Murder at the Campfire Cookout

• Author: Darci Hannah
• Genre: Cozy Mystery
• Publication Date: June 30, 2026
• Publisher: Kensington Cozies
• Series: A Beacon Bakeshop Mystery #7

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Cozies for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When Lindsey Bakewell leaves behind her lighthouse bakeshop, her boyfriend, Rory, and her Newfoundland dog, Wellington, for a glamping trip with her mother in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the bears leave them alone—but a killer doesn’t. . .

Converting the old Beacon Point lighthouse into a bakery is as adventurous as Lindsey cares to get. Her mother, Ellie, a former 80s fashion model, likes her creature comforts even more—until she sees a business opportunity for her Beacon Harbor fashion boutique when she’s invited by the Mitten Kittens Glamping Club on a woodsy getaway.

Far from roughing it, the ladies will be warm and cozy in chic vintage campers. Ellie insists Lindsey come along to win the campfire cookout contest. Campfire cooking has come a long way from bacon and beans. Soon Lindsey is making pizza, berry cobbler, and gooey Carmelita camping bars.

But the festive spirit is soon dampened when a body is found in Ellie’s camper. It seems like an accidental death until everyone’s tires are slashed and it’s clear the glampsite has become a crime scene. With no cell service to call for help, it’s up to Lindsey to smoke out the killer around the campfire . . .

Because no one is out of the woods yet.

I first learned of this series when I was approved for an ARC of the first book. I’m such a huge sucker for cozy mysteries that I couldn’t resist continuing with the series. I’ve become a huge fan of Darci Hannah, and have fallen in love with Beacon Harbor, Lindsey, Rory, Kennedy, and especially Welly. So I was prepared to love this one too.

Lindsey, a successful Wall Street Banker who left NY behind after an ugly breakup, restored the Beacon Harbor lighthouse and turned it into both a home and a bakery that has been immensely successful. However, her arrival in Beacon Harbor has been plagued with murders that she’s had a hand in solving. Of course, she doesn’t do it alone; she’s now got her parents and best friend living in Beacon Harbor, a wonderful boyfriend, and a whole community to rally behind her. In this book, we leave Beacon Harbor and her beloved Welly (a doofy Newfoundland who is hands down my favorite character in the books) behind for a glamorous camping (glamping) trip in the UP, or Upper Peninsula of Michigan that her mother, Betty, Lindsey, Kennedy, and Colleen all get invited to.

I knew this would be a fun one, since none of these women are those who might enjoy a camping trip in the isolated wilds of Michigan, to the dismay of Rory aka Sir-Hunts-A-Lot. I was most curious to see how they would adapt to spending a weekend off the grid, especially Kennedy who is addicted to her phone and dressing glamorously. Even Ellie, a former supermodel, wasn’t quite prepared to go camping, but the promise of *glamping* won them over. And I couldn’t help but fall in love with the tricked out campers that have been transformed into kitschy glampers. Hannah does a fantastic job with the imagery, and I had no problem picturing these glampers in my head. It even had me curious about giving it a try, but then things fell apart and I found myself reconsidering the idea of glamping.

While Ellie was invited to come to a trip by the Happy Glampers, a group of women who glamp together, in hopes that she would be able to design a line of beautiful and functional glamping clothing. Additionally, there is a campfire cookout scheduled, and Lindsey is going to be participating. Since the campfire cookout requires participants to only use a campfire and not the stove or oven that can be found in the glampers, Lindsey has to do some preparation to learn how to cook over a fire, and Rory is the guy she turns to. As an experienced hunter and camper, in addition to his other talents, he and one of Lindsey’s bakeshop employees help her develop and practice some campfire recipes, along with learning how to start and maintain a campfire. I knew Lindsey was going to come up with something outstanding, and I was thrilled to discover that the recipes she used were included in the back of the book. And the best part of that is how they’ve been adapted for the kitchen so a campfire isn’t needed.

Instead of the light and fun tone of the previous books, this one still has light and fun sections, but the tension slowly ratchets up over the course of the story. It’s also much more atmospheric with a growing feeling of claustrophobia in the isolated campground, a suspicious death, no phone service, surrounded by trees and a lake. When their vehicles are tampered with, there appears to be no way out except on foot or across the lake. So the women are forced to figure out who among them could have done this horrible act, while also worrying about their own safety. A series of suspicious acts also occurs, adding to the tension and giving this the feel of a locked room mystery.

Fortunately, this is still a cozy mystery and keeps the tone lighter than a typical suspense, thriller, or mystery. There are funny moments, and I love seeing the women interact with each other. Lindsey, Kennedy, and now Colleen, have become a fantastic trio and it’s wonderful to see them all growing closer and enjoying each other’s company, turning their duo into a group. The friendship between Ellie and Betty also grows stronger as they face an unknown threat. Amidst all the murder and investigations, we see the five city girls getting more comfortable in the woods, and they do a fantastic job of overcoming challenges together and trusting their instincts. 

Overall, I was really impressed with how the author was able to successfully shift settings and storylines throughout the series and keep things from feeling formulaic and repetitive. One of my favorite things has been the character growth over the course of the series, but also in each book. In this book, it wasn’t just Lindsey who made progress—the side characters also show growth and feel like a group that I would love to hang out with (minus the murders, of course). Kennedy showed a ton of growth in this book especially, but all of the side characters feel well-rounded and realistic. I had fun with the alliteration in the names of the characters from the Happy Glampers, like Babs Babbington and Hilly Henderson. The mystery felt higher stakes in this book, but at this point in the series, I’m pretty attached to the Bakewell family and their found family so I was more emotionally invested than I was in the first book, making this the perfect time to write this story. While there isn’t a cliffhanger ending, there is something to look forward to in the next book, and I’m not just talking about Lindsey’s yummy recipes. I hope this series continues long enough to see the events set up in this book play out. 

Bottom line: Another outstanding book in this series, and a departure from the usual setting of the bakeshop, Hannah shows her mastery of cozy mysteries with another book that avoids being formulaic and incorporates a fun cast of characters you can’t help but love.

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