BEACHES, BUNGALOWS, & BURGLARIES- book 1 DESERTS, DRIVING, & DERELICTS - book 2 FORESTS, FISHING, & FORGERY- book 3
BEACHES, BUNGALOWS, & BURGLARIES Mae West, a far cry from the Hollywood actress, has been thrown for a loop. Her plush lifestyle in the big city of New York comes to a screeching halt after the FBI raids her mansion and arrests her husband, Paul West, for a Ponzi scheme that rips people out of millions of dollars.
Mae finds herself homeless, friendless, and penniless. All hope isn't lost. . .the only thing Mae got to keep that the government didn't seize is a tourist camp ground, Happy Trails, in Normal, Kentucky and an RV to live in. One problem, Mae's idea of camping has room service.
By the look of the brochure, Happy Trails has plush Kentucky Bluegrass, a crystal clear lake, a beach chair with her name on it and thoughts of how much money it could bring her after she sells it. Mae figures she'll take a couple weeks vacation with her toes dipped in the lake. Things aren't always as they appear. The Kentucky Bluegrass is nothing but dirt and the crystal clue lake is murky with green slime on top.
Mae quickly find out that Happy Trails and the citizens of Normal were also victims of Paul's schemes, making her lower than tha lake scum in the residents' eyes. Mae doesn't think things could get much worse, but as luck would have it, Paul West has escaped from prison and is found dead, murdered, floating in the Happy Trails mucky green lake.
Mae is the number one suspect on Detective Hank Sharp's short list. After all, Mae has the perfect motive as a kept wife who has been scorned to ashes, embarrassed to death, and seeking revenge.
Time is running out for Mae to prove that she's innocent and nothing like her husband. If only she could get someone to believe her and talk Detective Sharp into looking at other residents who've lost all their savings to Paul's Ponzie scheme before the curtain is closed on this Hollywood namesake.
DESERTS, DRIVING, & DERELICTS Mae West is getting settled into the RV lifestyle as the owner of a campground in Normal, Kentucky. Happy Trails Campground, located in Daniel Boone National Park, has started to attract late summer vacationing families who love to hike, swim, fish, and enjoy being outdoors.
Betts Hager, owner of several small businesses, is swamped with work and desperate for help with her cleaning business. Mae offers her services, happy about the prospect of a little extra cash. Heiress Tammy Jo Bentley’s mansion is the first one on her schedule.
Mae makes sure Tammy Jo’s house is spotless because the Kentucky Kennel Association's annual meeting is going to be held at the mansion. Fifi, Tammy Jo’s high pedigree, insured poodle, is going to be on display and Tammy Jo will be evaluating potential suitors to sire Fifi's offspring.
Before the annual meeting, Camille Braun, Fifi’s nanny, is stabbed to death. Everyone knows that Camille would put her life on the line *or* lay down her life for Fifi and, apparently, she did.
Mae tries her best to stay out of it. Tammy Jo begs Mae to help her; after all, she did find the last killer in Normal. Plus, it's not good for business - or Normal's revived economy - when a murderer is on the loose.
Mae has grown to love her RV community and now that she's found a place to call him, she's not going to let anybody ruin it. Mae throws all of her heart and amateur sleuthing skills into bringing the real killer to justice.
FORESTS, FISHING, & FORGERY Happy Trails Campground is at the center of a murder in which campers as well locals are suspects.
Beloved cozy mystery author Tonya Kappes is bringing her charming world to the screen!
The Hallmark Channel is thrilled to announce a television series in development based on Tonya’s wildly popular 40-book series, A Camper & Criminals Mystery.
A celebrated Amazon All-Star and USA Today bestselling author, Tonya has written over 180 southern cozy mysteries filled with heart, humor, and unforgettable small-town characters. Her novels, known for their southern charm and rich emotional storytelling, have been praised by readers and critics alike, earning her a coveted spot as a Woman's World Book Club Pick six times.
Writing full-time from her camper, Tonya crafts worlds where mystery, friendship, and a little mischief collide — and now, her stories will come to life for cozy mystery lovers everywhere.
Characters are important to me. I like these characters, the stories are entertaining but the editing is so bad it distracted me from enjoying the books and I have to give a low rating.
Beaches Bungalows and Burglaries: This book is kind of a mess. A part-time park ranger/FBI agent who investigates homicides. It really doesn’t make any sense to me. I also feel like the town’s acceptance of Mae was nice but not realistic at all. I was expecting a lot more bitterness towards her.
The author did the book wrong by including two tropes I can’t stand. Introducing a late villain who the reader could have never guessed because they didn’t exist in the book until way too late in the story. The second trope is the author is heading towards a love triangle that has no reason to exist, and I think Mae shouldn’t even be on that path mentally after what she’s been through.
The stories are short and the characters of Normal are great and really give the book a light and enjoyable feel.
Deserts, Driving and Derelicts: I think the author is creating this world as she writes. Now Hank is no longer FBI/Federal Park Ranger – he is now a detective for the city and federal park ranger. The other issue is the author likes to introduce characters way late in the story that have a huge impact on Mae’s ability to solve the crime.
I do still enjoy all the characters even when they are annoying. This one’s mystery was just so-so but I felt like the author didn’t give me a good enough reason to care about the victim. Fifi and Ty’s father are the best part of this story. I also don’t live in a tourist-centric area so I couldn’t figure out how the murder of one local was devastating to the economy of the town and the campground, but all the characters were freaked out about it. I just didn’t vibe with this one.
The love triangle just needs to end already. I just don’t see the need and the Hank/Ty relationship needs some work.
Forests, Fishing and Forgery: As I mentioned in the first book, the author randomly changes things from previous books. Last book ended on a semi-cliff hanger for the love triangle. This book starts off with Mae actively not wanting to engage with one of her potential love interests. Like something happened between books but we don’t know what it is.
There wasn’t a lot to this story as the book is short, and the author spends a lot of time rehashing what went on in previous books. Which was a disservice because this book had a lot of information in it. And the conclusion was just over – no big finale and honestly not a great motive for several of the villain’s actions. I was honestly bored and can even now barely remember what happened.
I’ll give the author credit – she wrapped up the love triangle. I just don’t understand why she wasted all our time on it when with one little action it was over. These books aren’t long, and this took up a lot of space.
What a great way to enjoy this cosy mysteries series than by getting the first three books in the series. I enjoyed it and listened to them straight after each other, which I don't often do. I liked the characters and the small community the camp ground has formed, although not sure who I am routing for in the love triangle. BEACHES, BUNGALOWS, & BURGLARIES book 1 This was the longest as it was setting up the circumstances for why Mae was there and introducing you to all the quirky characters. It's a great start to the series. With her husband in jail and everything ceased by the FBI, Mae has one one thing to call back an RV and a trailer park, which sounds the perfect place to go and figure what to do with her messy life. The problem is her husband neglected the site and the people living there, so even if Mae wanted to sell it nobody would buy it. Them her husband escapes from jail and is found dead in her lake, making her one of the many people who wished him dead. The only thing to do is fine the killer and save the park.
DESERTS, DRIVING, & DERELICTS book 2 This was my favourite story. As the mystery was not complicated as such but had a lot going on that kept you guessing. I just loved Fifi, the dog. Happy living in the trailer park Mae is determined to make it a success and make friends. So when a friend asks her to help out by cleaning a house, Mae jumps at the chance to make a little bit of money and help a friend. The problem only occurs when she stumbles over the dead body of the doggy nanny. The owner is soon arrested and leaves the cardq of her precious dog to Mae. Can Mae look after the dog, get her owner out of jail and find the killer? Especially when the evidence points to an old friend who turns up unexpectedly?
FORESTS, FISHING, & FORGERY book 3 This was my least favourite just because the ending felt rushed to me, one minute Mae had her sights on one suspect, then the police were arresting someone else. The love triangle also played a bigger role in this book. With the possibility of closing the camp site because of a drought the last thing Mae needs is a missing groom and a dead park ranger and a dog about to give birth. Can Mae cope or will the heat get to her? Then Mae stumbles over a dead friend and things get really complicated. Was she about to break a big scandal? Or is the death connected to the other death and missing man? I liked the narrator. I have heard her before but she does such a good job I never once pictured the other characters.
If I were a camper, I would definitely considering going to Kentucky. It sounds beautiful and fun. Mae is not always the most brilliant at solving the crimes, but luckily for her, her new friends are there to help.
A Kentucky girl who left the state for a better future finds herself returning when her husband is arrested for swindling a lot of good people out of their life savings. The one good thing he did was leave her the camper and camp grounds of she would have been homeless and broke. Returning to Kentucky wasn't something she wanted, but left with no other choice, she decided she'll sell the camp grounds after a brief stay to get her head wrapped around starting over. What she doesn't expect is that selling will be hard without first sprucing up the place. To complicate matters, her husband swindled a lot of the good people in Normal, Kentucky too. Starting over may be harder than she thought and a murder or two means she has her work cut out for her.
The first story was a doozy. The next two show that even though she did manage to help with solving the murders in book one, she can't seem to help herself from meddling into the others for one reason or another.
A Camper & Criminals Cozy Mysteries Series Books 1-10 — Tanya Kappes; Narrator: Johanna Parker. Dec. 14-18, 2022
As always, brief review here, details under individual titles and at the bottom the book set’s overall score.
# 1: Beaches, Bungalows, & Burglaries — (20 chapters + 3 Camping Hacks and Recipes) Dec. 14-15, 2022 — A woman’s husband turns out to be crooked and leaves her with nothing of her own but a run-down campground and a death that makes it look like she did it. Three stars.
# 2: Deserts, Driving, & Derelicts — (18 chapters + Recipes and Cleaning Hacks) Dec. 16-17, 2022 — Another death involving a pampered pooch’s nanny, and the pooch’s owner is held for the murder. Mae looks into the death, and babysits the pooch, Fifi, who snoots her nose into her life. Three stars.
# 3: Forests, Fishing & Forgery — (15 chapters + 3 Camping Hacks and Recipes) Dec. 18, 2022 — During the Labor Day weekend, a rowdy group of men start the weekend in one of the bungalows, but turns to questions when the groom-to-be goes missing and two locals end up dead. Three stars.
This was a good beginning set to a new cozy mystery. The plots seem to get strong as the series. progresses.
The first three books in the Camper & Criminals series have convinced me that I need to continue with the series...as long as the love triangle stays in the past! I was on tenterhooks over that one right to the end of the third book because I was drawn to both guys for different reasons. So glad that's been resolved or I wouldn't be able to keep on riding. I've become so traumatized by cozy mystery LT that I'm hypersensitive now. Bwahahaha!
Love that Mae is a heroine with depth. She's an interesting mix -- equal parts snark and tender heart. And the secondary characters are hysterically unique. A motley posse of sidekicks to spur Mae on in her quests for justice. And the whole setting -- a campground with both permanent and temporary residents and the community that creates. Potluck bonfires, laundromat book clubs...all so very different from anything I've read before.
I enjoyed Johanna Parks' narration and will continue the series on audible.
The concept is a once-young airline stewardess marries a rich, older man - only to learn he's been running a ponzi scheme. the only thing in her name (and not being taken by the government) is a camper site in Kentucky - which happens to be where she was born (though trying to forget).
But what in the brochure looks luxurious is rundown. So making a new life is more complicated than Mae anticipated.
The pattern of the cozy mysteries is similar to others - Mae keeps asking questions and "happening to bump into people" until she figures out the mysteries - often due to the criminal getting so anxious they to kidnap or kill her and she survive it. Not sure that actually counts as solving a crime, but eh.
They're fun enough and with a cast of interesting characters.
This is a 3-book boxset of books 1-3 in Tanya Kappes’ Camper & Criminals series and all 3 were very enjoyable. Mae West’s ex-husband is in jail for embezzlement and leaves Mae with few possessions except a RV and a campground in KY. She leaves NYC and goes to KY with the idea of a vacation and then sell the campground but she decides she likes Normal,KY and the people. Of course there is a suspicious death in each book and Mae and friends need to solve it. These are really enjoyable cozy mysteries with likable characters and an interesting mystery. The audiobook is well done and is enjoyable.
Normal sounds like a place l would enjoy. I can visualize the town, the people, everything. I love her writing. I can see being friends with the people. Can't wait to read more!
I enjoyed the set of books. There were some grammatical and spelling errors that kept this from being a 5 star review. But the characters were fun and the ideas were great and enjoyable.
My new favorite series. Easy read, laughter, tears and a surprising ending. mad West life is a thing but normal in Normal Kentucky after she inherits a camp ground, that looks nothing like the brochure from years back.
Please see my individual book reviews. I love tis series. The people are fun and wildly diverse. The crimes are interesting. It is fun to escape into the forest and spend time in a charming small town.
Mae West and two different.guys, a pregnant poodle ,and so many Suspects . What a mystery when the head park ranger is found Dead....Tonya keeps you guessing til the end. Love her mysteries..
I have submitted reviews for each title contained within this series set box, after listening to the audiobooks of this box aet. These reviews can be found on the individual title's pages. (Audible Membership)
I enjoyed the first book but I devoured the next two. I listened on audio and the narrator does sound AI but that didn’t take me out of the storyline. I love the mystery, the small town, and of course I’m a romance girly so love triangle me please!
Lots of Fun. Loved the characters and the campground sounds wonderful. I love to camp myself and found this to be a fun series. I will definitely be reading more in this series.