Cozy mystery review: Campfires and Corpses

Campfires & Corpses: A Maine Campground Cozy Mystery
by Nikki Weber

About Campfires & Corpses

Campfires & Corpses: A Maine Campground Cozy Mystery
Cozy Mystery/ Cozy Animal Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Maine
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (February 24, 2025)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 282 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8311619622
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DS6KRK16

When the campground becomes the scene of the crime, will Noelle’s peaceful summer go up in flames?

Down on her luck event planner Noelle Cooper is returning to rural Maine to do the one thing she swore she would never do: run her family’s campground. But it’s only for the summer, and the timing couldn’t be better–she’s lost her job and has nowhere to live. She hopes that a change of scenery will be the thing she needs to regroup and reinvent herself.

But Noelle’s plans go up in smoke on her first morning back when she stumbles upon the body of her high school rival. She barely has time to process this before she comes face-to-face with her ex-boyfriend, meets the handsome county sheriff, and is questioned by an intimidating state trooper who gives her the creeps.

While she’s busy dealing with a group of pushy campers who insist that the murder means she must cancel the annual bonfire, Noelle becomes the prime suspect in the murder investigation. She’s convinced that someone is feeding false information to the police and is determined to clear her name.

With the help of her podcast-obsessed cousin, her anxious rescue beagle, and a few eccentric campers, Noelle compiles a list of other suspects and pokes around to uncover the real killer.

Can Noelle prove her innocence before getting tossed in jail? Or is she playing with fire? Read Campfires & Corpses now to find out.

*** This clean, contemporary cozy mystery is set in a small town with quirky characters and lovable dogs. Cozy mystery fans will enjoy dissecting the suspects’ alibis and following the clues along with Noelle and her gang. ***

My Review:

What could be better than summer in Maine (besides autumn in Maine)? Summer in Maine with cute pups and a side-order of murder and mayhem, of course.

Campfires and Corpses is a classic small-town whodunnit. The mystery is complex and intricate enough that I didn't see the resolution coming, and if Noelle is a bit unwise in how she takes matters into her own hands, she's undeniably provoked. I appreciate that all the hints are there, and make sense in hindsight, even if I wasn't any better than Noelle at putting them together.

A hint of romance, at least one character you love to hate, and several you have to love, plus at least two great dogs--it all adds up to a great summer read, requiring about the right amount of willing suspension of disbelief for a cozy mystery. My only quibbles are that there are a lot of characters, and I got kind of confused about who's who for a while, and that there are a few minor editing issues, probably only noticed by geeks like me.

And now, a guest post from one of the denizens of Babbling Brook Campground: Claire Blais

Well, isn’t this a treat. Thank you for having me. I’m Claire Blais (rhymes with “play”, the “s” is silent). I’m one of the seasonal campers at Babbling Brook Campground.

What? You’re new here? Oh, well, let me catch you up on everything about Campfires & Corpses, the first book in the Maine Campground Cozy Mystery Series. I’m the best person for that, honestly. You see, my campsite is right there when you enter Babbling Brook. My trailer windows look right out at the campground access road and the little shack they call an office. If you ever need to know anything, just ask me.

I’ve been camping at BBC for about fifteen years. I love to sit on my deck with a cold drink and watch what happens. When necessary, I pass along what I’ve learned. I’ve been called a gossip by some, but I’m not telling anyone anything that isn’t true.

My daughter camps here, too, over on what the locals call The Shadow Side of the campground. Don’t pay them any mind, it’s a perfectly respectable area to park your trailer. Not everyone can afford a campsite on the lakefront.

There are more people at the campground every summer than there are residents of Bluefield, Maine, where Babbling Brook is located. Not a lot happens in our little community, except for this year. Lately, it’s been one crazy thing after another.

You see, Marlene Cooper has been in charge of the campground since before I even arrived. Her husband Cliff inherited the place from his mother, but Cliff never liked the idea of being in charge. So, Marlene took over and she does a great job. She’s a bit tight with money; she’s a firm believer in keeping things how they have always been, even if that means not having cable or internet hookups for us campers.

Marlene has been suffering from arthritis for years, but Cliff got her into an experimental treatment down in Boston. The only catch is that Marlene has to be in Massachusetts most of the summer to participate. Well, I thought she’d never go for it, but Cliff said he’d find a way for them to go to Boston and still keep Babbling Brook running for the summer.

You could have knocked us all over when Cliff announced that his daughter Noelle had agreed to come back to Maine and take over in Marlene’s absence. Noelle left town eighteen years ago to follow her dream of working in the music industry. She doesn’t sing or play in a band, nothing like that. She just loves music—rock and roll, apparently—and she thought that moving to Nashville would help her get a job working with musicians or music venues. No one really talks about it, but I don’t think it worked out how she hoped it would.

Yup, Noelle left behind everything she knew and everyone she loved when she went to Nashville. Her beloved cousin Liz, who is like a sister to her; Liz’s daughter Mandy—a newborn at the time, and now a spunky young woman who is itching for something exciting to happen around here; and Emmitt, Noelle’s high school sweetheart. You should get a look at him in his game warden uniform; he’s a sight for sore eyes.

Like I said, a lot of crazy stuff has happened around here lately. And from practically the moment Noelle Cooper arrived back in town. She’s a pretty girl—has the same strawberry blond hair her mother used to have, and that her cousins have. But pretty doesn’t keep the crazy away. And it hasn’t helped Noelle make a lot of friends.

First, Noelle got into an altercation with Tom Bosse down on the beach. Wretched man, if you ask me. I don’t know why the Coopers put up with him camping here. Then, I heard that Noelle was out roaming the campground on her first night back. You’ll have to read the book to get the details on that. It all leads to, well…you know what happens in a cozy mystery, right? The main character stumbles into a crime or finds a dead body, and since Noelle is our main character…

I should mention Noelle’s dog, Corny. Noelle might be the main character in our story, but Corny is the most beloved. You can see him there on the cover of the book. He’s a beagle, and Aggy Winstead—she’s one of our other long-time seasonal campers—told me that Corny was rescued from a research laboratory. Apparently, there’s a whole short story about that, called Freedom & Fosters: A Beagle Rescue Short Story. Corny is good and sweet, not like that husky he hangs out with; she’s a real rascal. And all that fur of hers!

Let’s see, what else is there to tell before you go off and buy the book? The story takes place during a heatwave, so everyone is a bit on edge. Not me, so much. When you keep an eye on everyone all the time, there aren’t very many surprises. But you…you don’t know what I know, so Campfires & Corpses will be full of surprises for you. I suggest you grab yourself a copy and settle in for a twisty good time.

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About Nikki Weber

Nikki Weber was born and raised in Maine, and spent her childhood summers camping with her family and their beagle. She loves to read, listen to podcasts, travel, and play tennis. Campfires & Corpses: A Maine Campground Cozy Mystery is her first book, and there are many more in the pipeline.

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