Tag: Vermont

Caught on Camera: A Camera Club Mystery
by Kara Lacey

About Caught on Camera

Caught on Camera: A Camera Club Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Vermont
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Level Best Books (September 24, 2024)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 307 pages
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DGNDGPV4

Blue skies and wildflowers signal the start of summer in southern Vermont, and the Stonebridge Keep it Snappy Camera Club lenses are zoomed in on…murder.

It’s been more than a year since the sudden death of her husband, and photographer Bobbie Brooks wants nothing more than to escape her grief. Fleeing her life in the city, she seeks a fresh start in the serenity of the Green Mountains. But Bobbie’s new beginning comes to a halt when she finds a member of her camera club dead beneath the village’s idyllic covered bridge. Tragic accident or something sinister? With a keen photographer’s eye, Bobbie suspects murder.

As if transitioning to small-town life wasn’t challenging enough, Bobbie’s missing scarf is found at the murder scene, making her the primary focus. Scorned by local gossips, she enlists the help of her camera club and shifts her lens from photographer to amateur sleuth. Using photos found on the victim’s camera, they waste no time setting out to catch the killer—and discover no shortage of suspects. Secrets, lies, and blackmail…Danger abounds as they close in on the killer.
Her camera holds the answers… But can she develop the clues in time to stop the killer?

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Photographer Bobbie Brooks needs a new start. Her husband’s sudden death a little over a year ago has been so hard to accept. She wants, no needs, to escape her grief. Leaving her life in Boston behind she hopes she will find a way forward in Stonebridge, Vermont nestled within the Green Mountains. It is where her big sister has made her home with her family. She has found a home for herself and Darcy, her yellow Labrador retriever on Main Street with a cute barn that will make a perfect photography studio. Her first step in making her dream of turning her hobby into a profession is starting the Keep It Snappy Shutter Club. The club includes her sister, her best friend Rose, who owns the Rosebud Cafe, Tiffanee Jacobson who is in her mid-30s, pretty brash, and dating Rose’s ex-husband, Jackson Gilbert, “an outdoorsy Vermonter with a flair of his own”,  and Penny  Wright, the youngest member of the group and the first to join. Their first photo shoot is a covered bridge, but Tiffanee fails to meet up with the rest of the group.

The group split up at the bridge anxious to get their unique clicks. Bobbie takes time to check on each one but she is still worried about the missing photographer. As dusk was falling she starts to take some pictures of her own. She gets an eerie feeling and notices a large bundle. Rushing to the motionless shape, she finds Tiffannee face down on the rocky riverbank.  To make matters worse, a scarf she had lost earlier is found at the scene of the crime making her the prime suspect.

Bobbie decides to use her unique talents for observation to find the real killer and she asks the club to help. Turns out there are a plethora of suspects and she believes the pictures from the victim’s camera can provide clues to bring the guilty party into focus. Can they clear Bobbie’s name? And get justice for Tiffanee? Or will the killer take the final shot?

Kara Lacey introduced a group of very interesting characters in her first Camera Club Mystery. Protagonist Bobbie Brooks immediately captured my heart. While I haven’t lost a husband, I have lost an adult son and know the pain that grief can bring and the way it shakes your whole world. I was happy to see her move to be close to her sister and her family. Alicia and Nate were there for her the whole way. As was her friend Rose. The closeness of these relationships was so heartwarming and genuine. Bobbie also has a daughter Emma away at school and everything about that relationship feels true to life. Readers are also introduced to a variety of Stonebridge residents, all pretty typical of what you find in any small town. I used to have a neighbor very much like Bobbie’s Lester Miller, so I could relate there too.

Ms. Lacey has crafted a compelling mystery. Secrets and lies abound as Bobbie tries to follow the clues while Detective Cram keeps his focus entirely on her. Things get shaken up when someone else is murdered sending Bobbie’s theory out the window. I enjoyed how photos,  her knowledge, and her observation skills helped her bring all the pieces together. That and a little intuition set up a dramatic showdown followed by an exciting rescue and takedown.

I do find the camera club theme very appealing. Like Penny, my camera is my phone. My husband, on the other hand, has taken his photography hobby to a new level with multiple lenses. Maybe we can both learn something from Bobbie.

Caught on Camera is a very entertaining whodunit that has given this series a fantastic start. A strong protagonist, engaging supporting characters, and a top-notch mystery laced with humor, all set in an intriguing small town will delight cozy lovers. The last few paragraphs give readers a little snippet of what Bobbie has in her future. I am keen to see what adventure she and her camera club catch with their lenses next.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

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About Kara Lacey

Kara Lacey is the author of the Camera Club Mysteries. Along with her husband, she lives in a tiny village nestled in the beautiful Green Mountains of Vermont—the inspiration for her novels. Kara is a photography enthusiast who also enjoys hiking, skiing, and getting cozy with a good book. When she’s not at her laptop creating havoc for her characters, you can find her rambling through the forest with her husband and spirited Labrador retriever, camera in hand.

Kara is a member of Sisters in Crime, Sisters in Crime-New England, and Mystery Writers of America. She is also a co-Member at Large for Vermont SinC NE writers.

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