Kirk Lake Camp Series

A Charlene Parker mystery. Set mostly in northern Ontario at a cottage resort and partly in rural Nova Scotia, A Kayak for One (book one in the Kirk Lake Camp series of books) features a former Hamilton police detective who would like most of all to just do the never ending everyday chores of running a resort but who seems to end up having to solve murders instead. As if that isn't enough the former detective, Charlene Parker, also has to deal with creepy peeping Bob across the lake, the local OPP detective Sarah who has issues to no end that Charlene must hear about, a bagpipe playing lover across town, an old house to fix up across the country on the east coast and with all that still find time to cook for herself and half the police detachment while they poke about the resort trying to solve the murders before Charlene does. Then of course there are the guests. Not only are the trees too sappy, too messy, too numerous, the mosquitoes and black flies are too many and too pesky, the cabins are too rustic with too few luxuries, with too few televisions (as in none) and too expensive, the other guests are too loud, too drunk, too close, too present, the air temperature is too hot or too cold or too windy or not windy enough, the lake is too cold or too rough, with too few pikerel and bass, the wolf howls are too scary and too close, the black bears are too smelly and too scary and too close, the water snakes too skittish and scary and too close, the garter snakes too, too, too close, the red squirrels and blue jays too chattery and bossy and too close, and the guests' own families are too obnoxious, too stressful, too close. It's enough to make Charlene want to head south back to a dark alley in the north end of Hamilton to chase a criminal in a hoodie (always a hoodie), with a gun, who is too scary, too mean, too drunk, too stoned, too hilarious, too stupid and too close. Thank goodness she has time to unwind every now and then with a good Cape Breton single malt whisky. What could go wrong this season when a professor and geology students rent a few cottages as a base for field work in the area? They're educated young adults led by an experienced professor. Everyone could get along and hunker down and focus on the purpose of the trip, a 10 day advanced course, a study of the unique rock formations in northern Ontario. It's near the end of the tourist season and relief from working long days for long weeks for long months is almost palatable for the former detective turned resort owner. How much work or trouble could the students be for Charlene? Will it be a peaceful end to the busy summer season...for a change? Will it end without a murder ... for a change?

A Charlene Parker mystery. Set mostly in northern Ontario at a cottage resort and partly in rural Nova Scotia at her old fixer-upper house, Three for Pumpkin Pie? (book three in the Kirk Lake Camp series of books) features a former Hamilton police detective, Charlene Parker, who would like most of all to spend the season just doing the never ending everyday chores of running a resort, but who seems to end up having to solve murders instead. It’s Thanksgiving time and creepy Bob is still being Bob, Sarah has decided to stay at Charlene's to avoid her relationship woes at home, men are complicating Charlene’s life, three little old ladies are making it even more complicated than the men and Charlene still must find time to make a Thanksgiving dinner all the while running the resort. Then of course there are the guests. Not only are the trees too sappy, too messy, too numerous, the mosquitoes and black flies are too many and too pesky, the cabins are too rustic with too few luxuries, with too few televisions (as in none) and too expensive, the other guests are too loud, too drunk, too close, too present, the air temperature is too hot or too cold or too windy or not windy enough, the lake is too cold or too rough, with too few pickerel and bass, the wolf howls are too scary and too close, the black bears are too smelly and too scary and too close, the water snakes too skittish and scary and too close, the garter snakes too, too, too close, the red squirrels and blue jays too chattery and bossy and too close, and the guests' own families are too obnoxious, too stressful, too close. It's enough to make Charlene want to head south back to a dark alley in the north end of Hamilton to chase a criminal in a hoodie (always a hoodie), with a gun, who is too scary, too mean, too drunk, too stoned, too hilarious, too stupid and too close. Thank goodness she has time to unwind every now and then with a good Cape Breton single malt whisky. It’s the last busy week-end of the season and Charlene has lots of work to do to cook the Thanksgiving dinner, cater to her guests and close up the cottages for the winter. What a mess. Sarah invited Charlene's former lover for dinner without asking her first. Sarah is known to stick her nose into business that isn’t hers but she is a detective after all and that's what detectives do best. So instead of just her and Sarah at the table, Joe would be the third. The trouble was, Charlene was thinking a lot about Jim. The trouble was, one of the guests was murdered.

A Charlene Parker mystery. Another season is coming to a close and Charlene is relieved. How much longer can she do this before retiring she wonders? She turns 56 soon and Freedom 55 was so close she could taste it but it’s the Scotch she tastes. She has a dram or three as she works her muddled mind through the stress of work, two men in her heart and another death on her property. This time, it hits her hard. Set mostly in northern Ontario at a cottage resort and partly in rural Nova Scotia at her old fixer-upper house, Cocktails at Five (book five in the Kirk Lake Camp series of books) features a former Hamilton police detective, Charlene, who would like most of all to spend the season just doing the never ending everyday chores of running a resort, but who seems to end up having to solve murders instead. Then there are the guests. Not only are the trees too sappy, too messy, too numerous, the mosquitoes and black flies are too many and too pesky, the cabins are too rustic with too few luxuries, with too few televisions (as in none) and too expensive, the other guests are too loud, too drunk, too close, too present, the air temperature is too hot or too cold or too windy or not windy enough, the lake is too cold or too rough, with too few pickerel and bass, the wolf howls are too scary and too close, the black bears are too smelly and too scary and too close, the water snakes too skittish and scary and too close, the garter snakes too, too, too close, the red squirrels and blue jays too chattery and bossy and too close, and the guests' own families are too obnoxious, too stressful, too close. It's enough to make Charlene want to head south back to a dark alley in the north end of Hamilton to chase a criminal in a hoodie (always a hoodie), with a gun, who is too scary, too mean, too drunk, too stoned, too hilarious, too stupid and too close. Charlene can’t wait to get back to Nova Scotia and her old house in the quiet coastal village where there is never a murder, complaining guests or prying eyes. First she has to get cracking to solve this death for Sarah before she can leave it all behind and head east and start the freedom part of what's now Freedom 56.

A Charlene Parker mystery. After spending a peaceful and relaxed winter at her home in Nova Scotia Charlene is back in Ontario to open the cottage resort for another noisy and hectic season. Sneaky Bob gets lucky, Sarah is bonkers, the geology students are back and a group of women from an area shelter are there to relax. Charlene’s relaxing time is definitely over. Set mostly in northern Ontario at a cottage resort and partly in rural Nova Scotia at her old fixer-upper house, Fore! In the Hole (book four in the Kirk Lake Camp series of books) features a former Hamilton police detective, Charlene, who would like most of all to spend the season just doing the never ending everyday chores of running a resort, but who seems to end up having to solve murders instead. Then there are the guests. Not only are the trees too sappy, too messy, too numerous, the mosquitoes and black flies are too many and too pesky, the cabins are too rustic with too few luxuries, with too few televisions (as in none) and too expensive, the other guests are too loud, too drunk, too close, too present, the air temperature is too hot or too cold or too windy or not windy enough, the lake is too cold or too rough, with too few pickerel and bass, the wolf howls are too scary and too close, the black bears are too smelly and too scary and too close, the water snakes too skittish and scary and too close, the garter snakes too, too, too close, the red squirrels and blue jays too chattery and bossy and too close, and the guests' own families are too obnoxious, too stressful, too close. It's enough to make Charlene want to head south back to a dark alley in the north end of Hamilton to chase a criminal in a hoodie (always a hoodie), with a gun, who is too scary, too mean, too drunk, too stoned, too hilarious, too stupid and too close. Thank goodness she has time to unwind every now and then with a good Cape Breton single malt whisky. The season started well. The group of women from a women's shelter had a chance to unwind a little and let mother nature help soothe their worries. It didn't end well. Her angst over the man she left behind on the east coast mixed with her resentment of the man she once loved who lived just a short drive away, caused Charlene as much stress and worry as the dead body discovered on her property just a week before the hectic May long week-end.

A Charlene Parker mystery. Set mostly in northern Ontario at a cottage resort and partly in rural Nova Scotia, Two Buckets of Berries (book two in the Kirk Lake Camp series of books) features a former Hamilton police detective who would like most of all to just do the never ending everyday chores of running a resort but who seems to end up having to solve murders instead. It’s another season and creepy poaching Bob is still peeping, Sarah has even more issues to talk about, Joe is still upset and there is still Jim in Nova Scotia to think about, it’s hot and Charlene still must find time to cook for herself and half the police detachment while they poke about the resort trying to solve the murders before Charlene does it for them. Then of course there are the guests. Not only are the trees too sappy, too messy, too numerous, the mosquitoes and black flies are too many and too pesky, the cabins are too rustic with too few luxuries, with too few televisions (as in none) and too expensive, the other guests are too loud, too drunk, too close, too present, the air temperature is too hot or too cold or too windy or not windy enough, the lake is too cold or too rough, with too few pickerel and bass, the wolf howls are too scary and too close, the black bears are too smelly and too scary and too close, the water snakes too skittish and scary and too close, the garter snakes too, too, too close, the red squirrels and blue jays too chattery and bossy and too close, and the guests' own families are too obnoxious, too stressful, too close. It's enough to make Charlene want to head south back to a dark alley in the north end of Hamilton to chase a criminal in a hoodie (always a hoodie), with a gun, who is too scary, too mean, too drunk, too stoned, too hilarious, too stupid and too close. Thank goodness she has time to unwind every now and then with a good Cape Breton single malt whisky. At least nobody died at the resort this time. Charlene could breathe a sigh of relief. She had enough work running Kirk Lake Camp without dealing with that again. It was the height of the season and all the cottages and fishing boats were rented. To top it off, a perfect storm was brewing. It wasn't just the high humidity, heat and strong winds that had Charlene worried. Her married guests were quibbling, a young boy staying at the resort was troubled, her best friend Detective Sarah Davidson was deeply troubled, there wasn't enough time to pick blueberries and that was double trouble, Charlene couldn't make heads or tails of her own relationships and that wasn't even worth the trouble, and, oh yes, one of her guests was killed ... but at least not at the resort ... phew!

A companion to A Kayak for One, book one in the Kirk Lake Camp series, with recipes and excerpts from the book. Murder and mayhem doesn’t mean food doesn’t have to get cooked. It does and somebody has to feed the victim’s family, the detective, the police constables, the coroner, the witnesses, the local snoops and busy bodies, the guests at the resort, the bad guy or gal, and last but not least, the former detective turned cottage resort owner herself. If Charlene can’t stick her nose into the murder investigation as much as she’d like to, she can always cook. Each book in the six book Kirk Lake Camp series has a companion cookbook.

A Charlene Parker Mystery "Hey Hans...it’s time," was all it took to set in motion the sale of the resort and a final move from Ontario to Nova Scotia. It's early in the season and only three guests are booked before Hans would arrive to take possession of the resort and Charlene could finally make the move to her now renovated home on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia. Set mostly in northern Ontario at a cottage resort and partly in rural Nova Scotia at her now fixed up old fixer-upper house, Six Is the Limit! (book six in the Kirk Lake Camp series of books) features a former Hamilton police detective, Charlene, who would like most of all to spend the season just doing the never ending everyday chores of running a resort, but who seems to end up having to solve murders instead. Then there are the guests. Not only are the trees too sappy, too messy, too numerous, the mosquitoes and black flies are too many and too pesky, the cabins are too rustic with too few luxuries, with too few televisions (as in none) and too expensive, the other guests are too loud, too drunk, too close, too present, the air temperature is too hot or too cold or too windy or not windy enough, the lake is too cold or too rough, with too few pickerel and bass, the wolf howls are too scary and too close, the black bears are too smelly and too scary and too close, the water snakes too skittish and scary and too close, the garter snakes too, too, too close, the red squirrels and blue jays too chattery and bossy and too close, and the guests' own families are too obnoxious, too stressful, too close. Enough is enough! Charlene only has to take care of three guests for a weekend, pack up a few things for the movers and then head back to Nova Scotia leaving the stress of the resort behind her for good. Sounds easy after years of running the place, but Sarah isn't happy about it, Charlene isn't happy leaving her friends behind, Joe goes missing, and of course, a guest had to go and get murdered. Can't anything be easy!?

A companion book to the second book in the Kirk Lake Camp series, Two Buckets of Berries. Murder and mayhem doesn’t mean food doesn’t have to get cooked. It does and somebody has to feed the victim’s family, the detective, the police constables, the coroner, the witnesses, the local snoops and busy bodies, the guests at the resort, the bad guy or gal, and last but not least, the former detective turned cottage resort owner herself. If Charlene can’t stick her nose into the murder investigation as much as she’d like to she can always cook. Each book in the six book Kirk Lake Camp series has a companion cookbook.

A companion book to the third book in the Kirk Lake Camp series, Three for Pumpkin Pie? Murder and mayhem doesn’t mean food doesn’t have to get cooked. It does and somebody has to feed the victim’s family, the detective, the police constables, the coroner, the witnesses, the local snoops and busy bodies, the guests at the resort, the bad guy or gal, and last but not least, the former detective turned cottage resort owner herself. If Charlene can’t stick her nose into the murder investigation as much as she’d like to she can always cook. Each book in the six book Kirk Lake Camp series has a companion cookbook.

A companion cookbook to the fifth book in the Kirk Lake Camp series, Cocktails at Five. Murder and mayhem doesn’t mean food doesn’t have to get cooked. It does and somebody has to feed the victim’s family, the detective, the police constables, the coroner, the witnesses, the local snoops and busy bodies, the guests at the resort, the bad guy or gal, and last but not least, the former detective turned cottage resort owner herself. If Charlene can’t stick her nose into the murder investigation as much as she’d like to she can always cook. Each book in the six book Kirk Lake Camp series has a companion cookbook.

A companion book to the fourth book in the Kirk Lake Camp series, Fore! In the Hole. Murder and mayhem doesn’t mean food doesn’t have to get cooked. It does and somebody has to feed the victim’s family, the detective, the police constables, the coroner, the witnesses, the local snoops and busy bodies, the guests at the resort, the bad guy or gal, and last but not least, the former detective turned cottage resort owner herself. If Charlene can’t stick her nose into the murder investigation as much as she’d like to she can always cook. Each book in the six book Kirk Lake Camp series has a companion cookbook.

A Charlene Parker Cozy Mystery Series Box Set Owning and operating a cottage resort in a peaceful northern Ontario setting should be a piece of cake for a former police detective. Families should be happy to be on a vacation in rustic log cabins set among acres of old-growth pines along a vast shoreline of a clean lake ideal for swimming, boating and fishing. It should and they should, is what goes through the mind of the former detective turned resort owner every time a guest shows up and havoc reigns. It's enough to make Charlene want to head south, back to a dark alley in the north end of Hamilton to chase a criminal in a hoodie, always a hoodie. But instead, the former detective turned resort owner stays put and cleans toilets, cuts wood, sells gas, worms and ice, rents fishing boats and canoes and cottages, smiles at guests, and helps the local O.P.P. solve murders on the resort, because every time guests show up, someone gets killed. The six book collection follows Charlene Parker as she navigates her life of solving murders, romance, friends, food and running a cottage resort in Ontario while trying to further her future goal of moving to the old family home in Nova Scotia. This box set contains the complete series.

A companion cookbook to the sixth and final book in the Kirk Lake Camp series, Six Is the Limit! Murder and mayhem doesn’t mean food doesn’t have to get cooked. It does and somebody has to feed the victim’s family, the detective, the police constables, the coroner, the witnesses, the local snoops and busy bodies, the guests at the resort, the bad guy or gal, and last but not least, the former detective turned cottage resort owner herself. If Charlene can’t stick her nose into the murder investigation as much as she’d like to she can always cook. Each book in the six book Kirk Lake Camp series has a companion cookbook.