The Ghost Camper's Tall Tales by Elizabeth Pantley is the third in the Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic series. I must admit this one made a bit more sense than the first one in the series. It is still and convoluted and complicated story line with a ton of characters. Hayden Caldwell was ditched in Seattle as a baby left by her mother to be raised by two women, who had become her grandmother and great-grandmother. As a young woman she was discovered and returned to her rightful home in Destiny Falls, to her rightful grandmother, her father, her grown brother, Able, and two half sisters. She is now the editor of the Destiny Falls Observer, which has a camera that magically appears at her side when something happens that needs a photo taken of it. There is a lot of magic in Destiny Falls, including her home, Caldwell Crest, which changes and adds rooms as it sees fit. She and her friends, Olivia, were taking a walk when they came upon a dead body. The camera appeared and she took photos of the area after she called Able, a local investigator named Han, and local law enforcement, Jaxson, who called the medical examiner. The odd thing was, the deceased had been dead for a couple of days, but they all thought he had been killed a month ago when the police car he was being transported in went over a cliff and exploded. He had been involved with the mysterious, illegal ferry from which they had retrieved the mysterious box in which she had found a letter to herself, from her mother (?) It all gets very complicated.
Pantley's writing style is good. She is descriptive and inclusive. She has a great imagination. I just think it might be too much. There is always a lot when there is magic involved, and family members, but a book can be too complicated. It often calls for less, or for additional books in the series, or something. Kidnappings, rival magical islands, fountains of youth . . . She draws a good character. Hayden is real and likable. The ghost is good. Cleobella, her grandmother's deaf and very odd housekeeper (?) might be going too far. Other people love it so I guess it is just not my genre.
I was invited to read The Ghost Camper's Tall Tales by the Cozy Mystery Review Crew. All thoughts and opinions are my own.