CATCH ME IF YUKON by Maddy Hunter is the 12th novel in the Passport to Peril mystery series. The novel is due out on December 8th 2018 by Midnight Ink. The Passport to Peril series follows tour guide Emily Miceli as she escorts groups of travelers to various locations all over the world.
Emily Miceli and her band of world travelers are back in their 12th adventure. This time they are visiting Alaska. Tragedy strikes the group when one of the members dies while hiking in a thick fog. At first, everyone assumes that the death is nothing more than an accident. It's not until Emily's dad posts one of his vacation photos that allegedly features Bigfoot that everyone begins to believe that the accident might have been foul play. When a second tour member dies in a ziplining accident, Emily knows that a killer is targeting her tour group.
CATCH ME IF YUKON is the first one of the Passport to Peril mysteries that I have read, and, when I started reading the novel, I was worried that I might have some trouble following along with Emily and her band of world travelers. Lucky for me - and other readers who haven't read the rest of the series - this novel reads as a standalone, and all necessary background information is provided. I'll admit that the main reason I requested CATCH ME IF YUKON on NetGalley was because the description mentioned Bigfoot. I hadn't heard of the Passport to Peril mystery series, but I was also intrigued by the premise of the series. Having read CATCH ME IF YUKON, I plan to read all of the novels in this series.
CATCH ME IF YUKON is a quirky and fun cozy mystery. Having been on a few group tours, I found myself both laughing and cringing as I commiserated with Emily and her band of senior travelers. Maddy Hunter's descriptions of Alaska were amazing - I've never been to Alaska, but, thanks to her details, I was easily able to picture the locations and landscapes. The two murders were interesting - I can't imagine being on a group tour and having multiple members of my trip die while we're traveling. Hunter kept the plot well-balanced between the vacation and the police investigations. I also enjoyed that Hunter included story lines that involved Emily's and other characters' lives back in Iowa. The story lines involving their home lives kept the characters grounded. The novel is well-written, and the characters were well-developed.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.