Description (from cover):'Summer has come to Busman's Harbor, Maine, and tourists are lining up for a taste of authentic New England seafood, courtesy of the Snowden Family Clambake Company. But there's something sinister on the boil this season. A killer has crashed a wedding party, adding mystery to the menu at the worse possible moment...
Julia Snowden returned to her hometown 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...'
My thoughts:
I have a dream of one day living in Maine, or at least vacationing there a lot in the summer months. This book somewhat appeased that desire, if only, for a little while. I could just picture myself in beautiful Maine with this book. Imagining myself on quaint Morrow Island. I love the landscape of Maine and think that it is absolutely stunning. So while I can't really get to Maine at the moment, I can escape with this awesome book that made me feel like I was right in the midst of things.
I thought that this was a well-planned cozy mystery. I loved the theme, the setting (who wouldn't??), the characters and the side stories. I thoroughly enjoyed this one from page one until the very last page. There were a couple of times that I figured out some things quite early on and it wasn't really a surprise. I felt like it was a little obvious at times, but I still found this to be quite the lovely read. I really enjoyed the main character, Julia, as she has a few flaws, but is genuinely a kindhearted person who loves what she does and loves her family and will go to any means to protect them and their business.
I think that if you enjoy books that allows you to escape to a beautiful world, then it is a good read indeed. If you enjoy the characters and the overall presentation of the book, then you will ultimately be satisfied with the book. That was the case with this one. It wasn't the absolute best book that I've ever read, but it was enjoyable and entertaining and that is what made reading it such a joy. I can't wait to see what happens next and I know that I will be reading the next in this series.
Overall Rating: 4
Title: Clammed Up
Author: Barbara Ross
Series: Maine Clambake Mystery #1
Publisher: Kensington
Publication Date: September 3, 2013
Pages: 384
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Get It: Amazon; Barnes & Noble
Disclaimer: This book was selected from the library by myself and I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.
