RVing Mysteries jolenemac455, March 28, 2016 RVing mysteries seem to be on the rise. More and more young people are hitting the road in recreational vehicles but they still have to earn a living along the way. We decided to write a two-part blog post listing most of the stories we have found that were either writing about characters camping, traveling and/or living in RVs. The other article will be a listing of those writers we have found who actually travel in their RVs while writing and publishing their stores. We hope you enjoy this listing and will support these authors by buying and reading their stories and sharing them with your friends, family and fellow travelers. We have a selection picked out that you can get by clicking on our Amazon Affiliate advertisement below or you can visit our AStore page and see all of them in one place. We really appreciate it if you decide to purchase any of these that you will use our links below or our Astore page as we get a couple of pennies on each purchase to help us keep our website going. First we will list those books that feature camping and/or RV traveling characters only: Camping, Concealer and Criminals (A Bekki the Beautician Cozy Mystery Book 12) by Cindy Bell – 2014 When Bekki’s handsome hubby, Detective Nick Malonie, surprises her with a camping trip for the weekend she is dreading the bugs, tents and lack of a private bathroom, but she puts her reservations aside and decides that she’ll make the most of her time with Nick, her best friend, Sammy, and Sammy’s boyfriend, Morris. The Camp-Out Mystery (Boxcar Children Mysteries Book 27) By Gertrude Chandler Warner – 2011 The Boxcar Children go camping with their grandfather and end up investigating who’s behind the missing food and loud music that’s scaring campers away. Thunder Valley (Thunder Valley Trilogy Book 1) by Thomas Kelly – 2010 Thunder Valley is a story about five friends that take an annual camping trip. Love and lust lead to confusion and conflict. All the emotions that can tear lives apart or cement them for eternity are experienced in this thriller/mystery. Best friends become bitter enemies, new friends become lovers and lovers become something unexpected in five short days. Thunder Valley is the first completed novel in a trilogy. Mystery of the Haunted Cave: A Troop 13 Mystery by Penny Warner – 2012 Thirteen-year-old Becca and her friends Sierra, CJ, and Jonnie are determined to win the gold medal for Troop 13 at the Gold Rush Jamboree. But they face stiff competition from the other troops—especially Troop 7, whose members love to pull pranks on them. When a mysterious clue hints at treasure buried in Camp Miwok’s Haunted Caves, Becca and her friends are determined to get their hands on that, too—even if it means sneaking from camp, hanging out with bats, and being threatened by robbers. Vagabonds Adventures by Reid Alan All Kinds of Ghosts (Book 1) – Novella – 2010 On the run. Off the grid. Not typical vagabonds, a pair of multimillionaires roam the country in a drivable palace: a two-story RV. They stay invisible by staying out of trouble and away from people. Vagabond Samaritans (Book 2) – 2011 In constant motion…out of sight. Eccentric multimillionaires, they stay on the road to evade the authorities and the mob. Not nearly as rough as it sounds, they live in—and drive—a palace: a luxury double-decker rv. Then a desperate call from the past takes them back to when they first saw each other, and acquired their home on wheels. Good Intentions (Book 3) – 2012 On the move. In hiding. Eccentric multimillionaires, they stay on the road to avoid the authorities and the mob. Not nearly as rough as it sounds, they live in—and drive—a palace: a luxury double-decker RV. Sun-drenched Florida. Good cops, bad cops, and international gangsters. Tiffany and Thomas land smack in the middle of a brewing war. Bumpers and Beignets (A Thandie and Eloise Culinary Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) by Susan D. Baker Thandie Bartlett misses the open road. Since the passing of her husband, she has been planning an epic road trip. The RV that has been sitting in her driveway for twenty years has been tuned up and is ready to go. She is just missing one thing. Her best friend. When the 72-year-old convinces her long time friend and neighbor, 68-year-old Eloise Mueller, to take a road trip with her in search of the best southern food across the nation, the two quirky women are in for a treat. But their plans will have to change when they get wrapped up in a mystery to find a waitress’s missing daughter. These aren’t your typical sleuths, and their good humor and sarcastic banter might be the key to solving this case…and having some great meals along the way. Carpet Ride by Norm Brown – 2009 Sam & Lynn have just finished celebrating their honeymoon–the highlight of which was a long drive through the Oregon mountains in a RV. The trip would have been memorable, without almost hitting a rug and nearly crashing.The real surprise lays inside the rug, and in the chain of events which follow its discovery. Towed in a Hole (Book 1) by Lawrence Chance – 2008 Towed in a Hole is full of wonderful plot twists and turns and characters so rich and alive, they seem to be breathing on the page. Mystery lovers will appreciate the smart, witty plot, while RV novices and buffs alike will have a chance to learn more than they ever expected about this unique industry and lifestyle. Fast, surprising, and full of suspense, Towed in a Hole is full-speed ahead fun. The Running Series by Jacqueline DeGroot Running into Temptation – 2007 Carrie Roberts has just run away from her abusive husband. She has figured out how she can finally get away and slip into a new, anonymous life. Deciding to become a full time RVer to evade the man who will surely stop at nothing to find her, she takes off in her new motorhome. As she travels the country familiarizing herself with her new home, the campgrounds she visits become her world. Running Up the Score – 2008 Talk about an identity crisis! I have changed my name from Debbie to Carrie, to Jenny, all in an effort to keep my husband from finding me. But I keep running, and lately all I’m doing is running into trouble. In Oregon I discover that my neighbors are doing something awful inside their mega-yacht RV, and then I meet a soldier returning from Iraq who’s trying to find the girl he fell in love with, yet all he has to go on is a picture of her with a snowman. In California my neighbors have a very unique family arrangement—one wife, two husbands. Later, I manage to get myself and my new pet lizard stranded in Death Valley. I’m baking in my RV, which has become an oven, when I’m rescued by a cowboy in a limousine and am whisked away to his luxury resort. Meanwhile, Brick, my boy toy (even though we have never really “toyed”), continuously turns up at the wrong time when things are not as they seem. I say boy toy, because I am definitely not ready to have a “boyfriend” yet. Especially as no matter what I do, I cannot seem to keep my jealous husband from finding me. Stupidly, I walk right into his trap and the nightmares I’ve been having become my reality. Brick’s a federal agent, and busy trying to catch predators and child molesters, including the one who took his sister four years earlier, but I know without a doubt that he’ll rescue me. I may drive him crazy, but I know that he loves me, and that he’ll find me in time. Running into a Brick Wall – 2011 For Jenny, our intrepid RVer, the excitement never ends. Staying one step ahead of her abusive husband, who is more determined than ever to find her, she now faces more danger reuniting a missing child with her rightful parents. Her efforts lead to a break in a four-year-old case that is close to Brick’s heart, and take her to the largest RV rally in the country where her mission is to rescue her sexy cop’s little sister from the man who kidnapped her. Jenny, afraid to involve Brick in another false lead, is determined to handle this without him knowing. Being courageous in the face of danger is what Brick gets paid for, but he’s not so brave in his personal life. Once he discovers his passionate feelings for Jenny, it’s not his job that has him chasing after her—it’s the fear of losing her. Having been afraid to express his love for Jenny, he’s now ready to commit to a relationship. But with Jenny getting into one mishap after another, it’s hard to find the time to show her what she means to him. Jenny, realizing this is the kind of love she’s always dreamed of, is ready to do anything to get Brick’s family back together. Valiant, daring, and full of life, Jenny is becoming the woman she was born to be as she adapts to the RVing life she was meant to live. As anyone who’s been camping knows, it’s the people you meet along the way who color the tale—so enjoy the journey! A Sense for Deception by Tara Gabor – 2008 The reader is invited to travel with Dr. Kyle and Ace, his pet blue and gold macaw, to St. Augustine, Florida. Share Kyle’s journey of discovery into America’s oldest city, life in an RV, cooking, and suspense in a SENSE FOR DECEPTION. Joe & Dottie Loudermilk Mystery by Gar Anthony Haywood Going Nowhere Fast (Book 1) – 2013 Joe and Dottie Loudermilk are all set for the perfect early retirement. Joe’s an ex-cop, and Dottie’s a former English teacher, and as soon as the “SOLD” sign goes up on the lawn in front of their longtime Los Angeles home, they intend to take their brand new Ford pickup truck and Airstream trailer wherever the great American highway leads. Unfortunately, fate is determined to have two forms of trouble dog their every step: murder and their five incorrigible grown children. Bad News Travels Fast (Book 2) – 2013 In this, their second adventure, Joe and Dottie visit the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., and quickly find themselves assigned the task of clearing their political activist/shameless womanizer son Eddie of a rival’s murder. Nowhere to Go and All Day to Get There (Book 3) – 2014 – Short Story only 28 pages Two very short funny little tales relating experiences that happen to the newly retired and RV’ing Loudermilk couple A Ripple Effect Cozy Mystery Series by Jeanne Glidewell A Rip Roaring Good Time (Book 1) – 2015 Full-time RVers, Rip and Rapella Ripple, are headed to Rockdale, Missouri, in their old travel trailer (aka The Chartreuse Caboose) to attend a friend’s surprise birthday party. But surprise quickly turns to shock when a party guest is found murdered and Lexie Starr, a friend of the Ripples, is hauled off to jail as suspect number one. Rip Tide (Book 2) – 2016 Senior citizens and full-time RVers, Rip and Rapella Ripple are spending the holidays with daughter Regina, in their hometown of Rockport, TX. When Regina’s new husband, Milo Moore, becomes a suspect in an off-shore harpooning homicide, the Ripples set out to exonerate him. Cozy Camping – A Lexie Star Mystery, Boook 6 by Jeanne Glidewell On their first wedding anniversary, Lexie Starr is surprised by her husband, Stone, with a family RV’ing vacation to Cheyenne, Wyoming, during the annual Frontier Days celebration. Maxie and Stretch Mystery Series by Sue Henry – Widow who travels around in her RV with her Mini Dachund, Stretch Maxine “Maxie” McNabb is a widow who travels the US in her Winnebago with her mini-dachshund Stretch. The character was introduced in the Jesse Arnold mystery Dead North. The Serpents Trail – 2004 At sixty-three, Maxie McNabb is cruising down the Alaska Highway in her brand-new Winnebago. With her mini-dachshund at her side and the open road ahead, she’s never been happier. But before her exploration of the Lower Forty-eight gets underway, Maxie needs to figure out who burgled her friend’s Colorado home-and why. And the closer Maxie gets to solving the puzzle, the more it becomes chillingly clear that her friend’s life isn’t the only one on the line. The Tooth of Time – 2006 Zigzagging the country in a mini-Winnie means endless adventure, and Maxie McNabb is always up for something new. So she and her dog, Stretch, head for the heat of New Mexico, where Maxie plans to learn how to weave. But everything changes for the sleepy town when a local woman attempts suicide. A casualty of her husband’s mid-life crisis, she was replaced by a newer, sexier model. And to top it off, a sleazy conman has set his sights on her. Maxie may be on vacation, but she’s determined to help the poor thing. With her nose for trouble, she’ll leave no mesa unturned until she brings two dogs to justice, neither of whom is Stretch. The Refuge – 2007 Maxie McNabb receives a frantic call for help that sends her flying to Hawaii to assist her old friend, Karen Bailey, in packing up her house, a job that is soon complicated by a mysterious prowler, telephone sabotage, and her old friend’s secrets The End of the Road – 2009 Drifter John Walker has no friends, but he’s so engaging that Maxie invites him over for dinner. The next day he moves on-and is later found dead in his motel room. What looks like a simple suicide quickly grows more complicated when police discover that Walker was living under an assumed identity. Maxie tries to fathom why he would choose to end his life where the U.S. highway system ends-and where Maxie just might meet a dead end of her own. Prey for Zion (Book 1) by E.D. MacDavey – 2012 Max Berkeley is a newly retired ornithologist with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). He’s eager to prove he hasn’t lost his muscle, his nerve, or his social conscience. His more cautious wife Isabel thinks traveling in their new trailer is like stuffing two whales into a sardine can, one of which is constantly wiggling. Their first destination is the spectacular Zion National Park. Here they join an alliance of misfits intent on stopping the election of a powerful Mormon businessman with a secret life in an isolated desert compound. His goal: To spread his own brand of evil throughout Utah and the nation. Polygamy, condors, drones, provocative Mormon tales, and a true historical mystery–Prey for Zion brings all this to life, along with a frantic race to find a long-buried secret and unearth the truth. Colorado Caper Series Book by Janet McDermott The Red Queen Caper (Book 1) – 2015 RV camping in Buena Vista, Colorado, should have been a quiet escape for Bix; instead, it became a vortex of fracking disputes, sibling rivalry and murder. As fate would have it, Bix’s trailer site was smack-dab in the middle of the Holden family reunion from North Dakota. She soon learned that the Holdens were enmeshed in a controversy between fracking and environmental preservation; a dilemma that stalked the family moving them ever closer to inevitable murder. No one could have guessed that the family dispute over mineral rights was a financial scheme involving both Colorado and North Dakota. Bix and her little dog, Simon, found themselves trapped in this web of intrigue. Unfortunately, greed had come knocking and everyone would have to pay the price. A Logan & Cafferty Mystery/Suspense Series by Jean Henry Mead * A Village Shattered (Book 1) – 2011 – NOT IN RV Diary of a Murder (Book 2) – 2011 Dana Logan & Sarah Cafferty are vacationing in their motorhome in Colorado when Dana learns of her sister’s death. The mystery writer’s husband says it’s suicide but Dana knows her sister would never take her own life. When they arrive in Wyoming, they discover more than Georgi’s diary which tells of her harrowing life in her mansion. Placing their own lives in danger and that of Dana’s journalist daughter Kerrie, they seek out the killer and stumble over more bodies as well as a vicious drug ring. Murder on the Interstate (Book 3) – 2011 Murder on the Interstate is the third novel in the Logan & Cafferty series. Dana Logan and Sarah Cafferty are traveling along a northern Arizona interstate when they discover the body of a young woman in her Mercedes convertible. The killer returns to disable their motorhome and “Big Ruby” McCurdy, a truck driver, comes to their rescue. While following the killer’s pickup to get his license number in the 18-wheeler, they find that he’s not only stalking them, but is involved in a homegrown terrorist group that plans to take down the government. * Gray Wolf Mountain (Book 4) – 2012 – NOT IN RV Murder in RV Paradise (Book 5) – 2014 Dana Logan and Sarah Cafferty decide to vacation at a Texas RV resort in their motorhome where they discover the body of an attractive woman in one of the small lakes. They soon learn the woman is disliked by other resort residents and that eveyone is a likely suspect. Dana and Sarah are prime suspects themselves and conduct an investigation of their own, only to discover that the killer is planting clues to incriminate them. Dana is forced to call on her amorous friend, Sheriff Walter Grayson, to come to their rescue, but Grayson becomes a victim and they rush to his hospital bed. Four other women murder victims are discovered before the mystery is solved. * Murder at the Mansion (Book 6) – 2015 – NOT IN RV Mango Bob Adventure – by Bill Myers – Walker and his bobtail cat, Mango Bob, are at it again. Traveling across Florida in their motor home, enjoying a laid-back lifestyle while trying to stay out of trouble. Mango Bob (Book 1) – 2012 In this first book in the Mango Bob series, Walker has just lost his job, his wife has filed for divorce, and he’s living in a tent down by the river. Being ever resourceful, Walker swaps his truck for a motorhome (aka ‘the Love Bus’), and agrees to drive it cross-country to sleepy Englewood Florida so he can deliver a cat named Mango Bob to a woman he’s never met. Should be easy, right? Drive to Florida, hand over the cat, and then hang out on the beach. Except there’s an unsolved murder involving the Love Bus, the Mexican mafia, and a half million in missing gold coins. Add to the mix a trigger happy grandma, a team of bungling burglars, the hot chick with the kayak, the repo man, and you get a rollicking travel romp through the Sunshine State. Mango Lucky (Book 2) – 2012 John Walker — recently divorced and living in a motor home near the beach in Florida — seems to be on a lucky streak. No matter what he does, he comes out a winner. He’s won the lottery, found a pot of gold, and met the perfect woman. But things are rarely as they seem, and Walker’s good luck comes with a few complications. His perfect woman ‘needs some space,’ and suggests he take a vacation on the other side of the state – without her. So Walker packs up his motor home, aka ‘The Love Bus’, and heads over to Florida’s Treasure Coast, to camp out and search for long lost gold from the Spanish Fleet wreck of 1715. Mango Bay (Book 3) – 2013 Mango Bay, the latest novel in the Mango Bob series by Bill Myers. Laugh out loud funny, filled with zany characters living life in a sleepy beach town on Florida’s west coast. Take an unemployed computer hacker living in an RV on the beach in Florida, a cranky cat named Mango Bob, Oscar the wiener dog, a pot smuggling granny, and a once famous Hollywood movie star out to reclaim lost glory. Put them all together in a clothing optional trailer park, along with a clumsy meth cook and a larcenous park manager. Add in a budding romance, a slow boat chase up the Intracoastal waterway, and what do you get? Mango Bay! Mango Glades (Book 4) – 2015 Traveling across Florida in a motor home, Walker and his cat, Mango Bob, are enjoying a laid back lifestyle while trying to stay out of trouble. But trouble seems to find them wherever they go. Walker’s agreed to take the lovely and recently single Doctor Joy to the Oasis Ranger Station in the Everglades. It’s supposed to be an easy trip, just down and back. But Doctor Joy has plans for Walker that involve a lot more than just a drive into the Everglades. An ex-boyfriend, poachers, and a skunk ape? Mango Key (Book 5) – 2015 Walker and his bobtail cat, Mango Bob, are at it again. Traveling across Florida in their motorhome, enjoying a laid-back lifestyle while trying to stay out of trouble. He’s been asked by the lovely Doctor Joy to take her to Key West. She promises it’ll be a trip he won’t soon forget. A chance to visit the Florida Keys with a beautiful woman? No way he can pass it up. But this is Florida and things rarely go as planned, especially for Walker and Mango Bob. Join him as he navigates the underbelly of Key West aided by an aging movie star and a Russian Princess to try to save the day. Winter Foster (Book 1) by Dea Podhajsky – 2012 Winter Foster finds herself thrust into the midst of an adventure in Essence of Sage and Blackberries. This is the first in a series of cozy mysteries about an English teacher from Iowa on an RV odyssey through America A Wanderlust Mystery Series by April Star Tropical Warnings – 2006 Laura Madison, the general manager of a Florida Keys camping resort is the perfect businesswoman. Slippery, an anonymous stalker, is making death threats against Laura’s campers, employees, and family-anyone whom he believes stands in the way of their happiness; happiness which is to begin on Valentine’s Day-the resort’s biggest dance and dinner of the season. The Last Resort – 2009 – set in Anastasia Beach RVing Mystery Newlyweds David and Laura Jennings have chosen the lifestyle of full-time RV’ing. Their first destination is Anastasia Island in St. Augustine, Florida. They roll their motorhome into the Harbor Lights RV Resort and soon find themselves smack in the middle of murder and intrigue. Fun and Games at Palm Creek – by Robert Tasler – 2015 3 short novels set in Arizona RV Destination Park for retirees Murder at Palm Creek Matrimony at Palm Creek Miracle at Palm Creek Enjoy three brief novels about life in a first-class Arizona RV Destination Park for retirees. In MURDER AT PALM CREEK, you’ll wonder not only “whodunnit” but why and how. MATRIMONY AT PALM CREEK is a fun romance story about how two unlikely retirees find each other at amid their needy lives, activities and confused daily life. In MIRACLE AT PALM CREEK you will wonder at the strange events, as well as the unique people who are part of them. On the Road Mystery Series by M. J. Williams – M. J. Williams is the pen name of sisters-in-law Peggy Joque Williams and Mary Joy Johnson (nee Williams). Peggy is an elementary school teacher and freelance writer. Mary Joy is a retired college professor and professional quilter. Their On the Road… mystery series features RVers, Emily and Stan Remington. Both writers live in Madison, Wisconsin On the Road to Death’s Door (Book 1) – 2011 Emily and Stan Remington’s maiden voyage in their newly inherited, second-hand RV goes awry when a body falls off the top of their vehicle. The retired small town police officer and her husband, a retired history professor, find themselves at the center of a murder investigation involving a politician, a corporate executive, and a hippie priest. Emily butts heads with the local sheriff as their search takes them from a backwoods cabin in Wisconsin’s scenic Door County to the Bishop’s Chancery in Madison to an abandoned island in the infamous Death’s Door Straits. On the Road to Where the Bells Toll (Book 2) – 2014 In this second book in the On the Road mystery series, Stan and Emily pack up the RV and head to Boston for some R & R with the grandkids and a chance to immerse themselves in colonial history. But their Fourth of July celebration comes to an abrupt halt when they stumble over a body on the Boston Esplanade and then another hanging in the tower of the Old North Church. Now the couple must unravel a tangle of forged clues and flush out the perpetrator before their own untimely epitaphs are written onto the historical landscape. The Body in the Barrel by J.D. Yeiser – 2014 Harlan and Gloria Stone have played amateur sleuths for years. Using resources available at home, they have always managed to beat the officials on solving a case. Now on one of their frequent RV excursions, they stumble across a new mystery, a body in a whiskey barrel, a barrel that sat in a warehouse for more than twenty years. Gloria, applying her well developed sleuthing skills, identifies the victim the same day she is discovered in the barrel. CHECK BACK NEXT WEEK for our next installment with RVers who write and sell their stories! ************************************************* Insider’s Guide to Campground Hosting in Florida Parks! Get Our eBook version of Insiders Guide directly from Smashwords Get the paperback of Insiders Guide directly from CreateSpace Jolene Author Page on amazon Paperback and eBook Versions On Barnes and Noble Get eBook Version on iTunes iBook Store eBook Version on Kobo Bookstore Oyster Books is a Monthly eBook Subscription Service Scribd is a Monthly eBook Subscription Service Buy Jolene’s eBooks and More Acrobat Reader PDF version with pictures and an Appendix Section with samples of Volunteer Workamping Applications Samples from a county, Florida State Parks and Federal; Volunteer Handbook sections From the Florida State Parks and Florida Fish and Wildlife ************************************************* HELP US ON OUR ADVENTURE BY BUYING SOME OF OUR HANDCRAFTED ITEMS Southern Women Crafts on Etsy Southern Women Crafts on Handmade Artists Southern Women Crafts on SquareUp Marketplace Southern Women Crafts on Amazon Handmade ************************************************* Fun for RVers Funding Your Great Adventure Our eBook Workamping Authors Who RVFull-Time RVing AuthorsFull-Time RVing WritersRVing AuthorsRVing Fiction WritersRVing MysteriesRVing Mystery WritersRVing Non Fiction WritersRVing Romance WritersRVing WritersWriters Who RV