Hello, everyone! Today I’m reviewing A Murder Most Camp by Nicolas DiDomizio. I don’t read or review a ton of mystery books, but this murder mystery with a hint of queer romance sounded too good to pass up. Did I love it? Read on to find out!
The Guncle meets Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies in this fun, twisty mystery following a spoiled nepo baby forced to work at a struggling summer camp who stumbles into a real-life murder mystery he has no choice but to solve.
Rustic cabins. Lakefront bonfires. A painfully hot lifeguard. And a murder? Summer has never been this camp.
Mikey Hartford IV has coasted through his twenties in a distracted blur of yachts and sex and partying. But when his father discovers his latest million-dollar impulse buy and changes the terms of his trust, the party’s finally over. Now, unless Mikey can make a positive contribution to the world before his thirtieth birthday—one that doesn’t involve throwing cash at his problems—he’ll never see another yacht again. (Or even so much as a canoe.)
Camp Lore, a struggling summer camp in upstate New York where Mikey has to work as the oldest, least-qualified staffer to prove that he can “do good” alongside his twelve-year-old aunt. (Yes, aunt.) But Mikey isn’t sure he’ll be able to survive the camp’s ramshackle living conditions, let alone the gaggle of preteens who won’t leave his side. And when his campers become obsessed with a local legend set at an abandoned cabin on the grounds, Mikey’s chances of not making it through the summer become dangerously real—because it turns out there’s a murder hidden beneath Camp Lore. And someone there will stop at nothing to keep it that way.
Solving a decade-old cold case will surely be enough “good” for Mikey to earn his inheritance. He just has to stay alive long enough to do it…
***Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an advanced copy of the book via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***
A Murder Most Camp was a fun and ridiculous murder mystery set at a summer camp. It took me a bit of time to sink into the story, though, because the main character was insufferable for the first quarter or so of the book. Thankfully, he had a really great character arc, and things took a quick turn for the better once everyone arrived at the camp. The gratuitous pop culture references were a ton of fun, too, and the story had plenty of humor that had me smiling from ear to ear alongside some really emotional and heartfelt moments.
The plot of A Murder Most Camp was probably the weakest element of the book. So much of the mystery hinged on people covering stuff up for others, but the reasons for them continuing to go along with it for so long were super flimsy. The world-building at the camp was also very unbelievable and inconsistent. It supposedly had incredibly high security and impenetrable gates, but a whole group of kids managed to somehow get their driver to pick them up without any resistance. Despite the flimsiness and inconsistency in these elements, the mystery still managed to hold my attention, and I was pretty satisfied with how it was all resolved. The ridiculousness of the plot actually added to the fun of it all for me.
My favorite part of A Murder Most Camp was the characters and their relationships. After a rocky start, I really came to love Mikey. He began the story as a spoiled nepo baby brat who only seemed to care about blowing his money and partying. He was constantly complaining about how unfair his gig at the camp was, and it was extremely grating. So, job well done to the author for making him so literally insufferable. lol. As his time at the camp went on, he reignited his passion for filmmaking while also turning out to be a pretty great mentor for the kids. He had to learn to trust both himself and others, and his relationships with the kids, his 12-year-old aunt, and the hot lifeguard were the perfect catalyst for some personal growth.
All in all, A Murder Most Camp was an entertaining murder mystery where the ridiculousness was the point. The story didn’t take itself too seriously, but it did provide some great moments of personal growth to balance out the goofy nature of the premise. I had quite a bit of fun with this one and will be looking out for other books by the author. Therefore, I rate this book 3.75 out of 5 stars.
There you have it! My thoughts on A Murder Most Camp by Nicolas DiDomizio. Have you picked this one up yet? Does it sound like something you’d enjoy? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments!