reviewing it voluntarily.
November 26, 2020
Review originally published at: https://lomeraniel.com/book-review-tr...
On her way to Colorado, Minnie decides to stop in Santa Fe in order to buy a larger trailer. When shopping for a new vehicle, Minnie stumbles upon another dead body. The authorities deem it as a death by natural causes, but Minnie’s experience tells her to look further and find out whether it could be possible murder.
This is another entertaining cozy mystery in which a small group of people have complicated relationships and keep quite some secrets from each other. Minnie’s instincts and nosy personality will help her in unraveling the mystery while trying to keep sane among a bunch of very colorful people.
It was a fun and light listen. Minnie Crockwell’s books always feel like a wave of fresh air. Like in previous books, it is very hard to guess who committed the crime until very late in the story which kept me engrossed from beginning to end.
Ben is still keeping his ghostly form from the previous book, which in my opinion, makes the book more dynamic and engaging.
If Minnie and Ben’s conversations are one of the best things in this series, part of this is due to Michelle Babb’s excellent interpretation skills. Babb does not read or narrate, Babb lives a story, becomes its characters, and makes you root for her. These books have great dialogs but they would not be the same without Michelle Babb. She also gives unique voices and styles to the characters, and in a way, it is like I can close my eyes and see the movie in my head, having each character a unique appearance. When a narrator does that with a book, it is just perfection.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
On her way to Colorado, Minnie decides to stop in Santa Fe in order to buy a larger trailer. When shopping for a new vehicle, Minnie stumbles upon another dead body. The authorities deem it as a death by natural causes, but Minnie’s experience tells her to look further and find out whether it could be possible murder.
This is another entertaining cozy mystery in which a small group of people have complicated relationships and keep quite some secrets from each other. Minnie’s instincts and nosy personality will help her in unraveling the mystery while trying to keep sane among a bunch of very colorful people.
It was a fun and light listen. Minnie Crockwell’s books always feel like a wave of fresh air. Like in previous books, it is very hard to guess who committed the crime until very late in the story which kept me engrossed from beginning to end.
Ben is still keeping his ghostly form from the previous book, which in my opinion, makes the book more dynamic and engaging.
If Minnie and Ben’s conversations are one of the best things in this series, part of this is due to Michelle Babb’s excellent interpretation skills. Babb does not read or narrate, Babb lives a story, becomes its characters, and makes you root for her. These books have great dialogs but they would not be the same without Michelle Babb. She also gives unique voices and styles to the characters, and in a way, it is like I can close my eyes and see the movie in my head, having each character a unique appearance. When a narrator does that with a book, it is just perfection.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
November 1, 2020
Once again this is another fun adventure with Minnie and Ben. I love this series, the author always manages to come with with unusual and interesting murders. The characters are numerous which means you have plenty of suspects with motives and like Minnie I hadn't worked out who the killer was by the end of it, so was surprised. I don't think Ben the ghost played a bit part in this story so even if ghosts aren't your thing I would still listen to the series. To be honest with you Minnie treats Ben like a normal person so you tend to forget he is a ghost anyway, even when he is spying on people. All round a fun cosy mystery which will keep you booked until the end.
Fed up rattling around in a small trailer Minnie decides it is time to up grade to a bigger model and heads to the local dealership to buy a new one. Things are not off to a great start when the gruff and abrupt manner of the owner rubs her up the wrong way. Then she discovers the body of one of the employees. The owners son is the policeman sent to the scene and the one to rule it an accidental death. Minnie and Ben aren't so sure and stick around pretending to still be interested in buying the RV. While looking around Minnie stumbles over the key peace of evidence that proves it was murder and despite it sending her to hospital will anybody believe her? Can she work out who the killer is before she gets talked into buying the RV the body was found in? Or worse the owner sells the crime scene before the lab Tec guys get a chance to go over it.
I love the narrator as she really adds something to the telling to make a great story even better. I hope she continues to be the authors chosen narrator for the series.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Fed up rattling around in a small trailer Minnie decides it is time to up grade to a bigger model and heads to the local dealership to buy a new one. Things are not off to a great start when the gruff and abrupt manner of the owner rubs her up the wrong way. Then she discovers the body of one of the employees. The owners son is the policeman sent to the scene and the one to rule it an accidental death. Minnie and Ben aren't so sure and stick around pretending to still be interested in buying the RV. While looking around Minnie stumbles over the key peace of evidence that proves it was murder and despite it sending her to hospital will anybody believe her? Can she work out who the killer is before she gets talked into buying the RV the body was found in? Or worse the owner sells the crime scene before the lab Tec guys get a chance to go over it.
I love the narrator as she really adds something to the telling to make a great story even better. I hope she continues to be the authors chosen narrator for the series.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
November 5, 2020
Will Travel for Trouble is an entertaining series that has stretched to several entries. Book 16, Trouble in Santa Fe, is not one of my favorite entries. The action begins when Minnie Crockwell decides to trade her small trailer for a larger RV. The owner/salesman is beyond overbearing and condescending to the point that I couldn’t understand why Minnie just didn’t leave. This is especially the case after Minnie finds a dead body in one of the RVs. I have no issue with the secondary lead character being a ghost—he is part of the fun—but the “guest” characters were so unlikable and rude, not to mention one of them was likely to be a murderer, that I just couldn’t get past Minnie continuing to associate with them for any reason. Her actions defied common sense. That said, I did enjoy the book and found it moderately entertaining.
The narration by Michelle Babb was very good. She made all the annoying and unlikable characters very annoying and unlikable. And the voices of Minnie and Ben remain distinct and consistent with the other audio entries of this series.
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write an honest review and the opinions stated are my own.
The narration by Michelle Babb was very good. She made all the annoying and unlikable characters very annoying and unlikable. And the voices of Minnie and Ben remain distinct and consistent with the other audio entries of this series.
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write an honest review and the opinions stated are my own.
October 30, 2020
Trouble in Santa Fe: Will Travel for Trouble, Book 16
By: Minnie Crockwell
Minnie and Ben stopped to see about purchasing a new motorhome after stubbing her toe in the trailer. The RV sales lot is where the next adventure begins.
Another book of secrets. There are not as many suspects as in the last book, but most of them are related in one way or other. From the RV lot owner, his sheriff deputy son, estranged coffee shop owner wife, her former boyfriend, his wife, somebody's daughter a son-in-law, tow truck driver and the story goes round and round. A totally fun cozy mystery, that Minnie and Ben will solve, or will they??? The listener will have to wait until the end to find out.
The narration was well done. The characters were well portrayed. Michelle Babb delivers another awesome performance.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
By: Minnie Crockwell
Minnie and Ben stopped to see about purchasing a new motorhome after stubbing her toe in the trailer. The RV sales lot is where the next adventure begins.
Another book of secrets. There are not as many suspects as in the last book, but most of them are related in one way or other. From the RV lot owner, his sheriff deputy son, estranged coffee shop owner wife, her former boyfriend, his wife, somebody's daughter a son-in-law, tow truck driver and the story goes round and round. A totally fun cozy mystery, that Minnie and Ben will solve, or will they??? The listener will have to wait until the end to find out.
The narration was well done. The characters were well portrayed. Michelle Babb delivers another awesome performance.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
November 16, 2020
Book # 16 and Minnie Crockwell has found herself in trouble again when she arrives in Santa Fe, New Mexico when she stubs her toe for the tenth time and is ready to go back to a bigger camper.
That’s when the fun begins and she and her unhealthy ghost companion Ben discover another body in the very camper she Minnie is interested in. And it seems like everyone she meets is somehow either related or possibly involved in some way or another. Minnie is determined to a fault to ferret out the truth!
Michelle Babb is so enjoyable to listen to. She is a master story teller and brings these characters to life.
I received this audible version of this book to listen to in exchange for my honest review.
That’s when the fun begins and she and her unhealthy ghost companion Ben discover another body in the very camper she Minnie is interested in. And it seems like everyone she meets is somehow either related or possibly involved in some way or another. Minnie is determined to a fault to ferret out the truth!
Michelle Babb is so enjoyable to listen to. She is a master story teller and brings these characters to life.
I received this audible version of this book to listen to in exchange for my honest review.
November 12, 2020
I listened to the audio version of this book.
I have listened to quite a few of the books in this series, and I think this one was by far the best. Anytime I missed a word or a sentence, I found myself stopping to rewind because it really did seem like every sentence mattered in this story. There were quite a few characters who could have been guilty of the crime in this cozy mystery and I was fooled right up till the very end. Ms. Crockwell did a fantastic job of this installment.
The narration by Michelle Babb was right on once again. I really do think her voice is a great choice for cozy mysteries.
I was given a complimentary copy of this audio book. All thoughts are my own.
I have listened to quite a few of the books in this series, and I think this one was by far the best. Anytime I missed a word or a sentence, I found myself stopping to rewind because it really did seem like every sentence mattered in this story. There were quite a few characters who could have been guilty of the crime in this cozy mystery and I was fooled right up till the very end. Ms. Crockwell did a fantastic job of this installment.
The narration by Michelle Babb was right on once again. I really do think her voice is a great choice for cozy mysteries.
I was given a complimentary copy of this audio book. All thoughts are my own.
March 28, 2024
Fun, Entertaining Cozy Mystery with light Romance theme and a Friendly Ghost Co-Slueth Lethario
While I did many of the books early in this series two years ago, I jumped ahead to this book which is late in the sequence. It worked well as a stand alone, in my opinion. But, for the author, if you want the books of this series to function as stand alones I recommend adding a few more sentences describing Ben, the ghost, and their previous murder investigation experiences
While I did many of the books early in this series two years ago, I jumped ahead to this book which is late in the sequence. It worked well as a stand alone, in my opinion. But, for the author, if you want the books of this series to function as stand alones I recommend adding a few more sentences describing Ben, the ghost, and their previous murder investigation experiences
December 22, 2019
Crisp story
Book 16 rocks. The last few books in the series were choppy and rushed. Minnie Crockwell returns to her writing roots- well plotted books, great rapport with Ben and Minnie. Thoroughly enjoyed. Can't wait for Colorado.
Book 16 rocks. The last few books in the series were choppy and rushed. Minnie Crockwell returns to her writing roots- well plotted books, great rapport with Ben and Minnie. Thoroughly enjoyed. Can't wait for Colorado.
February 27, 2021
Who knew wanting to upgrade campers could cause so much pain and aggravation! There are so many connections to everyone in this story it’s like being in a small town where everyone knows or is related to everyone else. This was definitely one of the funniest mysteries in this series so far.
April 18, 2021
Minnie and Ben find a body,see some air baloons and chat with hostile police and locals.Michells Babb is her usual charming narrator self.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.'
November 14, 2020
Great story and characters
May 18, 2021
Fun series.
January 7, 2020
I love these books. A nice, quick read. I wish Ben would come back to almost being there. If she keeps writing them, I’ll keep reading them.
June 6, 2021
This is back to how the books/audio should be. A great mystery, a supernatural romance - Ben and Minnie are just great. I just wanted to know who the murderer was and the ending was brilliant just perfect.
Yet again the narration was brilliant just brings the story to life.
I was given a free copy but the review is entirely my own.
Yet again the narration was brilliant just brings the story to life.
I was given a free copy but the review is entirely my own.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews