Early October is “winding down” time in Busman’s Harbor, Maine, but there’s nothing relaxing about it for Julia Snowden. Between busloads of weekend leaf peepers at the Snowden Family Clambake and a gut renovation of the old mansion on Morrow Island, she’s keeping it all together with a potentially volatile skeleton crew—until one of them turns up dead under the firewood. When the Russian demo … the Russian demo team clearing out the mansion discovers a room that’s been sealed off for decades, Julia’s baffled as to its purpose and what secrets it might have held. Tensions are already simmering with the crew, but when one of the workers is found murdered, things come to a boil. With the discovery of another body—and a mysterious diary with Cyrillic text in the hidden room—the pressure’s on Julia to dig up a real killer fast. But she’ll have to sort through a pile of suspects, including ex-spouses, a spurned lover, and a recently released prisoner, to fish out one clammed-up killer.
Praise for Steamed Open
“Sure to appeal to readers who treasure the Maine coast, Ross’s latest continues the lives and minor dramas of her fictionalized version of Boothbay Harbor with amiable characters.”
—Kirkus Reviews
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Sealed Off by Barbara Ross in the 8th book in the Maine Clambake Mystery series featuring Julia Snowden and her family in Busman’s Harbor, Maine.
I have loved this series from the beginning, and Ms Ross did not disappoint. I love Julia as an honest, feisty sleuth and her abilities continue on with this installment when she tries to find the murderer of an employee just as the tourist season is wrapping up. There are plenty of motives and potential suspects, and I enjoyed how it ended. I also enjoyed the mystery subplot as well with the historic find. It will be nice to see where this goes.
5/5 stars. Excellent read.
Anything Barbara Ross writes are MUST-READS. This is one of 9 Maine Clambake Mysteries. Our book club devoured every one if them, and we also read all the novellas and Jane Darrowfield professional busybody series. Waiting for the next novella coming August 31, 2021, and fir the 10th. Clambake mystery next year. You will love the characters! Wish I could move to Busman’s Harbor, Maine…if it weren’t a fictional small town. Brava Barbara Ross!
I love this series. I love the setting and the characters and the way it is written. Every time I pick up a book in this series, I never want to put it down. (Darn it, being a responsible adult gets in the way of that.)
What I liked about “Sealed Off”:
A double mystery – In addition to the rambling list in my brief opening, there is always a mystery to be solved (I mean, *obviously*, given the genre, right?). This one had two and they never competed for your attention or your brain space. They were each presented in their own way and followed their own path. I was kept guessing about both, and though I had some suspicion about one mystery (I was wrong), I hadn’t a clue what to make of the other, but they both resolved in a satisfying manner.
Character growth – I have established that I love the characters in this series. I also thoroughly enjoy the way they are developed. For being “just” a cozy mystery series, these characters have so much depth. (I have found that many in this genre are goofy and caricature-like. That is *not* the case with the Maine Clambake Mysteries.) And it isn’t only the characters but their relationships with one another. I have read many books one might, as a reader, expect to have more substance than a “mere cozy mystery” and have fallen far short of the characters Ms Ross has gifted us in this series.
A visit with some favorite peripheral characters – Marguerite and Tallulah!! Oh, I enjoyed exploring Windsholme with them.
What I didn’t care for:
As per usual, my complaint column is virtually bare. A couple of minor editing issues in the edition I read, but beyond that, I cannot think of a single issue I had with this book.
I have just one holiday novella left until I am current in this series and will have to wait for more time in Busman’s Harbor. I could weep just at the thought!
This series is among my favorites. I love coastal Maine, and these books with their charming cast of characters and great setting are the next best thing to visiting. In this installment, Julia has two mysteries to solve, one present one past, both intriguing.
Great book! I love the Maine setting and the Clambake sounds like fun! Two mysteries in this latest book. A secret sealed off room is found during the demolition and remodel of Windsholme. A young girl’s diary is found in the room and Julia and her family try to discover what happened to the young woman. Also, one of the Clambake workers is found murdered and Julia’s boyfriend’s brother is the prime suspect. Julia sets to work on tracking down a killer. Both stories were intriguing and I was surprised at the outcome of both. I look forward to more books in this series and more of Julia and Chris!!
Wow, what a great story with a twist. I really enjoy these characters and they didn’t disappoint. Add Marguerite and Tallulah into the mix and that just adds to the enjoyment. How fun would it be to have a house that has been in your family for forever and to be able to update and then live in it, at least part time while you also run your business out of it. Course we all know that things don’t always go as planned. It might help move things along if folks told the truth, but why would they want to do that? I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.
This is the 8th book in this series, a series that continues to satisfy this reader. It works as a stand alone, so don’t hesitate to read it out of order if you are just now discovering the world of Julia Snowden and her family. I read this one in a single day, staying up way, way past my bedtime. It’s that good.
Julia’s family is in the restaurant business in Busman’s Harbor, Maine. During the tourist season they run clambakes and then run a bricks and mortar restaurant. The tourist season is coming to a close and, besides the clambakes, her family mansion, having been damaged by fire, is being readied for renovations. Death makes an entrance when one of her employees is found murdered and her boyfriend’s ex-con brother becomes the prime suspect. Family comes first and Julia sets about to clear his name. If that wasn’t enough to deal with, during the renovation prep, a sealed off room is uncovered and it’s been sealed off for over 100 years. Frozen in time, furniture and personal belongs still in place. Among those items they find a journal written by the governess to the two boys of the family. Reading to the end uncovers some disturbing things and Julia decides to try and find out what happened to her and why the room was sealed and forgotten.
All of the clues are presented, lots of twists and turns, great cast of characters – this mystery has it all and I’m ready to add the next book in the series to my TBR list.
The Clambake season is coming to end
in Busman’s Harbor, Maine as it is
mid-October.
Restorations on the Morrow Island
family home will bring a surprise to
Julia Snowden and her family.
When Julia and her brother-in-law
arrive on Morrow Island to prepare
for the last clambake, the dead body
of one of the longtime employees is
found.
The brother of Julia’s boyfriend who
is an ex-con and who had a fist fight
with the deceased is an immediate
suspect. Julia plunges into the
investigation to prove his innocence.
Meanwhile the Morrow House reveals
a hidden sealed off room that surprised
everyone. The contents of the sealed off
room were that of a governess for the
child a hundred years ago. Why was the
room sealed off? What became of the
woman who resided in that room??
Come join the feisty Julie as she tackles
both the complex murder mystery and
the mystery of the hidden room and the
disappearance of the woman who stayed
there!!! Add in good food, the beautiful
seaside setting of Busman’s Harbor and
a group of colorful, vivid, well fleshed out
characters for an enjoyable, fast paced
read. Recipes included at the end of the
book
This is book # 8 in the Maine Clambake
Mysteries series. It can be read as a stand
alone.
The author weaves the past and present
together effortlessly making the reader
right at home on this scenic Maine adventure.
I volunteered to read Sealed Off. Thanks to
NetGallery and the publisher, Kensington
Books for the opportunity.
My opinion is voluntary and my own.
This is the latest in one of my favorite cozy series, so I was really looking forward to reading it and I was not disappointed! Julia is finishing up the last few clambakes of the season and her family has relatives visiting to see the plans for the old summer home renovations. While touring the old house, the discovery of a secret room has the family interested in the original residents. And then, as if she isn’t busy enough, a murdered man is found who was an employee of the clambake and a few of the other employees are suspects. Julia spends some time investigating to try to clear the names of her employees and get justice for their former employee. This is a well written story that could easily be read by anyone not yet familiar with the series. Sealed Off had me caught up in the mysteries of the present and the past and though I suspected the culprit, it was a great read to the very end.. Hoping for many more books to come!
I received an advance copy of this book. The honest thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.
The Snowden Family Clambake business is wrapping up the busy tourist season in Busman’s Harbor, Maine. When an employee is murdered, everyone immediately suspects Julia’s boyfriend’s ex-con brother. He swears he is innocent and Julia agrees to help him clear his name. Meanwhile, renovations are starting in the family’s Island home and a secret diary is discovered in a hidden room from 1898. It tells the sad story of a young woman and the Snowden family is determined to find out what really happened to her.
I really enjoyed this delightful installment in the Maine Clambake Mysteries. It is well-written with realistic characters, a lovely seaside town setting, and two intriguing mysteries. The murder mystery has enough twists, turns, and suspects to keep readers engaged throughout the entire story. The historical mystery is very enjoyable. I love genealogy so I was very invested in the mysterious secret room and wanted to find answers. Overall, I found the conclusion of both mysteries to be very satisfying. I have read a few books in this series and enjoyed every one of them. I will definitely be reading more by Barbara Ross.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This series is one I’m always happy to see a new release for. I like the characters, but it mostly focuses on Julia.
I thought this book was a little darker than the rest and dealt with several societal issues. It was not unduly dark, but more and darker issues than the average cozy.
I’d like to see Julia do more with her family and friends besides dinner and clambake scenes. This book would have been a good opportunity for her boyfriend to participate more, but he’s barely there.
That said, I enjoyed the book and the way Ross manages to keep things fresh despite the usually limited setting.
I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.