Tents, Trails, & Turmoil

Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery Series, Book 11

By: Tonya Kappes

Narrated by: Johanna Parker

Mae West knows tourism and nothing stops tourists like a dead body found in the Daniel Boone National Park.

Unfortunately, Yaley Woodard, a local tour guide, is found dead at Happy Trails Campground. Mae is determined to put her amateur sleuth skills to investigate along with the help of the Laundry Club gals.

But when Yaley's past ends up being tied to forest trails and local Joel Grassel, Mae realizes Yaley's death has caused much more turmoil than she'd originally thought - and the killer might want to close the tourism in the Daniel Boone National Park for good.

©2020 Tonya Kappes (P)2020 Tantor

Tents, Trails, & Turmoil

Tents, Trails, and Turmoil by Tonya Kappes
Campers and Criminals book 11. Cozy mystery. Best read as part of the series in order but can be read as a stand-alone.
Murder is close to home in this cozy mystery when Mae finds a body in the dumpster in Happy Trails Campground. Mae puts her sleuthing skills, aka talking to all her friends, to work in creating a timeline of the deceased last day.
In her own words, Mae uses common sense snooping instead of procedural that boyfriend detective Hank uses. Mae helps out though and passes all details to Hank even as he despairs for her safety.
Poor Dottie takes a tumble during the investigation and seems to like the friendships she’s made in recovery. We will have to see what this means for the future.

Entertaining and fun but the body count in Normal, KY is getting crazy.

🎧 I listened to the audio version narrated by Johanna Parker who has done the full series to-date. She does a fantastic job with the southern drawl and different character voices. I listened to this at 1.5 which is faster than my preferred because it upped the drawl to a more reasonable talking speed.

Characters that keep you reading

This series greatest strength is in the authors ability to develop characters that are multidimensional, not flat and predictable. I love the underlying character interactions that create subplots just by their personalities. If you are looking to read a strong who done it, with a protagonist who is smart , strong and relentless, you will be disappointed. This novel, and the entire series , is just what it was written to be, a light hearted, fun cozy mystery, to be read for a little mental exercise with no stress. Great characters, light plot, and a fun read.

Always nice to visit May and friends

Always nice to visit May and friends, even when so many die. These books are always fun.

Exciting to the end

So many twists and turns! So many suspects and a 4 legged hero saves the day.

light entertaining read

I usually listen to the audio version of her books as I fall asleep. They are interesting enough to keep my mind off of work and other issues. I like mysteries and this series is light enough to keep my interest without giving me nightmares.