by: Nikki Weber
Series: Maine Campground Cozy Mystery
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release Date: February 24, 2025
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. ***
Hello! Thanks for inviting me to your blog, I’m thrilled to be here.
You’re welcome. What drew you to writing cozy mysteries?
Would you believe that I didn’t even know that cozy mystery was a genre until I heard about it on a books and reading podcast back in 2021? I’ve been a lifelong reader, but I had never heard the term “cozy mystery” before.
One of the podcast hosts went quite in depth explaining the genre tropes and expectations, and I immediately started imagining a book set in the small community where I spend summers with my family. I literally grabbed my phone and started jotting down ideas. When the podcast host listed some cozy titles—you know, with the word play and puns—I knew that I wanted to write a cozy series. Word play is right up my alley.
I love that story. Congratulations on the release of Campfires & Corpses, the first book in your Maine Campground Cozy Mystery series. Can you please tell me about the series and what readers can expect from Campfires & Corpses?
Thank you so much, I’m really proud of this book. First off, let me say that it’s a contemporary story, set in present day. It’s also considered “clean”. There is no foul language or graphic anything. It’s fast-paced and intense at times, but nothing that will add stress or tension to your real life.
The series is set in a campground in rural Maine. It’s based on a real place; the campground where my family has gone every summer for over forty years. There are pine trees galore, a lake for swimming and boating, mountains for hiking, and a community of folks who enjoy it all from the coziness of their camping trailers or RVs. There is no cell phone reception, and everyone looks out for their neighbor. There are also all the amazing smells of food being grilled!
In Campfires & Corpses, the main character in the series, Noelle, discovers a body just hours after returning to her hometown and the campground for the first time in eighteen years. She’s shaken up by the discovery, but the tension gets really high when the police suspect her of being involved in the death. Because Noelle hasn’t lived in the area for almost two decades, she’s basically the “new girl” and feels like she’s the only one who can clear her name.
Tell me about some of the characters we’ll meet in the book and series.
The story is told from Noelle’s point of view. She’s thirty-eight years old, single, and loves music (several of her favorite rock songs are mentioned throughout the book). Noelle left small-town Maine when she was twenty to follow her dream of working in the music industry. She moved to Nashville, but her dream job never materialized. Until recently, she worked as an event coordinator. When she arrives back in Maine, she has just been fired from her job, has lost her apartment, and adopted a rescue dog.
Noelle is back in town as a favor to her parents. They own and operate Babbling Brook Campground, but Noelle’s mother has some health concerns that take her out of town for the summer. Noelle has agreed to run the campground while her parents are away, even though it’s the last job she ever wanted. Noelle does get to connect with two of her female cousins who she hasn’t seen in years, which makes the transition easier for her.
Not making things easier is Noelle’s ex-boyfriend, Emmitt. He’s the local game warden and all-around boy next door. Everyone loves Emmitt, but right from the start, he and Noelle butt heads about whether or not to hold the campground’s annual bonfire.
There are a few campers who stay at the campground who are also putting pressure on Noelle. There’s Tom, an eternal grump straight out of the backwoods of Maine. Noelle has a confrontation with him early on, and he ends up on her suspect list. There are Edie and Aggy, the elderly sisters (one of whom is a sleepwalker), and there’s Iris, a pushy know-it-all who just won’t give Noelle a moment of peace.
The standout character in the book is Corny the beagle. He’s one of several dogs in the book. Corny was recently freed from the research laboratory where he spent the entire three years of his life. He and Noelle clicked the moment they met, and although he’s probably the one who needs to be in therapy, he’s a real comfort to Noelle.
And Noelle needs that comfort, because she increasingly feels like she can’t trust the local law enforcement. Not the handsome sheriff; he seems to believe that she’s innocent. It’s his intimidating half-brother, State Trooper Thompson, who has his sights set on pinning the recent crimes on Noelle.
When you started writing Campfires & Corpses, did you know who the killer was, or was it a surprise to you, as the story progressed?
I wrote a draft of this book back in 2021. In that draft, the story was told from the perspective of Noelle’s mom. I still have the entire confession of the killer from that version of the story.
When I started to re-write the book from Noelle’s perspective in 2024, a new killer sprang from the woodwork. Once I knew who the new killer was, I jumped ahead and wrote the story climax and final chapters, so not only did I know who the killer was, I also knew their reason for committing the crime and the backstory that turned them into the person they became.
I don’t outline each and every event in my stories, but I do like to jump to the end and figure out who, why, and how in terms of the villain. In the end, the killer in both versions of the story have similar traumas and motives, which wasn’t a conscious decision; it just sort of happened.
That’s interesting that you had two different killers, based on the way the story was written. Final question. What’s your favorite part of the writing process?
I thoroughly enjoy the first draft of the story and coming up with the events or lines of dialogue that lead to the next big event or revelation. I especially enjoy writing physical scenes. Whether that means how Noelle and Corny move when they have stumbled upon a body, or a physical altercation between two characters. I sit at my keyboard and quietly act out someone being grabbed by the arm or yanking the cover off of a woodpile. I can’t even talk about one of those scenes without acting it out with my hands.
Nikki, thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions for me.
Thank you again for having me! I hope that some visitors to your blog will think that Campfires & Corpses sounds like their kind of book. If they like it, the second book in the series, Whoopie Pies & Alibis, is coming out soon, on June 10, 2025.
Delilah and Metal Detector Man yelled over each other, but I deciphered fragments of the argument as I approached them. She called him Tom, said he was a no-good drunk, and reminded him that it was a public beach, so she had as much right to use it as he did. I didn’t hear Tom’s response, but it was enough to make Delilah lean forward and spit at him. Saliva landed squarely on his cheek and splattered all over his shirt.
“Delilah!” I yelled, both out of shock and as an attempt to break up the fight. But Delilah didn’t flinch. She stood her ground and glared at Tom. I lunged across the last few feet and attempted to put myself between them, but Delilah grabbed my wrist and yanked me away.
“Ow!” I said and pulled my wrist free. “What the heck, Dee?”
Delilah let out a frustrated cry and began snatching her things—yoga blocks and mats, I realized when I saw them up close—and throwing them into an enormous L.L. Bean tote bag. “One day, Tom Bosse” she cried, “someone is going to bully you. See how you like it then!”
Delilah swung her head towards me, gave me a nasty glare, then turned and marched down the beach. Sand flew up behind her with every step. I watched her go, then turned towards Tom.
“You the girl from away?” he asked me with a nod of his chin. He was chewing on a toothpick that poked out between his lips.
“Away?” I said. I was short of breath. Was it from the heat or from fear? I reminded myself to breathe.
“You’re not from here.” It wasn’t a question.
“Oh, no. I’m from here. I just haven’t lived here in a while.”
Tom scowled at me. “Like I said, you’re from away.”
“Delilah!” I yelled, both out of shock and as an attempt to break up the fight. But Delilah didn’t flinch. She stood her ground and glared at Tom. I lunged across the last few feet and attempted to put myself between them, but Delilah grabbed my wrist and yanked me away.
“Ow!” I said and pulled my wrist free. “What the heck, Dee?”
Delilah let out a frustrated cry and began snatching her things—yoga blocks and mats, I realized when I saw them up close—and throwing them into an enormous L.L. Bean tote bag. “One day, Tom Bosse” she cried, “someone is going to bully you. See how you like it then!”
Delilah swung her head towards me, gave me a nasty glare, then turned and marched down the beach. Sand flew up behind her with every step. I watched her go, then turned towards Tom.
“You the girl from away?” he asked me with a nod of his chin. He was chewing on a toothpick that poked out between his lips.
“Away?” I said. I was short of breath. Was it from the heat or from fear? I reminded myself to breathe.
“You’re not from here.” It wasn’t a question.
“Oh, no. I’m from here. I just haven’t lived here in a while.”
Tom scowled at me. “Like I said, you’re from away.”
Purchase Campfires & Corpses from:
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The Maine Campground Cozy Mystery Series:
Whoopie Pies & Alibis (Book 2) releases June 10, 2025
S’mores & Suspicions (Book 3) releases October 7, 2025
Places to find Nikki Weber:
You can follow the Campfires & Corpses Blog Tour here.
This looks like a great read. Thanks for sharing.
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