Monday, April 24, 2023

Beaches, Bungalows & Burglaries

Title: Beaches, Bungalows & Burglaries
Author: Tonya Kappes
Published: May 25, 2018
Format: Amateur Sleuth
Series: Camper & Criminals #1

First Sentence: “A campground?”. I gulped back a good hissy fit because one could never underestimate the power of a good hissy fit, something I’ve tried really hard not to do in years.

Blurb: Welcome to Normal, Kentucky~ where nothing is normal.

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.(GoodReads)

My Opinion: A quick, easy, light read with the usual twenty-something with a major life upheaval ending up in a trailer park in a small town and needing to find her way. Yet, it is more than that when the body of her Ponzi-scheming ex-husband shows up. Don’t worry, the usual gorgeous police detective is there to complicate and save the day. To muddle matters even further, the neighborhood chef is also there to distract her.

The women of Normal, Kentucky, have taken Mae under their collective wing with wisdom, humor, and Southern charm, making this the beginning of an enjoyable series.


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