We first heard of writer Sue Henry when we stopped at Dawson Peaks Resort near Teslin in the Yukon on an RV trip from Anchorage to Seattle. The resort was the setting for the final scenes in Dead North, one of Henry's Alaska mysteries. That novel introduced the character Maxie McNabb, traveling in her RV up the Alaska Highway with her mini-dachshund, Stretch.
Readers wanted Maxie to have her own book; The Serpents Trail is the result. Maxie, who travels most of the time in her Minnie Winnie Winnebago motorhome, is a character RVers, as well as readers with a sense of adventure, can relate to. She is a 63 year old widow, smart but cautious. She loves the freedom of RV travel. She isn't a professional sleuth but has common sense, a deep sense of integrity, and encounters situations that need to be solved.
As the story opens, Maxie and Stretch are scooting south in her RV from Alaska to fulfill a promise to a longtime friend, terminally ill with a heart condition. Sarah has something important to tell her. Arriving in Colorado Junction, Colorado, Maxie finds Sarah in intensive care. All she can tell Maxie is, "He's not right...." Sarah dies before explaining.
It is then up to Maxie, executrix of Sarah's estate, to find the special instructions Sarah has hidden for Maxie in her Victorian house. Someone else has a key and is also searching.
As Maxie unravels the puzzle, she finds she doesn't know her dear friend as well as she thought. And someone does not want her finding the instructions, leaving threats and attempting to run her off the road in nearby Colorado National Monument. As Maxie follows the clues to Salt Lake City and back, we get caught up in this tale of intrigue and also get a glimpse into the life of a solo woman RVer.
Let's hope this is the first of many in a series. Traveling in an RV will be provide multiple settings for a series of books about Maxie. I wonder where Maxie and Stretch's next adventure will be!