Dollycas's Thoughts
Back to Busman's Harbor, Maine, and this time it is snowy and icy and there are no clambakes. Instead Julia and Chris have opened Gus's Too. They take over Gus's restaurant in the evenings to give locals one place to dine during the off season. They are still finding their way, running the business by themselves, but they are off to a great start. That is until a dead body is found in the walk-in frig. Julie and Chris recognize the man as a customer from the night before. This leads them to take a closer look at all their customers from that night. Since it was foggy, rainy and cold there weren't many. Some relatives of mine Caroline and Henry Caswell were among the guests. They certainly couldn't have anything to do with that dead man, could they??
I started reading and I just couldn't stop. I was excited not only about Chris and Julia's new venture, but I desperately wanted to know how that guy ended up in a cooler in a restaurant that was locked up tight and why? Ross has plotted a marvelous mystery and I loved the way everything came together with a very unexpected ending, very different than a typical cozy mystery. At first I was sure I liked it but after thinking about it, I was totally on board with it.
We meet several new characters this time, couples that come to eat at Gus's Too. When Julia does her investigation we get to know them all quite well and their connection to the town. She visits with each of them several times as she tries to figure out if they had anything to do with the man's death even when they claim they didn't know him at all. I found the dialogues interesting and I really tuned in to catch any clues.
Julia has moved into the apartment above Gus's and Chris spends most night there. He still has his cabin which he is remodeling so he can rent it out during tourist season. They are starting to get more comfortable in their relationship but they have a lot of things to work out. Julia is a little too sure of herself after helping solve previous cases and Chris just wants her to leave the investigating to the police. Well, we all know that is not going to happen.
The fog plays a huge part in this story and I just don't mean the weather outside. I really felt Julia and the police were working in a fog and through the fog to identify the victim and catch the killer. At times it was as thick as pea soup and I truly didn't know how it was all going to come together in the dwindling amount of pages left, especially because I knew there were recipes back there too.
This is another strong story from Barbara Ross and I commend her for coming up with a great story in the off season when the town is really moving at a much slower pace with less people around. It was nice to get to know some of the other residents of Busman's Harbor. They were a unique bunch. I hope they pop in for visits in future stories, especially those Caswells!
Back to Busman's Harbor, Maine, and this time it is snowy and icy and there are no clambakes. Instead Julia and Chris have opened Gus's Too. They take over Gus's restaurant in the evenings to give locals one place to dine during the off season. They are still finding their way, running the business by themselves, but they are off to a great start. That is until a dead body is found in the walk-in frig. Julie and Chris recognize the man as a customer from the night before. This leads them to take a closer look at all their customers from that night. Since it was foggy, rainy and cold there weren't many. Some relatives of mine Caroline and Henry Caswell were among the guests. They certainly couldn't have anything to do with that dead man, could they??
I started reading and I just couldn't stop. I was excited not only about Chris and Julia's new venture, but I desperately wanted to know how that guy ended up in a cooler in a restaurant that was locked up tight and why? Ross has plotted a marvelous mystery and I loved the way everything came together with a very unexpected ending, very different than a typical cozy mystery. At first I was sure I liked it but after thinking about it, I was totally on board with it.
We meet several new characters this time, couples that come to eat at Gus's Too. When Julia does her investigation we get to know them all quite well and their connection to the town. She visits with each of them several times as she tries to figure out if they had anything to do with the man's death even when they claim they didn't know him at all. I found the dialogues interesting and I really tuned in to catch any clues.
Julia has moved into the apartment above Gus's and Chris spends most night there. He still has his cabin which he is remodeling so he can rent it out during tourist season. They are starting to get more comfortable in their relationship but they have a lot of things to work out. Julia is a little too sure of herself after helping solve previous cases and Chris just wants her to leave the investigating to the police. Well, we all know that is not going to happen.
The fog plays a huge part in this story and I just don't mean the weather outside. I really felt Julia and the police were working in a fog and through the fog to identify the victim and catch the killer. At times it was as thick as pea soup and I truly didn't know how it was all going to come together in the dwindling amount of pages left, especially because I knew there were recipes back there too.
This is another strong story from Barbara Ross and I commend her for coming up with a great story in the off season when the town is really moving at a much slower pace with less people around. It was nice to get to know some of the other residents of Busman's Harbor. They were a unique bunch. I hope they pop in for visits in future stories, especially those Caswells!
Fogged Inn is the fourth installment in the Maine Clambake mystery series. The series centers around Julia Snowden who has left her venture capital job in Manhattan and moved back home to Busman's Harbor, Maine in order to help save her family's clambake business from bankruptcy.
After a lot of help from family and friends and a successful summer season, the clambake business is now solvent. With Winter fast approaching Julia decides not to return to the city and instead she and boyfriend Chris Durand lease restaurant space from Gus Farnham. The couple opens Gus's Too and begin serving dinner five nights a week while living in the studio apartment above the restaurant.
Gus is still running the restaurant for breakfast and lunch and has a reputation as being a bit cranky and picky, refusing to serve to anyone unless they are a local or come in with a local. So when Gus yells up the stairs early one morning, rousing the couple from a sound sleep, Julia expects him to complain that something was left on or unlocked or dirty. Instead, Gus demands to know why Julia has left a dead body in his walk in freezer.
Thanks to an ice storm the night before only four couples had come in to dine along with the single man who had been sitting at the bar. The couples acted as though they did not know each other and had little interaction all choosing booths in opposite corners of the restaurant. Local police officer Jamie Dawes had stopped in to tell them Main Street was closed due to an accident forcing the couples to gather in the bar and wait for the accident to be cleared. Julia couldn't help but notice that the couples really didn't warm up to each other and didn't interact with the single stranger, so she can't imagine who killed the man and left him in the walk in.
It also seems that the lone female driver of one of the car's involved in the Main Street accident had fled the scene and can not be located. Feeling the two events are some how related and determined to help the police, despite their warning her not to meddle, Julia sets off on her own investigation.
Following up on a tip from her mother's neighbors Fee and Vee Snugg, Julia discovers that the four couples were once a part of the Rabble Point set. Rabble Point Road was the location of a cluster of summer homes, and the couples had spent their formative years together each summer. A horrific accident had claimed the lives of a fifth couple after college, resulting in the group unfriending each other and growing apart.
Julia soon learns that someone had passed out Gus's Too gift certificates to the four couples which was the reason they had all descended on the restaurant the night of the murder. When copies of the gift certificates suddenly go missing from her apartment along with other evidence she uncovers, Julia becomes more determined to find out if the killer is the same person that keeps breaking into her apartment.
The Snowden family doesn't play a huge role in this mystery unlike the previous three books because it's off season for the clambake business. But the returning cast of characters does include Julia's sister Livvie and her husband Sonny, Officer Jamie Dawes and Officer Pete Howland. We still don't learn too much about Julia's boyfriend Chris although they seem to be growing closer at the conclusion of this story.
A fun, likeable cast of characters and a terrific plotline with plenty of suspects. The fast moving pace will keep you turning the pages, and looking forward to the next Snowden adventure.
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley via Kensington Publishing. While I was not required to write a review I am more than happy to offer my honest opinion.
After a lot of help from family and friends and a successful summer season, the clambake business is now solvent. With Winter fast approaching Julia decides not to return to the city and instead she and boyfriend Chris Durand lease restaurant space from Gus Farnham. The couple opens Gus's Too and begin serving dinner five nights a week while living in the studio apartment above the restaurant.
Gus is still running the restaurant for breakfast and lunch and has a reputation as being a bit cranky and picky, refusing to serve to anyone unless they are a local or come in with a local. So when Gus yells up the stairs early one morning, rousing the couple from a sound sleep, Julia expects him to complain that something was left on or unlocked or dirty. Instead, Gus demands to know why Julia has left a dead body in his walk in freezer.
Thanks to an ice storm the night before only four couples had come in to dine along with the single man who had been sitting at the bar. The couples acted as though they did not know each other and had little interaction all choosing booths in opposite corners of the restaurant. Local police officer Jamie Dawes had stopped in to tell them Main Street was closed due to an accident forcing the couples to gather in the bar and wait for the accident to be cleared. Julia couldn't help but notice that the couples really didn't warm up to each other and didn't interact with the single stranger, so she can't imagine who killed the man and left him in the walk in.
It also seems that the lone female driver of one of the car's involved in the Main Street accident had fled the scene and can not be located. Feeling the two events are some how related and determined to help the police, despite their warning her not to meddle, Julia sets off on her own investigation.
Following up on a tip from her mother's neighbors Fee and Vee Snugg, Julia discovers that the four couples were once a part of the Rabble Point set. Rabble Point Road was the location of a cluster of summer homes, and the couples had spent their formative years together each summer. A horrific accident had claimed the lives of a fifth couple after college, resulting in the group unfriending each other and growing apart.
Julia soon learns that someone had passed out Gus's Too gift certificates to the four couples which was the reason they had all descended on the restaurant the night of the murder. When copies of the gift certificates suddenly go missing from her apartment along with other evidence she uncovers, Julia becomes more determined to find out if the killer is the same person that keeps breaking into her apartment.
The Snowden family doesn't play a huge role in this mystery unlike the previous three books because it's off season for the clambake business. But the returning cast of characters does include Julia's sister Livvie and her husband Sonny, Officer Jamie Dawes and Officer Pete Howland. We still don't learn too much about Julia's boyfriend Chris although they seem to be growing closer at the conclusion of this story.
A fun, likeable cast of characters and a terrific plotline with plenty of suspects. The fast moving pace will keep you turning the pages, and looking forward to the next Snowden adventure.
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley via Kensington Publishing. While I was not required to write a review I am more than happy to offer my honest opinion.
Well written, kept my interest up. Quite a departure from my normal reading, worth while
Fogged Inn by Barbara Ross is the fourth book in A Maine Clambake Mystery series. Julia Snowden is running a restaurant with her boyfriend, Chris Durand during the off season in Busman's Harbor, Maine. They serve only dinner and are running it at Gus's (and call it Gus's Too). The morning after a long night Gus Farnham (the landlord) yells up the staircase about a dead stiff in the walk-in freezer (Julia lives in the apartment above the restaurant). Julia hurries down the stairs and there is a dead main in the freezer. They immediately call the police. Julia wonders how the man got into the building (and scared that a killer was in the building while she was asleep). The dead man was in the restaurant the night before sitting at the bar. Julia remembers him leaving. No one, though, seems to know his name. Who is the man and why is he dead (and placed in the freezer)? Julia sets out to find the killer (because she is curious and bored).
Fogged Inn was not my favorite book in the series. I did not find it good as the previous three books in the series. There are quite a few questioning sessions (where Julia is questioning her list of suspect. Though I do find it hard to believe that these people would talk to her willingly). The mystery was complex (which I liked), but I did not like how Julia went about her investigation. She was running around town like a chicken with her head cut off and jumping to the wrong conclusions. I give Fogged Inn 3 out of 5 stars. Something was just missing this time around. I also found the ending to be a bit of a letdown. Fogged Inn can be read alone, but I think readers would find it helpful to read the other books in the series.
I received a complimentary copy of Fogged Inn from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Fogged Inn was not my favorite book in the series. I did not find it good as the previous three books in the series. There are quite a few questioning sessions (where Julia is questioning her list of suspect. Though I do find it hard to believe that these people would talk to her willingly). The mystery was complex (which I liked), but I did not like how Julia went about her investigation. She was running around town like a chicken with her head cut off and jumping to the wrong conclusions. I give Fogged Inn 3 out of 5 stars. Something was just missing this time around. I also found the ending to be a bit of a letdown. Fogged Inn can be read alone, but I think readers would find it helpful to read the other books in the series.
I received a complimentary copy of Fogged Inn from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
