Welcome to Normal, Kentucky, where nothin’ is normal! 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 … 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.
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Once again we return to Normal, Ky to the Happy Trails Campground and it was a fun ride from the beginning.
Mae has settled into the campground and loves her new life. She’s made good friends and has turned Happy Trails around into a money making community for her and the residents of Normal, KY. When a murder disturbs the community, Mae is quickly on the case. The plot was quick, the suspects were few and the twists and turns kept me turning the pages. I do love the sassy southern women who live in Normal and are Mae’s friends. Each character enriches the story as Mae begins her sleuthing. I am headed over to read the next one in this series.
This second book in the Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery Series is every bit as much fun as the first. Mae West is now settled into life in Normal, Kentucky and is making improvements to her Happy Trails Campground. Business is booming, and she has made some good friends.
One of those friends, Betts Hager, asks Mae to help by filling in for her at a house cleaning job. The homeowner has a prized poodle and even has an employee who does nothing but take care of this valued pooch. Mae steps into the investigation when that employee is found dead and the dog owner is jailed for the murder.
Add the possibility of romance, plus some surprise visitors, and you have some good-hearted fun. The mystery takes the reader on some unexpected twists and turns, and I expect that few will figure out “who-done-it” before it is revealed in the story.
I have enjoyed getting to know the residents and about life in Normal, and already have purchased the next two books in this series.
While you do not need to have read the first book in the series to enjoy this one, I think reading it first will help fill in some background that helps you place some of the characters and activities that take place in Deserts, Driving, and Derelicts.
The second visit to the campground is just as funny and entertaining as the first! Old friends, new murders and a party are all on the agenda in this book to keep you turning pages and giggling along. Interesting characters wrapped in an entertaining plot will have you enjoying your afternoon reading time very much! I look forward to what happens in the next book!
Deserts, Driving, and Derelicts if the second of the series but could be a stand alone. Kappes does a great job of getting you caught up if this is the first of the series you have read.
I love this series and want to get an RV and go to Normal, Ky. to camp.
There are great characters, humor, and plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing until the end.
I can’t wait to return to Normal!
I loved book 2 even more than the first. Great characters and setting. Everytime Tonya writes a new series, it quickly becomes a favorite.
Great new series!
This is the second book in the Campers and Criminals Cozy Mystery series. Mae has given an interview for the National Parks of America Magazine and had no idea how many people read it. As she’s enjoying some time in the sun, she hears a voice from the past. Bobby Ray Bond has shown up to see her. Dottie takes an immediate dislike to him but Mae puts him up in a bungalow. She doesn’t get a whole lot of time for herself and soon she’s helping Betts by cleaning Tammy Jo’s house. It has to be perfect because she’s hosting the KKA this month and showing off her prized poodle, Fifi. When Mae heads back to Tammy Jo’s the next day to pick up a check, Tammy Jo takes her to the office, screams and faints! Fifi’s nanny, Camille is dead in the chair behind the desk! Since Mae has run into a dead body and helped find the killer before she may as well help with this one too. The plot has great twists and turns and the characters in this book are great. There’s quite a few laugh out loud moments along the way, which makes it one of my favorite kind of cozies.
Mae West is finally getting settled into owning an RV park, Happy Trails Campgrounds, when a blast from the past comes to visit. Her foster brother Bobby Ray is passing through and needs a place to stay, a job, and a little bit of money. Mae doesn’t have too much time to visit as she is helping out the pastor’s wife at her cleaning business.
While Mae is trying to make sure that Tammy Jo’s house is in perfect condition for the annual Kentucky Kennel Association’s annual visit, the dog nanny is found stabbed to death. Not only is Tammy Jo a suspect, leaving her dog Fifi in Mae’s care, but also Bobby Ray is mixed up in all this mess. Can Mae sort through all the clues and find the real murderer?
This book is full of southern charm, witty characters, madcap adventure, a little bit of romance, and a lot of reading enjoyment. You will enjoy this second book in the series and will jump at the chance to read more.
Second book in a great new series by Tonya Kappes. Mae West helps out a friend and a dead body appears and another along the way. As in the first story, we get to enjoy some of Normal, Kentucky’s interesting citizens. Romance is still in the offing. But it looks like there might be more than one guy interested in Mae. Mae finally figures out who is responsible and ends up with a dog of her own along the way. Looking forward to the third book in this Campers and Criminals series.
4.45 fun stars
Deserts, Driving and Derelicts is the second book in the Camper & Criminals cozy mystery series and I LIKED IT A LOT!
I wish the laundry club ladies would have played a little bit bigger role in this installment but it was a super fun read even with a little less of them.
I got a good laugh out of the things that happened when Mae had to take care of Fifi the high pedigree poodle when Tammy Jo ends up as a suspect in jail…this dog used to have his own “dog nanny”!
Great characters, a good mystery and some nice humour! I am looking forward to book 3.
Tonya Kappes books are full of southern charm, fun characters, and lots of laughs. It’s hard not to read the whole book all at once. In this latest book, she does it again. Mae West is back with a thriving campground and good friends. When a woman is murdered and her former foster brother is the main suspect, she must get involved and investigate to clear him. This book left me anticipating each new chapter and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened. I look forward to more books in this series. I would like to see Mae and Ty start dating. I like them together better than I like her with Hank. You can’t go wrong with a Tonya Kappes Southern mystery!
I’ts a gooder
Things are going great for Mae. The campground is up and running really well, it is even featured in the Nations Parks of America magazine. Yep, life is good. Then Mae’s foster brother, Bobby Ray shows up. He says he walked all the way to Normal Kentucky to see Mae-bell-line. He is down on his luck, so Mae sets him up in a bungalow at the campground. Gets him some clothes, and even pays back the three thousand dollars he gave her to go to flight attendant school. Betts Hager has a small cleaning company and is very busy this time of year. The Ron Randel burns himself badly so Betts goes to watch his two sons. Mae helps Betts by doing some cleaning jobs, the big one is Tammy Jo. She is very rich and very picky. Mae meets Camille, the dog nanny…yes that’s right, dog nanny. Tammy just spoils Fifi and has willed all her money to the dog. Mae forgets to get the check from Tammy Jo when she is done, and she has to pick up Ty at the airport. They go to Tammy Jo’s afterward and Mae and Tammy Jo find Camille in the office with a knife in her chest! Then things just keep snowballing for Mae. What you ask? You will have to read the book to find out. I will tell you that Mae’s friend Bobby Ray is arrested. There that’s all I am saying…..get the book if you want to find out what happens.
Deserts, Driving and Derelicts, book 2, A Camper and Criminals mystery series. Tonya Kappes IS DOING IT AGAIN!!! If not already READ book 1 and 2 cause book 3, Fishing, Forest and Forgery out soon in July, very soon! Packed full of Fun, Laugh out Loud humor and Entertainment from cover to cover. With TK’s brilliant action, unpredictable twists, turns and readers’ what’s next interest! Murder and ‘what will happen’ romance. Mae West’s ex husband left her with Nothing after his Ponzi scheme. Well she ended up with a camper, she could drive. It came with a campground. In Normal, KY. Her husband ended up dead. Murdered. In Normal, KY. Read Book 1 !!! Mae has ended up with Soooo Much More than she lost. All the things she never realized she was missing. Including real, life long friends. And a place to belong!!! After solving her ex’s murder, sleuthing may be more than a hoppy. Her new goal in life, giving back, what ever she can, to as many as possible her ex cheated. And with people to help. This cast of characters is a marvelous zany mix that capture readers’ hearts. Come along to Normal, KY. A place and people readers will visit again and again!!! I read this book on Kindle Unlimited. A Must Read Summer series!!! by Tonya Kappes.
I enjoyed returning to the Happy Trails Campground for another entertaining mystery. The characters in this series are so much fun! I love the addition of Fifi and can’t wait to see how everything works out. I’m also curious to see if Mae will end up with Ty or Hank.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary Advance Reader Copy.
This is the second book in the Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery series, and although I went in thinking how could this possibly be better than the first book, I was so pleasantly surprised, because it IS! Don’t worry if you didn’t read the first one, although it’s helpful, the characters and story line are really well developed and make it easy to just jump right in. No spoilers in my review, but here’s what you need to know: This is not your normal RV park in the town of Normal, Kentucky! Mae the owner of the park has a bad habit of coming across dead bodies, even when you would least expect it and throws in her hat to find the killer! Plenty of colorful characters, humor, mystery, expected twists and turns which keep you guessing till the very end! A wonderful, quick and easy read, will keep you up past your bedtime because you will certainly want to read this in one sitting! Another winning series by a wonderful author who definitely has the knack for creating the cozies you LOVE to read!
In this new book of the series things are going well for Mae and her RV park. She’s made friends, given the park a major facelift, and taken to the new life she has started making for herself. When a man from her past shows up to the park, after reading an article Mae gave to a magazine, her friends think she needs to be careful and not so trusting. Mae trusts her gut though and lets her friend stay at the park and even helps him find a job. When Bettes asks Mae for some help with her house cleaning business she readily agrees, knowing that she would do anything to help the people and her friends of Normal, Kentucky. Mae ends up cleaning local Tammy Jo’s house, a woman big into the Kentucky Kennel Association scene, the woman even has a poodle with a high pedigree who is not only insured but has it’s own Nanny. The day after cleaning Tammy Jo’s house Mae realizes she wasn’t paid and heads back to get a check. Tammy Jo leads may to her office so that she can write her a check and they find the body of Camille, Fifi the dogs nanny. She is sitting in the chair with a knife sticking out of her chest and she is very much dead. Mae can’t believe it, who would have wanted to kill her and why? She saw the young woman arguing with someone the previous day, could it have been him? Follow along as Mae continues to help her friend clean, works at her own business, and ends up taking care of Fifi the high pedigree poodle while her owner is in jail. Along the way Mae asks questions and follows clues that she hopes will help her find a killer and clear Tammy Jo before she ruins her dog. This is such a fun series filled with a cast of characters that brings the south to life. It’s funny as well as entertaining and I look forward to more crazy whodunits.
Deserts, Driving and Derelicts by Tonya Kappes is the second A Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery. Mae West has settled into her new life living in her RV in the Happy Trails Campground in Normal, Kentucky. Business is booming at the campground and tourists are enjoying the shops in town. The article on Happy Trails in National Parks of America Magazine was a real boon. Mae is surprised when an old friend appears one day. Bobby Ray Bond was in the same foster home as Mae and he gave her the money to move to New York and enroll in flight attendant school. It seems it Mae’s turn to help Bobby Ray. Mae is assisting Betts Hager with her cleaning business and must clean persnickety Tammy Jo Bentley’s home. The next day she stops by for a check and finds Camille Braun, Tammy Jo’s dog nanny, with a knife sticking out of her chest. Mae is once again in the middle of a murder investigation plus the reluctant dog sitter to Tammy Jo’s high maintenance pooch. One thing you can count on in Normal, Kentucky—life is never normal. Join in on the fun in Deserts, Driving and Derelicts.
Deserts, Driving and Derelicts is an amusing cozy mystery. The series contains fun, quirky characters that are not over-the-top (thank heavens). They live in the charming small Southern town of Normal, Kentucky. I love the descriptions of the town. It is a welcoming place with quaint shops (I want to live in Normal). The author has a conversational writing style that draws the reader in and holds their attention. The story has a steady pace and I quickly finished the book. The mystery was interesting with several suspects. There is a twist that some readers may not expect at the end (depends upon your sleuthing skills). I am curious to see what happens with Bobby Ray. He doesn’t appear to be ready to move on (I wish Mae good luck at getting him out of the RV he is residing in). My rating for Deserts, Driving and Derelicts is 4 out of 5 stars. I would have preferred a more complicated mystery and I felt the story was a little short (154 pages). I like how Mae fixed up her RV. For very little money, she really updated the place and made it homey (it sounds so cute). Deserts, Driving and Derelicts can be read alone. It was clever how the author handled the synopsis of the first book in the series. Deserts, Driving and Derelicts is the perfect book to read while sitting beside the pool on a lazy summer day. Be prepared for people to stare at you, though, when you start chuckling out loud.
Mae’s carved out a new life for herself in Normal, Kentucky – she’s rehabbed the run-down campground she inherited and has a wonderful group of new friends. I really liked the collection of quirky characters in this series! The series also has a strong sense of community which I like as well.
After an article appears about Happy Tails in a national magazine, an old friend to whom Mae owes a debt tracks her down at the campground – is this a good thing or bad? Add the discovery of a murdered dog nanny, a stolen watch and the fact that Mae now has to babysit a high maintenance “princess” dog and you have all the ingredients for a fun, entertaining cozy! So many laugh-out-loud moments not to be missed. Great series.
Note: Although I did receive an ARC of this book, my review is totally voluntary!
This series is fast becoming one of my favorites. I love Mae West and all the secondary characters; reading this series is like reading about my friends. Being from a small southern town myself I love reading Mrs. Kappes’ stories which are full of southern charm. In this book (book 2) we are introduced to a couple of new characters; one human one a canine. At the being of the book, Mae is visited by someone from her past, a past that she doesn’t think about much. Next new character is a spoiled purebred poodle in which Mae has been entrusted to take care of, the dog come with a long list of rules for Mae to follow. Adding these new characters into the mix of the Laundry Club girls ensures that the rumors and the hijinks will ensue. This is a fun quick read and the mystery contains several red herrings to keep you guessing until the big reveal. I recommend this book fans of humorous cozy mysteries.
I was provided with an ARC of this book in hopes I would supply an honest review. The opinions expressed here are completely my own and in no way been influenced.