Clammed Up by Barbara Ross

MURDER IS A HARD SHELL TO CRACK....

A Maine Clambake Mystery
Book 1 in a new series!

Julia Snowden returned to her hometown of Busman’s Harbor, Maine to rescue her family’s struggling clambake business—not to solve crimes. But that was before a catered wedding on picturesque Morrow Island turned into a reception for murder. When the best man’s corpse is found hanging from the grand staircase in the Snowden family mansion, Julia must put the chowder pot on the back burner and join the search for the killer. And with suspicion falling on her old crush, Chris Durand, the recipe for saving her business and salvaging her love life might be one and the same.


Author: Barbara Ross
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp., 2013



My Review
First of all, I love this cover! It captures the best of coastal Maine, a place I've been obsessed with since a vacation there in 2011. This book is a "cozy mystery," a genre I don't normally read, but thoroughly enjoyed. Barbara Ross has a great author voice, and I enjoyed the short, fast-paced chapters. Plus, there's great Maine recipes at the end of the book, which I will attempt to recreate. 

Julia Snowden returns home from New York to help save her family's clambake business on their privately owned Morrow Island after her sister's frantic phone call. After presenting the bank with a financial plan and convincing the board that the Snowden's can repay their debt, Julia heads forth to be the rock her family needs. The financial plan allows for five closed business days in case of hurricanes and other natural disasters. What Julia hadn't planned for was murder. 

This book pulled me into the town of Busman's Harbor. With great secondary characters and an ending I didn't expect, I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery. Will I be reading the next book in this series? Definitely. 

I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars!

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Barbara Ross is the author of the Maine Clambake Mysteries from Kensington Publishing. Boiled Over, the most recent book, was published in May 2014. The first book in the series, Clammed Up, was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel as well as the RT Book Reviews, Reviewer's Choice Best Book Award for Amateur Sleuth.