Hey, Happy Campers! Today is a good day to have a good day. At least that’s what it says on my coffee mug. I’m Zo Jones, and I own the Happy Camper gift shop in Spirit Canyon, South Dakota. Spirit Canyon is a pretty little mountain town in the heart of the Black Hills National Forest, just a short drive from one of the most beautiful canyons in the Hills. Needless to say, our town sees a lot of tourist traffic, which is perfect for my store.

Happy Camper sells merchandise with fun sayings, like the mug I mentioned, as well as art, postcards, music, and stationery. Anything that might make someone smile. On Fridays, you can pick up a book that’s perfect for reading aloud by a campfire at my Fireside Friday display. If you don’t like shopping, no worries. There are lots of fun activities at the store like book signings and nature walks. Plus, I rent mountain bikes and do area tours, much to the chagrin of Max Harrington. He’s a local forest ranger who loves giving me a hard time about my side business. If a sticker or license is missing, he can spot it a hundred miles away. The guy has eagle eyes.

He also has a way with cats, including mine. George is my newly-adopted Maine Coon who is still warming up to me. Some days, I think his nice guy act was just a pretense to get him out of the shelter and into the great outdoors. My neighbor, Russell Cunningham, has taken to calling him St. George, which tells you something about my cat’s range of emotions. He can be a good cat, but sainthood? That’s Cunningham’s poetic license. As an English professor, Cunningham invokes it a lot.

But I’m glad he’s spending time with George, because I’ve been super busy at Beth’s lodge. Beth and I used to be best friends when we were kids. She spent summers at the lodge with her aunt, and I spent much of the summer there, too. In fact, I considered it a second home since I moved around a lot in foster care. But now, the lodge is in danger of closing because of a murder on opening weekend. I just got Beth back in my life. I don’t want to see her go—especially not to jail.

So that means I have to warm up the investigative skills I used as a journalist at the Black Hills Star. Before opening Happy Camper, I worked at the newspaper for ten years. My Curious Camper column still keeps me writing, but now I write for fun, not work. Coincidently, my upcoming column is about lodging in the area, which gives me an excuse to snoop. Not that I need a reason for my curiosity. Our town’s name is Spirit Canyon. Questions sort of come with the territory. . .

Open For Murder is the first book in the NEW “Happy Camper” cozy mystery series, released November 24, 2020.

Deep in the heart of touristy small-town Spirit Canyon, South Dakota, former journalist Zo Jones runs the Happy Camper gift shop, where she sells everything from locally made souvenirs to memorabilia. She even rents out mountain bikes, and dabbles in the adventure industry—and sleuthing . . .

It’s Memorial Day weekend in Spirit Canyon, and for Zo that means the return of summer shoppers. It also means the return of her good friend Beth, who’s moved back to the area to reopen her family’s premier hotel, Spirit Canyon Lodge. Beth and Zo spent many childhood summers there and Zo can’t wait to reconnect and celebrate the Grand Opening. But the festivities go from bad to worse when a power outage knocks out the lights—and morning reveals a competitor’s dead body found on the premises . . .

Soon enough, Beth is the prime suspect in the suspicious death. Fortunately, Zo isn’t afraid to put her investigative skills to work and prove her friend’s innocence. To start digging for information, she appeals to Max Harrington, a local Forest Ranger and unlikely ally. Though they’ve argued about Happy Camper’s tours, in this case they agree on one thing: Beth isn’t a murderer. Stranger things have happened than their collaboration. After all, this is Spirit Canyon. But as the list of suspects grows, Zo will have to keep her guard up if she doesn’t want to be the next lodge guest to check out . .

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About the author
Mary Angela is the author of the Professor Prather academic series, the Happy Camper cozy mystery series, and several short stories. When Mary isn’t penning heartwarming whodunits, she’s teaching, reading, traveling, or spending time with her family. She lives in South Dakota with her husband, daughters, and spoiled pets. You can find out more about her loves, including her writing, at MaryAngelaBooks.com. 

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Mary has generously offered to give away one digital copy of Open For Murder. To enter, please leave a comment below. One entry per person and the giveaway is limited to U.S. residents only. Giveaway ends November 27, 2020. Good luck everyone!

All comments are welcomed.