New Maine Clambake Mystery from Barbara Ross, STEAMED OPEN

December can be snowy and gray at times -- or even worse, rainy and gray -- and the rush toward the holidays is both exhilarating and exhausting. All of those are reasons to pick up a copy of the seventh Maine Clambake Mystery from Barbara Ross, reaching the store shelves this week thanks to Kensington Books.

STEAMED OPEN features Julia Snowden, of course, the increasingly essential leader in her family's summer island-based business off the coast of Maine. Julia's far away now from the city job that obsessed her in earlier titles in the series -- she's nurtured the tourist-based family operation to thriving, made peace with her sister, settled down with her hunky boyfriend Chris, and expects restoration to start soon on the burned shell of the Snowdens' long-closed-off grand house on the island.

But it's a careful balance, and even the closing of a local clamming beach can tilt things toward perilous. Of course, the real problem is the reason for the closing: murder of the owner. Looks like Julia is the last to have seen Bartholomew Frick alive -- unless of course it was one of her clamming friends, or the tourists desperate to get to the lighthouse beyond that beach, or ... well, nobody liked the guy.

Binder leaned forward, placing both elbows and forearms on his desk. "Mr. Frick is deceased."

I'd expected it was something serious. The Major Crimes Until didn't come to town for trivial reasons. They didn't summon you to the police station at ten o'clock at night for a friendly chat. I had even suspected what that serious things was, especially when the Lieutenant had asked me about Frick. But Binder's statement hit me hard I hadn't known Frick well, and what I had known, I hadn't liked. But I had been with him that morning, talking about his great-aunt's home and her artwork. He hadn't been a nice man, but he had been a living, breathing one.

The local police are almost friendly toward Julia by this point, which helps when she decides that circumstances require her to clear one suspect, chase down others, and find out the real reason that the Herrickson mansion's got such an odd series of owners lined up. (There's a will, of course, but it makes the confused currents darker.)

Ross keeps the pace quick, with red herrings and possible victims and perpetrators slowly revealing themselves, and a second strand of mystery and tension around Julia's boyfriend Chris, once again holding his personal tensions way too close to his chest, and sleeping elsewhere when he chooses to avoid trusting her with what's going on. That's part of the charm of every Barbara Ross mystery: the braiding together of crisis outside, crisis inside, and the demand for the different kinds of courage (and loyalty) involved.

Pick up STEAMED OPEN for some relaxing and non-wintry "amateur sleuthing" on the side as you power into and through the holidays, and get an extra couple of copies to tuck into the stockings of good friends. They'll appreciate this well-plotted investigation with its cords of friendship and deeper affection, in its salt-tangy Maine setting (and oh, those clam recipes, yumm!). I've got a list going already of people who deserve a good read for this season.

PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

Tasting Cuba Through a New Mystery, Teresa Dovalpage's DEATH COMES IN THROUGH THE KITCHEN

Exploring another place and culture through an enjoyable mystery in that setting has a long tradition -- readers have long appreciated vintage English village life through Agatha Christie's books, and many who will never reach Italy treasure Donna Leon's Venice. Scandinavian noir takes us to Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland; the Brazilian series by the late Leighton Gage showed us a tender love of place and people coupled with the horror of crime driven by poverty and corruption.

Now it's a delight to be able to look inside Cuba in 2003 in DEATH COMES IN THROUGH THE KITCHEN, the first mystery from accomplished Havana-born author Teresa Dovalpage (Soho Crime). Dovalpage calls her book a literary mystery -- I'd rather liken it to the classic "recipe" mysteries, including the current Maine series by Barbara Ross and two food-focused series that Massachusetts author Edith Maxwell (aka Maddie Day) provides.

DEATH COMES IN THROUGH THE KITCHEN opens with the arrival of totally inexperienced, unskilled tourist Matt Sullivan, who hasn't really thought out how complicated his situation is -- but he's coming through customs with a slightly used wedding dress, a gorgeous one, that he plans to give to his Cuban sweetheart Yarmila in hopes of gaining a loving commitment from him.

The problem is, Matt really doesn't know Yarmi all that well -- she writes a cooking blog that describes delicious Cuban dishes and he's been following her via the Internet, in his role as a San Diego journalist trying to promote Latin cuisine. And his arrival during the height of Fidel Castro's police-maintained power means he'll be an under-the-table guest at a fiercely proletarian guest house, and an illicit suitor.

But by the end of the second chapter, we readers know that Yarmi has been murdered -- and Matt, the ambitious American who thought he'd found his lifeetime sweetheart, is now both bereaved, and a murder suspect ... to both the police and Yarmi's, ahem, other connections.

In fact, he's even imprisoned for a bit, and of course his passport is seized:

"Let's see. You meet this citizen, spend ten days with her, don't see her face to face again, send her tons of money," Lieutenant Martínez paused here for effect, "and come back ready to marry her. Is that correct?"

"Yes, compañera," Matt let the reference to "tons of money" slip "That's correct."

Soon Matt's desperation leads him to accepting help from a former police detective turned Santeria practitioner. But will the assistance be enough? And could there be too much benefit for all involved, by tagging Matt with the crime?

I thoroughly enjoyed this romp through Cuba via Matt's naive perceptions, and look forward to the next in this series from Dovalpage -- because there's sure to be more about this set of wild and eccentric characters. New from Soho Crime (Soho Press), released today.

PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

New England Mystery Delight in Barbara Ross's New STOWED AWAY

Love a good traditional mystery with a smart amateur sleuth, hot clues, red herrings, an intriguing setting, and characters you can bond with? Good! Barbara Ross is once again writing exactly for you, in her newest Maine Clambake Mystery, STOWED AWAY.

Series fans have been waiting eagerly for this new title, and know the backstory to what Julia Snowden is facing: the fire-cored disaster of her family's historic house on the Maine coast island where she and her relatives are scrambling to re-open their profitable clam-bake operation for the new summer season; a loving but at times highly uncertain relationship with her boyfriend Chris, steady but without specific commitments; her mother, widowed and still not quite back in the groove of the family business; and an awkward relationship (to say the least!) with the local police investigators, who have worked with her far too often since she returned to Maine from her high-pressure urban finance career, in order to help her family.

Barbara Ross skillfully sketches in the frame as she establishes Julia's "new normal" of ocean-based entrepreneurship and local networking (so if you're new to the series, you'll be fine jumping in here). As Julia greets a preservation architect climbing off a boat to view the burned-out mansion to appraise whether it can be saved, seasoned mystery readers will suspect a that the plot's about to leap forward via the "stranger coming to town" move. But to Julia's horror, the "stranger" turns out to be someone she knew in high school -- one of a group of mean girls who'd tormented and humiliated her. How can she possibly trust this architect to determine her family's future investment on the island?

On the other hand, the new arrival, known as Susan in the old days but now by her middle name, Wyatt, comes with a boyfriend of her own -- a reclusive billionaire whose mega yacht is about to be rehabbed in Julia's town of Busman's Harbor. The stresses and strains of the cast of characters ramp up sharply when the billionaire, the real stranger of the moment, is murdered.

I savored this scene Ross provided in a local club, where Julia sank into a seat for a bite to eat and could listen to speculation around her:

The theories abounded, everything from suicide to the Russian mafia. "He was a billionaire who made money on the banking collapse," someone said.

"It was the girlfriend," the husband of the chef declared.

"Why do you say that?" I kept my tone conversational, not challenging.

"It's always the girlfriend," he answered.

"I don't see how it benefits her," I countered.

"Maybe he was terrible in bed," someone offered.

"If that were a reason for murder, half the men at this table would be dead," the bartender's wife joked.

"What do mean, half?" a girlfriend of one of the band members deadpanned. Everybody laughed.

Soon, though, popular opinion circles around to blaming the yacht's chef, an old friend of Julia's. And she finds herself sticking up for both this friend, and the architect, in spite of the bad feeling from high school.

Meanwhile, multiple twists are unfolding around her. In a familiar angle of this series, Julia suddenly has reason to wonder about one of her boyfriend's past relationships -- and with time, will realize she's never asked enough questions to really understand his family background as well. In fact, there's a lot Julia hasn't questioned among her friends, and some of the revelations will bear on the murder -- and some will be false leads.

Ross's expertise in complicating the plot in highly believable ways shines in STOWED AWAY. When the solution to what's on board finally arrives, there are surprises right and left -- but every one of them makes perfect sense, if the right clues have been considered. STOWED AWAY is a prime traditional mystery, highly satisfying, and a lively and enjoyable addition to this quintessential New England series. (And yes, there are more great recipes at the back!)

PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

The Cozy Comforts of Mystery Authors Barbara Ross and Liz Mugavero

Welcome, Barbara Ross and Liz Mugavero, to the Kingdom Books review blog today! It's December 27, release day for the latest New England mysteries for each of you. Congratulations! Yesterday (scroll down, readers ...) we were excited to share reviews of your new titles, ICED UNDER (Barbara Ross) and CUSTOM BAKED MURDER (Liz Mugavero). Now let's settle in for a some post-holiday hot chocolate or a cappuccino together, and do some author chatting.

Your mysteries are releasing on the same date this year, December 27 -- just two days after the merriment of Christmas. You have the same publisher, Kensington, but you live in very different parts of New England. How on earth did you meet each other? Any memories from your early writer-to-writer friendship?

Barb: We met at Seascape, a lovely and instructional writing retreat run on the Long Island Sound in Connecticut by Roberta Isleib (Lucy Burdette), Hallie Ephron, and S. W. Hubbard. After that we kept in touch via Sisters in Crime New England and the New England Crime Bake. Find your tribe, is my best advice for new writers.

Liz: Before Seascape, I remember seeing Barb at many Crime Bakes over the years. She was one of The Published - a real author! And it’s so true - finding your tribe is the most important thing for a writer to do.

What are the special challenges of writing a mystery series? How do you cope with them?

Liz: There are so many! Understanding how my main character needs to grow in a way that makes sense based on where she’s been and what she’s experienced is something that’s top of mind for me. Also, making sure my plot has no holes, that the mystery makes sense and the clues are strategically placed - that keeps me up at night.

Barb: Argh—for me it is first drafts, letting my imagination flow and not judging myself too harshly. And because we both write amateur sleuths, there’s the ever-present problem of “why is she investigating this time?”

What made you choose to write in the "cozy" subgenre of mysteries? Or do you prefer to talk about your book as an "amateur sleuth" mystery, or a "traditional"?

Barb: I have fully embraced the word “cozy,” even though I know other writers shy away from it. It’s true that cozy mysteries never get the big awards or reviews, but they do have a dedicated following. And, it suits me. I don’t go to my desk everyday thinking, “Drat! Another day when I can’t torture animals or children.”

Liz: I’ve embraced it also. As long as I feel like I’ve done a good job with the story, the mystery is solid and the book has a deeper message despite the lighter feel to it, I’m happy.

Your mysteries all take place in and around one small town. Do you think of this place as fictional, or do you rehearse in your mind the layout of the actual New England town you already had in the back of your mind when you started your series?

Liz: My town is fictional, but it’s a hybrid of a couple of towns. I picked and chose the parts of each that worked for me, then added what else I needed to make it a town I would want to spend time it. But I keep the general location real - it’s eastern Connecticut.

Barb: Sort of half and half. Busman’s Harbor is a highly, highly fictionalized version of Boothbay Harbor, Maine, where my husband and I own a home. I’ve moved a lot of things around, but whenever my sleuth, Julia Snowden, leaves Busman’s Harbor, I Google map the distance from the real Boothbay Harbor.

People across the world, I discover, have a Normal Rockwellian, Currier & Ives archetype of New England in their heads. Those of us who live here know it’s a real place with real crime and real problems, but the classic New England-based cozy both plays into and against that archetype.

Readers of this kind of mystery series need to bond with the sleuth and celebrate the person's changes -- and the solving of the crime somehow affects those changes. Do you have a long-term arc of character development in mind for your series? Or do you feel you are "reading along" with the rest of us, discovering your protagonist's growth as you write?

Liz: I usually try to think about the character arc in a 3-book span, since that’s usually the length of the contracts. I know what’s happening in the immediate book, then based on that I think about where it would make sense to take Stan’s growth next.

Barb: I had a definite, planned arc for the first three books in the series. The fourth through sixth have been more book to book, and I haven’t enjoyed that as much. So if I’m lucky enough to get three more, I’ll go back to an overall arc for the three.

Don't spoil the suspense for us -- but tell us one "device" of plot or location or clue in your new book that especially tickles you as the author ... so we can watch for it and enjoy it from your perspective as well as our own!

Barb: Fantastic question! In Iced Under, the detective investigating the murder keeps asking one question over and over. It turns out to be the right question in the end.

Liz: Oh, this is a tough one! I would say it’s important to really pay attention to the people around you and not take everything they say or do at face value. If someone is suffering they sometimes try to hide it, but if you look closely you might be able to pick up on a cry for help.

What's the most important thing we readers should pick up on from your latest book -- whether it's handling a challenging romance, or dealing with a dead body?

Barb: Iced Under is a book about family—how it’s complicated and operatically difficult, but ultimately worth the effort.

Liz: There’s a few things going on in Custom Baked Murder. Family is definitely a key component, and how to deal with them. If you don’t typically have a great relationship, murder can make it worse! Also, dealing with serious issues that sometimes people don’t think will surface in a small, cozy town where everyone knows everyone—or thinks they do.

We know you must be partway through the next book in your series. Any hints or draft title that you'd like to share with us?

Liz: Purring Around the Christmas Tree, the sixth Pawsitively Organic Mystery, will be out in late 2017.

Barb: Stowed Away, the sixth Maine Clambake Mystery will be out sometime in late 2017, assuming I make my deadline of March 1. (Ulp.)

Thanks, Barb and Liz! This has been great fun -- and getting to know you and your writing process makes it even more enjoyable to read your newest books. 

 PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

New England Amateur Sleuths: New Mysteries from Barbara Ross and Liz Mugavero

NEWS FLASH! Special interview tomorrow with the authors!! Read on ...

The magic of a New England winter comes with big challenges too, from fuel oil or logs to icy roads to snowstorms that seem like they'll last forever. And that's part of why New Englanders treasure good neighbors: We need each other in such varied ways, including being able to share fresh-made doughnuts and clam bakes and "boiled dinners" (much more delicious than the term suggests).

Into this world of personal connections and family complications step the protagonists of two of New England's engaging mystery authors, Barbara Ross and Liz Mugavero. Each is releasing a new mystery in her ongoing series, via Kensington, on December 27. And they couldn't be more different!

CUSTOM BAKED MURDER from Liz Mugavero opens at the end of summer in Frog Ledge, Connecticut. I know it's hard to remember back that far just now (or maybe we don't want to!), but that would be the time of year when temperatures cool gently as election fever is heating up. Kristan "Stan" Connor, who's been running her organic pet treats business successfully from her home, faces a new segment of her career: opening a pet patisserie and café. Her boyfriend's moved in with her and is incredibly supportive, but in order to finance the new side of her work, she's accepted financial partnership from her mom -- who seems to want to decide everything, while also dragging Stan into a public engagement party for mom and the town's ambitious mayor, Tony Falco.

To Stan's bewilderment (and, let's face it, anger), the party guests include public relations professionals from Stan's own former career -- recruited to help the mayor advance his own career. One in particular, Eleanor Chang, is what we call around here "a nasty piece of work." Mugavero's deft setup means it's no surprise when sharp-tongued Eleanor gets murdered. But it's a major problem for Stan, because it happens at her mom's party; the mayor is a suspect; and there are drug-related overtones that involve her boyfriend's extended family as well.

This book's perfect for waking you back up from holiday-induced food coma, because every chapter ramps up the stress higher, and the plot twists come fast and furious. Mugavero nails the knack of keeping her amateur sleuth committed to solving the crime, and Stan's so likeable (along with her rescue dogs and smart cats) that each time she's at risk in some way, I can't help paging onward into the next chapter, no matter what time it is. Stan's friends have noticed the trend of her life, though, and feel free to comment on it, as Izzy does:

Neither of them spoke until they were safely in Izzy's car. As she shot down the street Stan held onto the armrest and closed her eyes. Once they reached the main road, Izzy let up on the gas and blew out a breath.

"D**n," she said, trying for humor but unable to mask her shaking voice. "Stan, what is it with you and dead people?"

Unfamiliar with Mugavero's "Pawsitively Organic" mystery series? No sweat -- I like this one best of them all so far, it's easy to jump into, and chances are you'll look for the other titles afterward.

Barbara Ross's new "Maine Clambake Mystery" ICED UNDER features Julia Snowden and her continued efforts to find the right place in her family's business and affections.  Winter with all its complications has deepened into February storms at the Maine seaside town of Busman's Harbor, and considering the weather and a request from her mother, Julia agrees to hike to the post office to fetch the mail, although she has her doubts about how useful the errand is:

"Mom, there's never anything interesting in the mail. It's all junk and catalogs." The trip to the post office would add a triangular, half-mile-long detour to my mother's house. I didn't relish trudging all that way in this weather.

"Please?"

What could I say? She was offering a hot lunch and companionship on a cold winter's day. And she was, after all, my mother.

The incoming mail turns out more interesting than expected, though, with a massive black diamond necklace sent anonymously to Julia's mother -- and the evidence Julia quickly assembles indicates it once belonged in the family, and vanished, along with most of the connections to relatives on that side of the family. A steady series of questions about the value of the necklace, the unexplained long-ago death of a cousin while at the family's island home, even her mother's love life, all of these press Julia into driving to Boston and braving a tangle of old treacheries for both her mother's sake and the possible inheritance that could be the needed piece to save the current family business.

Ross's writing is smooth, polished, and tender, exposing the vulnerable heart of the Snowden family and how, as we say, "No good deed goes unpunished." Could one of the twists in the Snowdens' present implicate a hospice nurse in the early death of a patient? Who mailed the diamond necklace to Julia's mother? Whose secrets are the dangerous ones that put Julia at risk?

I loved the pace of ICED UNDER, steady with just the right balance of tension and release, and the ending entirely satisfied me. If you haven't yet sampled this series, it's easy enough to step into the latest title, then catch up later. And for those already following Ross's Julia Snowden, this book is a must-read, delightful and rewarding.

Finally, a special treat for readers: Tomorrow, on the release date of these two yummy mysteries (and yes, each one includes recipes!), we'll feature here an interview with the two authors. Whether you're an ardent reader or a would-be (or published!) mystery author, or all of the above, don't miss that interview! See you here again, tomorrow morning.

PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

Delicious Murder Mysteries to Devour or Give, in EGGNOG MURDER, Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, Barbara Ross

A fine rain is drizzling here in a silver mist, and it's pure November. One defense is to decorate a bit -- knowing the Big Holidays are racing toward us. I always figure those twinkling lights and glowing candles are intentional efforts to push away short-day-linked depression. And omigosh, the holiday to-do lists and the agony over presents to choose!

Thank goodness, those issues are neatly dealt with, now that EGGNOG MURDER has hit the shelves. This festive mystery volume brings together three noted New England storytellers who dip into the holiday brew and emerge with entirely different crime scenes for their noted sleuths. The only thing in common: eggnog, a traditional beverage that, in its purest form, includes cream, raw eggs, and plenty of booze, generally bourbon, rum, and cognac. (One recipe I regarded called it the "drink that thinks it's a custard pie"; here's a link to Martha Stewart's own version.)

EGGNOG MURDER contains three novellas (call them short books, or extra-satisfying story lengths). Each is about 100 pages long -- well actually, Leslie Meier's contribution "Eggnog Murder," which starts the volume, takes 130 pages. I was glad to break into the tale, knowing I'd reconnect with small-town reporter Lucy Stone in Tinker's Cove, Maine. Sure enough, at the tiny office of the weekly newspaper where Lucy works, a gift-wrapped bottle of eggnog turns up, just in time for the local business open house. Meier comes up with a fascinating way to poison a drink, and a lively set of red herrings -- or do I mean red Santa suits? Every Lucy Stone mystery wraps up some family issues and affection, too, perfect reading to escape those to-do lists for a couple of hours.

You know how your imagination can run away with you when you're reading a good mystery ... well, that's half the point, isn't it? You're trying to figure out the crime and the criminal just a few pages before the sleuth pulls it all together (yes, I really am competitive like that). As I slid merrily into the second novella, Lee Hollis's "Death by Eggnog," I suddenly pictured the three authors daring each other to tackle this theme, confident that they would diverge, and at the same time just as worried as the rest of us over whether their holiday offerings would come out right. And different enough!

Well, they are -- in "Death by Eggnog" Hollis's series sleuth Hayley Powell, a food and cocktails columnist, gets double pressure as she prepares to cover the Maine town's "Restaurant Association Christmas Dinner" event. It's a big deal, one of her co-workers wants to tag along, her brother is entering a recipe that's "killer" spicy, and friction among the year-rounders in the tourist-dependent town of Bar Harbor is running rampant -- although not quite nasty enough to produce the theoretical crime wave that the newspaper may need to juice up its sales figures. So why is Hayley the target when someone actually does die? (Confession: I peeked ahead to the end of the Hollis novella, to check out the recipes. Yes, there are recipes and a holiday note to readers from each author.)

"Nogged Off" from Barbara Ross provides a nifty interlude and set of family revelations for financial-wizard-come-back-to-Maine Julia Snowden. Fans of Ross's "traditional" and highly enjoyable sleuth series know that Julia's been torn over whether to cut all the ties to her former high-income, high-prestige urban job. At the start of "Nogged Off" she's finally closing down her city apartment -- and in the process, taking home to Maine with her a forlorn waif who'd been subletting the place. Is young Imogen jinxed, with all the bad things happening to her? And if she's a target instead, is Julia bringing something wicked with her, back home for the holidays? Imogen's version of eggnog already accidentally poisoned a bunch of people in the city -- what could happen in Busman's Harbor, Maine, though, with one extra guest for the preparations for Christmas? I couldn't stop reading this page-turner that pits family stresses and unexpected crime against the strengths that Julia, her boyfriend, and her mom, sister, and neighbors have already demonstrated.

You could just pick up one copy of EGGNOG MURDER and enjoy reading it yourself very carefully, so you can then wrap it as a gift for a bestie. But that would mean missing out on the pleasure of savoring this great distraction during the weeks to come, because you'd be rushing to finish the book. Besides, the recipes are worth keeping -- I plan to use the "Pecan Puffs" one, in happy memory of the year our neighborhood cookie swap accidentally included seven versions of nut balls. Might as well enjoy them, if they're only cooked up once a year!

So, all things considered, I recommend picking up two copies of EGGNOG MURDER. Unless, of course, you see the need for three. Pass me that gift list again, would you?

PS: Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

FOGGED INN, New Maine Mystery from Barbara Ross

Julia Snowden, the amateur sleuth of Barbara Ross's "Maine Clambake Mysteries," came across as smart, intriguing, and savvy in the first three books of this already classic New England series -- and now, in the fourth title, FOGGED INN, she's under more pressure than ever. As a result, as the best people do, she reveals more of herself and faces her life more courageously. While, of course, working to save her friends and capture the criminal!

The opening of FOGGED INN is especially intriguing, as Julia and her boyfriend Chris roll slowly awake, hearing their friend and landlord Gus bellowing up to their bedroom, just a few hours after they've finally gotten to sleep. And what Gus is saying isn't going to start the day all that well: "There's a dead guy in my walk-in refrigerator. You leave him there?"

No, neither Julia nor Chris knew about a dead man in the downstairs restaurant. But considering the night they just had -- which we'll only find out about gradually -- it all seems to fit together, in a creepy way.

Because actually, as Julia is just starting to realize, the dinner guests she and Chris had served the night before were all very uncomfortable about being at the newly opened dinner spot on the same evening. Trapped in place by an accident outside, in the seacoast fog, the guests still revealed little of why they stayed so firmly spaced apart in the little dining area. And soon it's apparent that someone else wanted those couples to show up on this night, maneuvering them through clever use of gift certificates with an added expiration date.

Julia has the same problem facing many another amateur sleuth: The local police are getting annoyed with the way murder seems to prod her into doing her own investigating. At least this time Chris and Gus are behind her, though:

"I keep thinking about that guy in the walk-in, going over and over what everyone said and did that night. I'm convinced the couples in the restaurant were brought there that night for a reason, even though they all said they didn't know the dead guy or each other when they talked to the cops. While [the local police] are in Augusta today, I want to check a few things out," I said.

"That's the spirit," Gus shouted from the other side of the room. "Solve this mystery, get rid of that damn yellow tape." He gestured toward the walk-in. "Life goes back to normal."

Chris didn't repeat his caution about leaving things to the professionals.

Readers of the series already know that Julia and Chris might be meant for each other, but had a lot of trouble getting to the love-and-live-together stage. The friction of another murder in their lives and of the secrets each keeps "protecting" ramps the pressure up  on their relationship. Luckily, the murder itself isn't related to Julia's family this time, or to Chris's past -- but the more that Julia tugs on the threads of evidence and connection, the more it seems to involve a lot of the town of Busman's Harbor, Maine. And her actions incite further threats and risk.

Ross's writing reaches far beyond the casual level you might expect in a "cozy" mystery with a cat on the cover. Her clever structure for gradual revelations at the start intrigued me, the pace is excellent, and when the twists arrive -- and oh wow, do they! -- they fit the perfect combination of being unexpected but, in hindsight, an excellent match with how the plot and characters pull against each other.

By all means, read the preceding titles if you have a chance -- they're enjoyable, and well plotted. But if you only have time for one Barbara Ross mystery this month, grab a copy of FOGGED INN next week (publisher release date is Feb. 23). It's solid evidence of an author who's advancing her strength as a mystery author through seasoned understanding of the worst people can do ... and of the good ways in which others grow, to see justice served and make sure there's more good in the world.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that the setting -- the Maine seacoast -- turns each of Ross's books into a mini-vacation for those of us outside Maine! Thanks also to Barb Ross and her white-aproned husband for the enjoyable recipes at the back of the book, and to Kensington Books for giving this series room to grow.

Plot, Character, and a Taste of Maine: MUSSELED OUT, New from Barbara Ross

With her third Maine Clambake Mystery, MUSSELED OUT, Barbara Ross serves up a triple whammy of tight and fast-moving plot (competition! risk! death! danger!!), complex and likeable amateur sleuth (Julia Snowden, with crises ahead), and an alluring Maine-scape of working folks, visitors, and ocean adventure. The result is what every author of a series dreams of achieving. Each book is getting better -- and the first one was pretty darned good, so by now, the Maine Clambake series is one of the best amateur sleuth (sometimes called "cozy") mystery series coming out of New England.

The key to a really good mystery is the intricate chemistry that links the sleuth and the circumstances. As MUSSELED OUT opens, it's autumn on the Maine coast, and the Snowden family business, a tourist-serving clambake operation on a nearby island, has only a week left of the season -- and then it won't bring in money again until after the long New England winter. For Julia, it's decision time: Back in March, she'd taken a leave from her high-powered Manhattan money job, to rescue the family business in Busman's Harbor, Maine. Has she done enough? Should she return to her "real life" in the city? Or should she take a lease on her own apartment and give up her city job for good?

If she stays, is she also committing to her new/old boyfriend, Chris Durand, with his mysterious past absences that he won't share with her? She's in love -- but is that enough to be able to trust both Chris and a shared future?

As if that weren't enough, there's a new stress on the Snowden Clambake biz: Right next door to the Clambake ticket booth, on the town pier, a new ticket booth's being built for "Le Shack. David Thwing, the Mussel King." Armed with an already-famous gourmet chef, Thwing doesn't just intend to provide competition -- he tells Julia clearly that he aims to knock the Snowdens out of the game, in less than a season.

So when Thwing suddenly turns up dead, caught on a drifting boat, Julia's family is under immediate suspicion -- especially her sister's husband Sonny, who's clearly lying about where he's been and what he's done during the critical time period. And, oh yes, there's a lobstering war going on at the same time; could it be linked to the heap of disasters?

The most important part of an "amateur sleuth" mystery -- and MUSSELED OUT is clearly this type of mystery -- is making it crystal clear why a person like Julia Snowden would tackle the dangerous activity of trying to identify and catch a murderer. But with her family's business and possibly her brother-in-law's freedom at stake, Julia simply must step up for this one. Will it put unbearable strain on her new love relationship with Chris? As an independent individual who dashes out on a boat as needed, will it thrust her into renewed danger? You bet.

While all this is rising to a crescendo of suspense and risk, author Barbara Ross keeps tantalizing readers with the best of Maine menus. It's not just the fabulous mussel recipe of David Thwing, the "mussel king." It's also Chris's shrimp and lobster polenta; a lobster, shrimp, and fennel scampi; and even "Grandma Snowden's Pumpkin Whoopie Pies." As Ross notes, "whoopie pies are the unofficial, and well-loved, state snack of Maine." Mouth watering? Check the recipes at the back of the book. Ross admits, as she has before, that she relies on her husband Bill for the seafood delights, although the baked goods are her own contributions.

I noticed an intriguing author mention on the whoopie pie recipe that suggests a direction for the next book, too, where Ross points out that we "haven't learned much about Julia's father's side of the family so far in the series" -- hmm. True enough. The folks at risk in MUSSELED OUT, like the ones in Clammed Up and Boiled Over, are Julia's siblings and mom. Wonder what's up with all that?

I'm definitely hooked on this series ("hook, line, and sinker"!), and plan to re-read MUSSELED OUT later in the summer as part of my beach-or-back-porch reading basket. (Release date is April 28, in case you want yours ASAP.) Can you read this one without the first pair of Clambake Mysteries? Sure. Ross does a nice succinct job of summing up critical earlier events from the other books without distracting from the pace of murder, mayhem, and investigation. But the best pleasure would be from devouring all three books, one after another, savoring that Down East Maine atmosphere and exhilaration. Why not? All three, from Kensington Books, where the line of mysteries just keeps getting better (and yummier).

Beach Reading, New England Style: BOILED OVER, 2nd Maine Clambake Mystery, Barbara Ross

My beach life has been the northern New England version: bring sweatshirt, blanket, long pants, extra socks, maybe even hot tea in a Thermos.

No, it's not really that cold. At least, not often. Or not every day. What can I say? My mom loved the rocky, wind-swept coast of Maine; my dad never took us to the "gentle" beaches on Cape Cod because they are more crowded -- we could go to the colder side and spend less money and waste less time while still collecting shells and sniffing the salt air; and by the way, here in land-locked Vermont, "beach" means a narrow strip of sand alongside a lake where the last ice vanished maybe six weeks ago.

But it's June, and there will be hot sunny afternoons, even if the mornings are "fresh" (almost frosty) and the nights sparkle with a cold clear star-scape. It's time to stack up the summer reading, whether it's for the beach or the hammock or the couch. Let's add the new Maine Clambake Mystery from Barbara Ross.

Ross's first book in this series, Clammed Up, introduced Julia Snowden to readers last year. Snowdon may be from Maine, but her skills have been honed in New York City. Only her family's dire financial predicament has her back to the rocky coast, for a rescue mission that she figures won't last all that long.

But here we are in BOILED OVER and it's clear her family still needs her -- every small accident costs the struggling family clambake enterprise in customers and profits. (What's a clambake? Picture all the Maine summer foods at once, from lobster and clams to potato salad and blueberry dessert. The hot part is the official clambake, cooked in a pit with heated rocks and some seaweed; the rest is a delicious harmony.) So when Julia realizes that her family's food scene as part of the Busman's Harbor "Founder's Weekend" celebration has just become a crime scene -- with a human foot -- her worries escalate rapidly. There goes the food investment; there goes the reputation of the family firm (again!); and here come the police, skeptical about Julia's repeated involvement with suspicious circumstances and the hunt for a killer.

I stood for a moment in the crowd, listening more carefully. Sure enough, below the happy chatter about the watercolors of lobster buoys and the oil paintings of crashing waves, there was a low throb of commentary from the local people on the other side of the tables.

"They say it was the boy, the one who ran away."

"I hear he's wanted by the police up in Washington County."

"I heard he's a serial killer."

"What was a person like that doing working for the Snowdens?"

And always the refrain, "If he didn't do anything, why did he run?"

Sometimes I frickin' hated living in a small town.

Ross twists a tight and exciting plot from the hunt for the "boy who ran away" (is he indeed a criminal?) and for the motives leading to killing one of the region's leading business owners. And in Julia Snowden she has an amateur sleuth whose investigatory skills and motives are utterly convincing -- no need to make excuses for why Julia's on the hunt. Heck, the police officers are even giving her hints and asking for her help this time! (Well, maybe that move was too good to be true ... could explain why they seem to be following her ... ) And the lively characters and Julia's struggles to both embrace them and hold back something of her city self make the mystery even more interesting.

A twist that writers and seasoned readers will especially appreciate is Julia's assignment for the Founder's Weekend committee itself: discover the town's past, and the reason it's named "Busman's Harbor." For some insight into Ross's research into her fictional town's history, check this post she wrote on the Maine Crime Writers blog, not long before the book was published. I enjoyed the mention of Busman's Honeymoon, and the real list of resources, too.

Two more aspects make BOILED OVER into an especially well-rounded mystery for summer reading: the frustrating and poignant struggles that Julia's enduring with her romantic life on the side (how can she commit when she knows she doesn't belong back here?), and the yummy handful of recipes to bring alive that taste of Maine, home of beans, lobster, blueberry pie, and more.

Interested in meeting this author, whose books are rapidly finding a home on all sorts of bestseller and award nomination lists? She keeps an organized list of public events on her website: http://maineclambakemysteries.com/appearances -- and is as much fun in person as her sleuth Julia Snowdon is on the pages.

Recommended Summer Reading 1: AMATEUR SLEUTHS

Heaps of desk work, "yards" of garden tasks, but still ... so many books, so much pleasure.

Starting this evening, I'll let you know about four delightful summer reads in the "Amateur Sleuths" category:

KILLER PHYSIQUE, a Savannah Reid mystery, by G. A. McKevett, a.k.a. Sonja Massie.

BOILED OVER, a Maine Clambake mystery, by Barbara Ross.

'TIL DIRT DO US PART, a Local Foods mystery, by Edith Maxwell.

SCENE OF THE CLIMB by Kate Dyer-Seeley.

Yes, all those authors are women -- interesting, isn't it? Then there's a terrific handful of dark mysteries, with more of a mix of gender for the authors; hope you can check in regularly over the next few days.

Agatha Award Nominees, 2014: Congratulations, and Let's Read Them!

The big annual award sequence for "traditional mysteries" (sort of PG-13) is the Agatha Awards, given at the Malice Domestic conference in May. This year's official top choices among the nominees were just announced. Here they are ... and if, like me, there are titles here you haven't yet read, what a great reading challenge this list can be!

Best Historical Novel

Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen (Berkley)
Death in the Time of Ice by Kaye George (Untreed Reads Publishing)
A Friendly Game of Murder by JJ Murphy (Signet)
Murder in Chelsea by Victoria Thompson (Berkley Prime Crime)
A Question of Honor by Charles Todd (William Morrow)

Best Children's/YA Nominations

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau (HMH Books for Young Readers)
Traitor in the Shipyard: A Caroline Mystery by Kathleen Ernst (American Girl Mysteries)
Andi Unexpected by Amanda Flower (Zonderkidz)
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein (Random House Books)
Code Busters Club: Mystery of the Pirate's Treasure by Penny Warner (Edgmont USA)

Best Contemporary Novel

Through the Evil Days by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Minotaur Books)
Pagan Spring by G.M. Malliet (Minotaur Books)
How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)
Clammed Up by Barbara Ross (Kensington Books)
The Wrong Girl by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge Books)

Best Nonfiction

Georgette Heyer by Jennifer Kloester (Source Books Inc.)
Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes by Maria Konnikova (Viking Penguin)
Not Everyone's Cup of Tea: An Interesting & Entertaining History of Malice Domestic's First 25 Years by Verena Rose and Rita Owen (editors) (Wildside Press)
The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War by Daniel Stashower (Minotaur Books)

Best First Novel

Death Al Dente by Leslie Budewitz (Berkley Prime Crime)
You Cannoli Die Once by Shelley Costa (Pocket Books)
Board Stiff by Kendel Lynn (Henery Press)
Kneading to Die by Liz Mugavero (Kensington)
Front Page Fatality by LynDee Walker (Henery Press)

Best Short Story

"Evil Little Girl" in Don't Get Mad, Get Even by Barb Goffman (Wildside Press)
"Nightmare" in Don't Get Mad, Get Even by Barb Goffman (Wildside Press)
"The Hindi Houdini" in Fish Nets by Gigi Pandian (Wildside Press)
"Bread Baby" in Best new England Crime Stories 2014: Stone Cold by Barbara Ross (Level Best Books)
"The Care and Feeding of House Plants" by Art Taylor (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)

For more on the awards, the conference, and many authors, try the Malice Domestic website, here.