Breaking Camp Mysteries
Nathan and Nina Trask have been looking forward to retirement for years, but there always seems to be something getting in the way. For Nathan, it’s his dedication to the Ohio State Park he helped establish 34 years ago. For Nina, it’s all about weddings and funerals as she tries to ease out of her floral business. But things are about to change. The Trasks have just inherited a 17-foot Rambler Travel Trailer. Together they realize the only way they will ever truly retire is to start traveling. With their eager Border Terrier Chianti along for the ride, they hook up their camper and head out…
Something's a Foot
Description
After inheriting a small camper, Nathan and Nina Trask and their border terrier Chianti make an inaugural camping trip to Maine. They expect a beautiful rock-bound coast, pine forests, and wonderful seafood. But in Something's A Foot they get more than they bargained for when they become embroiled in a murder that is almost too hot to handle. Nina's chronic disregard for 'No Trespassing' signs lands her in a heap of trouble on a remote island just off the coast. Its crumbling mansion, owned by a member of the local gentry, holds many sordid secrets. The Trasks soon run afoul of Police Chief Libby, who doesn't appreciate body parts littering up the town beach. They find themselves convenient culprits 'from away' as evidence mounts to convict them of kidnapping, murder, and arson. Nina and Nathan quickly realize something truly is afoot, In order to clear their names and continue their retirement back home in Ohio and not as permanent guests of the State of Maine, it will be up to them to figure out just what that is!
Where There's Smoke
Description
Together with their eager border terrier Chianti, Nathan and Nina Trask are on the road again—they're heading to the Great Smoky Mountains. This trip is supposed to be a relaxing time enjoying the beauty of verdant spring woodlands. But in Where There's Smoke the Trasks discover the woods hold more than charming cabins and banks of rhododendrons. Nina's discovery of the body of a young woman their first evening touches off kidnapping and arson. It also introduces Nathan to the local police department, who seem to be more interested in breakfast than in solving crimes. The Trasks quickly become aware the main source of income in Sorghum County is not only illegal, it is fiercely protected by the local authorities. Their vacation proves to be anything but as the Trasks uncover murder, mayhem, the world's best doughnuts, and a local commerce that literally lands them in a heap of trouble. Enjoying the scenery will have to wait.
Between a Rock
Description
Nathan and Nina Trask, a recently-retired couple, are hitting the road again. The novice campers are heading to a resort in the Black Hills of South Dakota with their trailer and beloved border terrier to attend their niece’s wedding and see a few sites. Things start to literally heat up the minute Nathan pulls into the campsite. An obsession for furs, diamonds, and lakeside property encourages two vicious sisters to resort to any means to get what they’re after. Thanks to their obsessive behavior, the Trasks will encounter hi-tech arrows, abandoned mines, raging creeks, and skeletons. On this trip, Nathan and Nina will be getting a lot more bang for their traveling buck than seeing buffalo, mountainous stone carvings, and breathtaking scenery. If the Trasks are ever going to leave the Black Hills alive, they will have to navigate the rough road between a rock…and a hard place!
Caution To The Wind
In the Works - A New Book in the Breaking Camp Mystery Series
Description
Retired couple Nathan and Nina Trask from Hickory Glen, Ohio have hit the road again—this outing in their Rambler travel trailer will take them to Arizona. Growing up together, Nathan had looked up to Leo Miller like a big brother. It was Leo who tapped Nathan’s innate love of nature and taught him the dozens of wilderness skills which prepared him for a lifetime of service as a park ranger. After active service in the US Army, Leo married his high school girlfriend and headed to Arizona to start his dream job as a Grand Canyon National Park ranger. That was the last time Nathan saw—or heard from his friend. Until he received an invitation to attend Leo’s retirement party. After decades of one-sided efforts to stay in touch with Leo and wife Brenda, and despite the lack of any contact information on the invitation—or on line, Nathan doesn’t hesitate to make plans to head west to the party. He’s looking forward to spending time catching-up up with his friend. But Leo’s situation has changed drastically from when he first sent the invitation. For one thing, Leo is dead. Nathan and Nina soon discover they not only have to come to grips with the death of their friend, but his death itself has become a mystery they are determined to solve. As they unravel the events leading to Leo’s demise, they soon realize they have thrown caution to the wind—encountering kidnappers, counterfeit prescription drugs, and murder, as well as one heck of a dust storm.
Taking the Sun
Description
Retirees Nathan and Nina Trask are off on another camping trip. They’re taking their Rambler trailer to Florida—their first journey to the Sunshine State. Their ultimate destination is to Mandolin Key to visit their son while he learns to deep-sea dive. But things start to go awry before they even get on the road when they are persuaded by their daughter’s annoying mother-in-law to attend a Mayor’s Ball. Nathan had packed T-shirts, swimming trunks, and shorts. He was not pleased he also had to bring a suit. When Nathan’s long-term friend learns the Trasks will be visiting close to where his father, Fred, resides, Nathan is persuaded to look in on him. Upon arrival in Florida they realize Fred has made it onto the radar screen of con-artists. A couple who are distantly related to the Trask’s son-in-law have devised a ‘can’t lose’ reverse mortgage scheme. Using both their church and their son, the mayor, to get their feet in the door of potential victims, they have accrued a long list of wealthy prospects. Unfortunately for their clients, most of these die before they see much of a payout. With a tropical storm quickly gathering strength, Nathan and Nina find themselves scrambling to stay above water and up to their necks in a complex web of lies, murder, arson, grand theft, breaking and entering, and kidnapping. One thing is true about the Trask’s vacations—they are never dull.
Trouble on the Trail
Description
Retirees Nathan and Nina Trask are on the road once again, heading to Oregon to visit their son. While in Oregon their son has arranged for them to join a film crew as extras in a docu-drama about a famous pioneer—a princess in disguise who had journeyed on the Oregon Trail with a wagon train. The extras will dress as pioneers, sleep in covered wagons, and enact pioneer chores for the film. Folks from all over America applied to be extras but it is soon apparent the screening wasn’t too thorough. Two of the extras have come from New Jersey and are professional thieves on the run from a gangster’s henchmen who have been tracking their journey. The gangster must find them—they’ve stolen a valuable item that could incriminate him in a double murder. Filming begins on a purpose-built trail running adjacent to the original Oregon Trail but trouble soon finds the director. Accidents start to thin out the extras. Pandemonium breaks out when the gangster’s henchmen locate the thieves and visit the camp. An ensuing chase involving a camper van and chuckwagon, and the disruption of a destination wedding in the mountains threaten to shut down the film. Nina and Nathan are soon convinced the film will never be made. Or will it?