Deserts, Driving & Derelicts

 

This is the second book in the Campground series by Tonya Kappes.   We return to the Happy Trails campground and see that Mae West has settled into running the campground after fixing it up.  There are lots of happy customers and new traditions.  Unfortunately for Mae, her old foster brother arrives unexpectedly on the scene and seems to bring a negative aura with him.   On top of that, Mae stumbles upon a dead body again which leads her to be mixed up in the mystery of the woman's death.  

As Mae asks questions, she soon learns not everyone in her life has been totally honest and this just leads to more questions that require answering.  Mae stumbles along and gains clarity on those issues as well as the facts surrounding the death of the dog nanny.   Yes, there's a dog nanny and a poodle named Fifi in this book.   There role in the book is important and makes logical sense (to the extent that rich people's somewhat eccentric behaviors make sense to the rest of us)

The mystery is well written and not predictable.  The character development continues to engage us into the life of Mae and her friends.  Her romantic prospects continue to perplex her and add a fun side note to the story.   

I look forward to reading more of the series which is available through Kindle Unlimited.

Deserts, Driving, & Derelicts by Tonya Kappes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars 

I enjoyed reading this second book in the series. Mae West is settling into life owning the Happy Trails campground and her life in Normal, KY. Unfortunately she keeps stumbling upon dead bodies. This time she gets mixed up with a wealthy dog breeder and her strange group of acquaintances. To top it off an old step brother suddenly appears at the trailer as well. The mystery has some good twists and the characters still continue to be fun and engaging. This book reveals a few more relationships and some new characters. Looking forward to continuing on in the series 

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

Possible prompts

I will decide as the year goes along which prompts I use it for on several challenges since it meets multiple criteria within the challenge.

1. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes  KY
2. AtoZ   #2021AtoZReadingChallenge  #AlphabetSoupChallenge "D"
3. Alphabet Soup Author Edition #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge  "K"
4.  Color Coded # 8. A book with any other color in the title/on the cover
5. Finishing the Series   #FinishingTheSeries2021  Campers & Criminals Book 2
6. Beat the Backlist #BTB2021  #10  quest to find lost/hidden object
7. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2021   Book #7
8. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #9
9. Calendar of Crime  #CalendarOfCrime2021   
10. Cozy Mysteries   #7 involving a theft
11. Cruisin thru Cozies  One career-based cozy mystery #1
12. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #6
13. Craving for Cozies  Book #4
14. 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub2021  #12 Title Starting With The Letter "D"
15. Around the Year in 52 Books #49  A book with an ensemble cast 
16. The Unofficial Magnus Archives Challenge  #TMARC21  #46 Breekon & Hope: with an established partnership/romance 
17. While I was Reading  #6. A book with alliteration in the title
18. Nerd Daily  #NERDREADING2021 #20. A QUEST
19. Bookworm  #5.) Read a book that starts with the letter D
20. Magic in the Books 
• Book 4 #6 Includes a theft
21. Pick your Poison #12-2
22. Bloggers Bookshelf   #bloggersbookshelf #13  a murder mystery
23. Medical Examiner Challenge  1 Toe Tags
24. Beachcomber Challenge  
• Crime Scenes 
• Row 5 Home or business office
• Weapons
• Row 2   Knife
• Detectives- Mae/Hank
• Victims- Camille
25. Six Shooter Challenge  Target # 25  Shot #2
26. 52 books in 52 weeks  #42 cozy
27. Unruly Reader Bingo  #11 quest