Baroness Book Trove
Written on May 27, 2019
Abby killed Nadine White? I don't believe it.
Christmas Criminals and Campers by Tonya Kappes is a great cozy mystery set during Christmas time. Mae is friends with Abby Fawn and doesn't think that Abby should go to jail for this crime that she didn't commit. She has to convince Hank Sharp of that.
Mae West, our sleuth
Mae West is our sleuth and main character throughout the book as she is telling the story. Getting into Mae’s head is excellent; I love the way that she solves the crimes. Mae got the campground, Happy Trails, from her deceased ex-husband and has been living there since the end of spring and start of summer. She has gone through a lot since that ordeal and for the better. Mae likes living in Normal, Kentucky, and is enjoying the friends she has made in the small town. It doesn’t help that she has solved three crimes before figuring this one out as well.
Likes
- She believes in her friendships, and that makes her want to solve crimes where they are involved.
- Mae can get people to open up to her and give her clues that they wouldn’t necessarily give to the police.
- Putting the past behind her when it comes to Mary Elizabeth and Bobby Ray.
- She can solve crimes faster than Hank or just as Hank is coming to get her.
Hank Sharp, love interest and detective
Hank Sharp is our love interest and the cop insight that helps the sleuth. Well, more like, he allows her to help him solve a crime if he thinks it will help. Hank should know by now that as long as the suspect is someone that Mae holds dearly to her that she will try to solve the mystery with or without his help. He is a sweet guy who is protective and romantic. They finally had their first date, and it was delightful and cute even if it ended badly.
Likes
- He is protective of Mae and doesn’t want anything to happen to her.
- Hank lets her participate in solving the mysteries even if it won’t be good for her if she gets caught.
- He is a great detective.
- They are comfortable around each other. Especially when they can eat take out so as not to get in each other’s way in the small kitchen.
Dislikes
- Tries to keep Mae from meddling before enlisting her help
Mystery
The mystery is of a famous author getting killed at the library and who do Mae and Hank find with the murder weapon in her hand, Abby Fawn, and now Mae has to figure out who did it. The thing is that there were two crimes, and I figured out one part of it but not the second part. The murder weapon was a knife that was in the neck of Nadine White, a romance writer, that Abby was a fan of.
Ms. Kappes did an excellent way of keeping the real killer hidden until Mae figures it out. I am still amazed about it but at least Abby Fawn, the librarian, didn’t do it. The real killer was pretty smart, but if only she didn’t leave something out in the open for Mae to find she might have gotten away with it.
Five Star
Christmas Criminals and Campers by Tonya Kappes is the fourth book of this series which I can’t get enough of reading. It’s such a cute southern cozy mystery read and made me feel like I was in Normal, Kentucky, during winter instead of in Montana during spring. I might reconsider being friends with Mae because of all the dead bodies dropping around her. There are some great recipes in the back of the book as well.
I am giving it a five-star rating and recommending it to anyone that likes cozy mysteries.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Christmas Criminals and Campers by Tonya Kappes.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove