At the heart of it all, emotions really pull you deep into Maudy's world in the book. Corvo paints Maudy's struggles in a way that hits home, making her journey super captivating. The mix of vulnerability and self-reflection makes it easy to relate to Maudy, forging a strong connection with the reader. The urgency in Maudy's drive to protect the park comes through vividly. Despite some parts needing clearer explanations, Corvo's storytelling shines with humor, creativity, and emotion in a way that sticks with you. This tale of resilience and determination is a gem that blends whimsy with heart, leaving a smile on your face.

"Stone's Throw State Park Ranger Maudy Lorso spends her days playing cards and sipping drinks with her millennial gal pals, hiking steep sand dunes with her scruffy dog, Martin Short, and trying to ignore the pain of a recent, devastating breakup. After building a quiet life in the Lake Michigan coastal village of Stone's Throw, Maudy's emotional safety net is turned inside out when her boss informs her of looming budget cuts that threaten to permanently close the park - and eliminate her job. Determined to prove the park's value, Maudy throws herself into organizing a successful campground opening weekend, just one week away. But when the body of a missing tourist is discovered in the park, her hope of saving Stone's Throw State Park quickly begins to fade. In order to save her dream job and maintain her quirky, quiet life, Maudy jumps in to solve the murder of the dead man."

I mean, I'd want to preserve this job too if it were mine, it seems she doesn't do much...

I really enjoyed this mystery. Maudy is a great character and her sidekick pooch is a fun twist on a partner. The mystery itself had good twists and turns. I was excited by the ending and glad it still wrapped up things well before book 2!

#OfftheBeatenPath #NetGalley is the first book I've read by this author.
Maudy is a State Park Ranger who seems to love her job.
When she receives word that her park may be closed due to lack of campers, she's determined to make it a great season.
When a missing person is discovered, dead, in the park, Maudy is scared of what this will do to the camping season.
I'm not sure how I feel about this book, I couldn't relate to Maudy, or any of the other characters, they seemed kind of stiff, no colorful personalities that made them stand out.
If another book is written, I would give it a read, only book first in a new series dont always capture the true characters unique qualities.
This is a 3 star review
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

3.5

I had a great time with this book! It was cute and a super quick read. A great cozy mystery that really is not to heavy at all. For me the main character was a little "not like other girls" for me, just with her dialogue mainly. She was also a little oblivious to suspects and the people she surrounds herself with especially for being a huge fan of Buffy and Veronica Mars. There were times when she was making leaps and bounds to connect things together, and then other times where she could not make the simplest connections. The book also hit every major plot point of a mystery very predictably, which is not a bad thing but does make it little less fun sometimes. I also felt like there was a little bit to much happening outside the murder plot until the end of the book, because there were characters in the book that were supposedly the best friends of the main girl but they only interacted a handful of times. This book reminds me of the show "Grosse Pointe Garden Society" in the way that all of the characters are cringey millennials but the storyline is somewhat captivating enough to look past it. When I was about 90% through the book it was a 2.5-3 star read for me but the epilogue really got me and if the this author continues this series I would be interested to see where she takes it.