Outdoors, Oars, and Oaths by Tonya Kappes

Outdoors, Oars, and Oaths

Book Summary

I haven’t seen Stanley Shelton since the flamingo keychain with the campervan key dangled from his fingertips as he ripped the Maserati keys out of my grip after my ex-now-dead husband left me broke and penniless, until now.

Stanley claims the Diamond Swamp Mob is after him and he needs my help. Something about my past, but I didn’t take him too seriously until someone was murdered in Stanley’s rented room at the Milkery. The person just so happened to have a tattoo I’ve seen before.

One problem, the tattoo is a brand from a mob in New York City.

Sheriff Hank Sharp has hauled Stanley down to the Normal sheriff’s department for the murder, leaving it up to me and the Laundry Club Ladies to clear Stanley’s name. Looks like I’m driving my campervan back to New York City and make it a girls trip.

I sure hope I can get to the mob boss before he sends anyone else to Happy Trails Campground to finish the job and get revenge on who actually killed the mobster.

Welcome to Normal, Kentucky, where nothing is normal! 

My Thoughts

Outdoors, Oars, and Oaths by Tonya Kappes is the 18^th A Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery.  It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series because the author provides the background on the main character.  Mae West thought she was being kind when she gave Bobby Rae the diamond for Abby’s engagement ring.  Her husband’s attorney, Stanley Shelton shows up in the middle of the night claiming the diamond belonged to him.  If the diamond is not returned to the Diamond Swamp Mob, Stanley could be killed.  Before Mae can begin to look into the case, a woman is found dead in Stanley’s room at the Milkery with a Diamond Swamp Mob tattoo on her hand.  Mae along with the other Laundry Club Ladies head to New York to make things right.  Outdoors, Oars, and Oaths is a lighthearted cozy mystery.  Mae and the Laundry Club Ladies plus Alicia get to travel in Mae’s trailer to New York.  All our favorite characters are back for some fun.  The whodunit is light with an obvious solution.  I would have liked a little more complexity to the mystery and more time devoted to the murder portion.   Mae and Hank are still tiptoeing around the issue of children.  I am curious to see what happens next with Sheriff Sharp and Mae.  Dottie was a delight in this one.  She has some great lines, and her New York apparel is certainly unique.  There are camper tips at the end of the book.  We are left with a cliffhanger and will have to wait for Wildlife, Warrants, and Weapons to find out what happens next.  Outdoors, Oars, and Oaths is a fun-loving tale with a dangerous diamond, a lethal letter opener, bedazzled apparel, a lily-livered lawyer, fervent friends, and relationship troubles. 

Outdoors, Oars, and Oaths is available from Amazon* (can borrow with Kindle Unlimited).  You can find the other novels in A Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery series here.  The next A Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery is Wildlife, Warrants, and Weapons which publishes July 29.  You can find Tonya Kappes' other creations here.  Thank you for stopping by today.  Tomorrow I am a stop on the Celebrate Lit Tour for Pint of No Return by Dana Mentink.  It is the debut of A Shake Shop Mystery series.  I hope that everyone has a day filled with laughter.  Laughter is good for the soul.  I had something arrive today that gave me the best laugh.  It certainly lightened my mood. Take care, be kind, and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

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