Author: Heather Weidner
Genre: Mystery
Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781685120368
Level Best Books
250 Pages
$16.95; $5.99 Amazon
October 19, 2021
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There is nothing like finding a dead body, clad only in a red satin thong, on your property to jolt you from a quiet routine. Jules Keene, owner of the posh Fern Valley Camping Resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is thrust into the world of the Dark Web when one of her guests, Ira Perkins, is found murdered in the woods near her vintage trailers. Jules quickly discovers that the man who claimed to be on a writing retreat was not what he seemed, and someone will go to any length to find what he left at her resort. Jules, along with her Jack Russell Terrier sidekick Bijou, has to put the rest of the missing pieces of a blackmailing scheme together before her business is ruined.
Jules's resort, set in the heart of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville in the quaint town of Fern Valley, offers guests a unique vacation in refurbished and upcycled vintage trailers. Hoping to expand her offerings, she partners with her maintenance/security guy to create a village of tiny houses, the latest home DIY craze, but a second murder of a reporter interrupts Jules's expansion plans. Curiosity gets the best of her, and she steps up her sleuthing to find out what Ira Perkins was really up to and what he was really hiding at her resort.
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Jules Keene owns the Fern Valley Camping Resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The difference between this camping resort and others is that everyone stays in vintage trailers that Jules and her staff have refurbished and renewed. The business is thriving, and Jules is happy in that fact.
But when a family shows up, the man in the next camper complains -- and it appears that he's complaining about everything. Ira Perkins has been their guest for months, and it doesn't look like he'll be leaving anytime soon. So Jules and her aunt Roxanne try to make the best of it. But the day after Roxanne has an argument with Ira, he's found dead in the woods by two birdwatching campers, clad only in a red satin thong.
Now Jules has a murder on her hands, and with the police asking questions, she doesn't think it can be good for business. Yet while her business doesn't seem to suffer, her personal life does: there's been 'accidents' on her property, a squatter, and a reporter who is both giving information from Jules and getting information from her. Yet when Jules and her crew find a couple of interesting items that Ira left behind, soon Jules becomes a target...and there's another murder. Now she's on a timeline to find out who wants to get rid of her and why...
This is the first book in a new series, and I must say that I enjoyed it very much. The premise was different from other cozies in the fact that the protagonist owns a camping resort with vintage campers. I found that refreshing, and although I have no interest in it myself (I dislike camping of any kind; give me a good hotel and I'm happy); plenty of other people will find this novel.
I also liked the fact that when Jules found information, she shared it with the police almost immediately (okay, she did digging herself, but then again, the murder occurred on her property) and really, she did give the sheriff whatever she found, so I found that admirable. I really dislike protagonists who keep the information to themselves and then get in trouble later for doing so. No wonder the police don't trust them to do the right thing!
While we didn't get to learn a lot about her aunt or the other secondary characters, I am in hopes that this will be remedied in the next book. And I did like the FBI agent quite a bit and hope to see him again in other books. I also liked the sheriff, and that's a good thing, as a lot of times they aren't the nicest of people in books.
When Jules starts investigating, she learns that there's more to Ira than anyone first expected. While he touted himself as a writer, it turns out he was anything but, and in discovering the truth, Jules gets more than she bargained for. Working pretty much on her own (and the FBI agent and sheriff), she manages to uncover more information that leads to a climax that shows Jules is quick-witted and even has a bit of humor to it. I did enjoy that also.
While this isn't high literature, it's not meant to be, It's a fun cozy that can be read in one evening, and gives us a story that is worth reading. I look forward to the next in the series. Recommended.
I received a copy from the author and the Cozy Mystery Review but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Heather Weidner's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/w/heather-weidner/
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