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Ghost & Camper Kooky Mystery #3

Murder in the Badlands

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Mabel Gold and her friend—spirit—ghost—whatever you want to call Irma, gets Mabel into yet another mystery. Things can go bad quickly in the Badlands...

Everything about Mabel’s golden years has been a surprise. The divorce, Irma the ghost haunting her vintage camper, dead guys whose murders Mabel must help Irma solve every stop of the way. Mabel and her ghostly roommate Irma, along with friend Lili and her retired homicide detective husband Bob, have made it to the Badlands. From the get-go, they were smack dab in the middle of another murder.

Ralph, an old Marine buddy asks Bob, to investigate the death of his son Danny. His death has been ruled an accident. Ralph didn’t agree. He’s sure his son was pushed off top of Mount Rushmore. Right near the Hall of Records, or as it’s called in the movies and YouTube: the "Secret Chamber." But why?

Murder in the Badlands is the high-spirited third book in the hilarious Ghost & the Camper Kooky Mystery series. If you like golden girl sleuths, zany characters, and sardonic humor, then you’ll love this kooky mystery.

216 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 1, 2021

61 people are currently reading
700 people want to read

About the author

Rita Moreau

20 books167 followers
About the Author

Rita Moreau is the author of the Mary Catherine Mahoney cozy mystery series and the Ghost & Camper kooky mystery series.

A workaholic by nature, upon retirement, Rita began work on her bucket list, writing a book. Traveling the national parks with her husband George in a vintage Bluebird motor home, (on George’s list), Rita completed her first novel Bribing Saint Anthony in the Mary Catherine Mahoney cozy mystery series. Back home she kept going and completed 5 more in the series.
During the year we entered the twilight zone Rita completed the first two books in the Ghost & Camper kooky mystery series and kept going and completed 2 more in the series.
Rita lives in wacky Florida where her dear husband George always had fun telling folks he's the author’s husband. Rita lost the love of her life after a brave battle with pancreatic cancer. She misses him every minute but promised him she would continue writing so he could tell everyone he meets in heaven that he's the author's husband.
When not writing she joins PatZi Gil on the Joy on Paper radio program with Book Buzz Mysteries or you can find her teaching Silver Sneakers fitness classes. She loves connecting with readers. Visit her at www.RitaMoreau.com or find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RitaMoreauAuthor. She would love to hear from you.

Author Links
http://www.ritamoreau.com
https://www.facebook.com/RitaMoreauAu...
http://www.radio-joyonpaper.com/book-...
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Purchase Links
https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B008NVMPPQ

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5 stars
123 (62%)
4 stars
48 (24%)
3 stars
20 (10%)
2 stars
5 (2%)
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0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
Profile Image for Linda Langford.
1,611 reviews14 followers
December 5, 2021
My favorite story now, and the funniest—had me laughing out loud! Mabel and friends, Lili, Bob, Peggy and Josh arrive in their RVs at the Badlands in South Dakota. Ghost, Irma, is also there with a few ghostly friends! They all become involved in a couple of mysterious death investigations occurring on sacred Native American land around Mt. Rushmore. The story is excellent, and I recommend to cozy mystery readers. I think the books should be read beginning with book one to get to know the characters the best. Enjoy!
6,254 reviews80 followers
December 31, 2021
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

Camping grandma makes her way to Deadwood and the Dakotas just in time to solve a murder or two. A man died falling off Mount Rushmore...or was he pushed? Luckily, she has a lot of ghosts to help out.

Humorous.
Profile Image for Nellie Steele.
Author 126 books516 followers
December 10, 2021
Mabel and her ghost buddies find themselves involved in another mystery when a friend’s son turns up dead. The death has been ruled an accident, but they suspect foul play. Can they sort through all the evidence and find the murderer?

I found the book to be entertaining with a fun premise, likeable main character and interesting setting. A really nice touch is that the main character is older but acts normally. I’ve read a few other books where the “older” main character acts ancient, so it was a pleasant change that Mabel was strong and independent. The book includes a lot of history and travel information on the location. The prose is easy to digest.

This is the first book I’ve read in the series, but the author includes a short intro at the start so you can dive right in. There is a large cast of characters that are sometimes hard to keep straight.

All in all, I found the book to be a good read!
Profile Image for Mary Baker.
630 reviews2 followers
December 21, 2021
If you enjoy ghost stories this book is for you

Cowboy and Indian Ghosts, the military and secret rooms at Mount Rushmore all play a big part in this story. A mystery from the past, gold thefts and murder.
Profile Image for Brenda Ellis.
663 reviews8 followers
March 23, 2022
So much for a relaxing vacation

These characters have so much drama, adventure, and action for retired folks. They go to wonderful historic locations and save the day as they travel the country. This series is so fun.
Profile Image for Cheryl.
55 reviews2 followers
March 29, 2022
Can't get ENOUGH!!!

I absolutely love this series! I have grown to love Irma and her outfits and all the other characters. This series makes me laugh and has my attention from cover to cover. I have recommended my family and friends to read Rita Moreau.
4 reviews
December 3, 2021
Good book

Liked the suspense in this book. Well written and keeps the reader interested. Love the series and hope they continue.
Profile Image for Monica.
1,112 reviews
December 4, 2021
Enjoyed meeting Mabel's son and future son-in-law. Wonderful characters. Great descriptions of locations.
27 reviews
February 12, 2022
Fun, great characters & history

Love this series. So much fun traveling across country with this band of characters and watching their mysteries unfold and get solved.
The best part though is the history I am learning along the way that I had no idea. I frequently pause to go look something up and read more about it.
I even copied the Native American prayer down to leave behind someday. Such peaceful words.
Thanks for the journeys Rita. I look forward to the next adventure!
Profile Image for Sue Ross.
610 reviews11 followers
May 6, 2022
Happy Fourth of July


Its the holiday season and the gang is at Mt. Rushmore. They meet up with some other campers and of course a murder is in the mix. There is also something that causes the military to get involved. If you want to know what, you will have to read the book.
23 reviews
November 27, 2022
Let's go camping!

I am a camper myself so I can understand the attraction too new places. Never come across any murders thou. Love the diverse characters. More realistic too modern times. And always love the ghost! Thanks for a good read!
228 reviews1 follower
September 2, 2023
Been there, done that

Almost every location in this story I visited on a Summer family vacation,almost sixty years ago. The book was exciting and fact based. I love the characters and enjoy the mystery. Looking forward to the fourth book.
Profile Image for Kasey Riley.
Author 18 books14 followers
October 3, 2023
Great story…

I enjoyed this book except I had a little trouble following all the characters. They are well developed, just too many zipping around for my tastes. Still in all, a fun story in a unique series.
Profile Image for Michelle.
173 reviews44 followers
January 5, 2022
Enjoyable enough read. Could have used another run through editing as some remembrances were rehashed at least 3 times. The ending was a mite bit anticlimactic, but I did enjoy it overall.
Profile Image for Norma.
773 reviews
January 12, 2022
Wasn't engaged

I could not really get into the story and just felt like I was forced into the story instead of getting immersed in the story.
171 reviews9 followers
June 30, 2022
This was the first book I read by this author. It is a simple, cozy mystery…a quick and entertaining book. I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and recommend it if you like cozy mysteries.
387 reviews
July 18, 2022
I love this series. I laugh so much, cry a little and ENJOY a lot.
4,417 reviews43 followers
August 14, 2022
Who killed Danny and why??? AND Tony’s father??? Gold??? I enjoyed this story and recommend the book
Profile Image for Laura.
3,205 reviews348 followers
December 4, 2021
Solving mysteries and ghost hunting become a family affair in this third book of the wacky camping trip.
Mabel and her best friend Lili are still attempting to help a ghost solve murders to earn credit with St. Peter and move beyond purgatory. The ghost, Irma, is a blast from the past with a wardrobe to match.
She decides that she also needs some ghostly pals to help solve murders, especially here around Mount Rushmore. This is sacred land but it hides many secrets.
Tensions rise as the group arrives for the fourth of July Independence celebrations.
They are happy to hear Mabel's son and his intended spouse are arriving but then MORE family shows up. Some of whom have ties to a different sort of Family.

A wonderful cast of characters and interesting living and sleeping arrangements populate this hilarious series. There may be some other sort of paranormal activity developing.
I don't want to give too much away, but even as they figure out pieces of the puzzle, overall things become more complicated and entangled.
It has my attention captured and I can't wait to see in what new directions this "summer trip" takes us.
Profile Image for Jessica Robbins.
2,598 reviews49 followers
December 12, 2021
*I received a free copy of this book which I voluntarily wrote an honest review for.

Welcome to another fun adventure with Mabel and her friendly ghost Irma. I love seeing what new location this due ends up at each time. It is the Badlands this time but they get thrown into a murder investigation from the start when a friend of Bob's asked them to look into his sons death. This leads to quite the fun time as they move about the new area while learning all types of new things. It makes me feel like I am along for their adventures making for a great time. A fabulously fun series full of quirky witty characters, new locations every time, and plenty of humor mixed in with their adventures. A must read. I totally loved it so I give it 5/5 stars.
Profile Image for Carol.
748 reviews14 followers
December 6, 2021
Received a Kindle copy as a GoodReads giveaway, and it's the first I've read in this series. I liked the humor, and overall, I liked the characters and plot. I had trouble keeping the large cast of characters straight in my head, especially with all the back-story nuggets from previous books thrown in. There was lots of Badlands description and history, which is good, but maybe a little TOO much for my taste. There were also quite a few typos and grammatical errors that made me cringe; "waived" instead of "waved" appeared at least twice. Will I read more in the series? I'm not sure.
Profile Image for Celest.
716 reviews9 followers
May 10, 2022
A Wonderful Adventure

I love Rita Moreau's books. She has a way of leading us on a path to solve murder while enjoying the Campers experience. All of the characters are very unique and likable, as well as helpful in investigating the murders. The ghosts are a great bonus, not only for solving the mysteries, but they are entertaining. I love them, especially Irma. Anxious to see what happens in the next book, number four.
1,415 reviews9 followers
April 14, 2024
Who killed Danny and Tony's father and why??? For the gold??? I enjoyed this story and recommended the book.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews

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