“Delightful! A fun whodunit full of New England coastal charm and characters who feel like friends. Warm humor, a delectable plot, and clever sleuthing will keep you turning the pages.” –Krista Davis, New York Times bestselling author of the Domestic Diva Mysteries Winner of the Agatha Award for Best First Novel! Welcome to the seaside hamlet of Mystic Bay, where the fish is always fresh, the … where the fish is always fresh, the folks are ever-friendly, and murder is on a roll. . .
Allie Larkin was living her dream as a ballet dancer when a bad fall put her out of business. Now she’s back home in Mystic Bay to heal a broken ankle while also helping her dear Aunt Gully get her Lazy Mermaid Lobster Shack off the ground. Nothing would help Gully more than winning the local food festival’s Best Lobster Roll contest. The competition is sure to be killer–especially after one of the contest judges dies after eating a roll from one of Gully’s biggest rivals.
Soon, all eyes fall on Gully as the prime suspect. Allie may only have one good leg to stand on, but she’s not going to let her aunt go down for a crime she never could have cooked up. Can Allie, along with her devoted crew of friends, family, and customers, find a way to trap the killer and claw herself out of this hard-boiled murder case?
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Everyone in Mystic Bay is gearing up for the Best Lobster Roll contest but their excitement turns to horror when one of the entries is poisoned, and one of the judges dies on the stage.
When Aunt Gully, owner of the newly established Lazy Mermaid Lobster Shack goes from contestant to suspect, her niece, Allie Larkin steps up to uncover the real culprit. Allie is a dancer, recovering from an injury while helping her aunt with the Lazy Mermaid. As she enlists the aid of the colorful friends and family in this small town, she deftly pulls at the threads that weave this complex and very satisfying mystery. Allie is clever and determined and makes a great amateur sleuth. Can’t wait for her next case!
I really enjoyed reading this cozy mystery. Mystic Falls is hosting a lobster roll contest to kick off the summer season and YUM network is broadcasting the show. Allie and her Sister are helping her Aunt Gully at the Lazy Mermaid prepare for the contest and summer tourists. Everything is fine until the celebrity judges fall sick after eating a lobster roll. When suspicion falls on Aunt Gully Allie sets out to solve the crime. I really enjoyed the characters and the small town setting. The mystery was very good with lots of suspects, red herrings and twists and turns. The solution was good and made sense. The book was a quick, easy and fun read. It was a perfect summer book. I am looking for word to reading the next one in the series. Enjoy
A fun cozy mystery. I especially enjoyed the characters and the New England setting.
A scrumptious bayside setting, a delicious cast of characters, and a killer with deadly claws all added up to one tasty read in the first Lobster Shack mystery. The final confrontation between the killer and gutsy main character Allie Larkin absolutely blew me away. Fire up the burner and get that pot boiling, because I’m ready for another helping!
Curses, Boiled Again! is author Shari Randall’s Agatha award winning debut novel, and I absolutely adored it! When one of the judges in Mystic Bay’s Lobster Roll contest is killed by a poisonous entry, injured dancer Allie must work with her sister, best friend, and an assorted group of town residents to prove that her beloved Aunt Gully had nothing to do with the dastardly deed. 5 stars, A+++, and highly recommended! 🙂
Cute.
Keeps you guessing.
It was a nice quick read. Fun story. Wish there ere recipes at the end!
Passed the time. Not wearisome
I always like the books where good triumphs over evil.
I did hungry for lobster rolls and clam chowder while reading it.
A good mystery read
A wonderful new cozy series! You will laugh out loud and love the characters between the covers of this book. Aunt Gully is participating in a local lobster cooking contest and one of the judges meets her demise in a very public fashion. This book will have you guessing who is responsible for the death of the judge until the very end. I can’t wait to read the next entry in this new to me series!
I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved the surprise twist ending. I can’t wait for the next book.
Lots of twists and action. Everyone’s a suspect. Fun setting. Great characters. Can’t wait to read more about these folks. Great mystery with a surprising ending.
A fun new series! Small town lobster roll contest turns deadly when one of the judges dies from being poisoned. Aunt Gully is a prime suspect and her niece, Allie Larkin, is setting out to find the real killer. Small town, fun characters, lobster, and mystery all make for a great read!
Allie Larkin is back home in Mystic Bay, Connecticut, recuperating from a broken ankle and helping her aunt Gully with her new Lazy Mermaid Lobster Shack. Aunt Gully has only had her business open for a few months, but it’s attracted enough attention to land her a spot as a finalist in the YUM! Network’s lobster roll contest. However, after sampling the first contestant’s entry, the judges start to collapse. Someone poisoned the rolls, but who was the target? And why?
This book opens the morning of the contest, so things get off to a strong start. It does seem to slow down a little in the second quarter, but it picks up again as Allie tries to figure out who the target of the poison was. This added twist was very welcome and helps the book stand out. There is room for the characters to grow as the series progresses, but we get to know several of them well here. The suspects are great at keeping us guessing until the end.
I enjoyed the story, both the introduction to the characters and town and the mystery which keeps you guessing. Allie is the main character, but the author is setting her up to have some strong secondary character support and I hope she does use them well in the next books. There’s plenty of locals and temporary characters brought in providing a nice cast of potential murders. It’s introduced to us that Allie and Lorel have minor issues with her father’s romantic partner and with so much else going on with the food show, the murder, three locals involved in a personal dispute, Verity’s job and more I wonder why. I didn’t think it was necessary here, but it was brief and their father and his paramour may end up playing a role in the next book so the author may have wanted to set them up now.
While Allie says she knows who the killer is, I missed where the clues that tell her the killer are revealed to her (and the reader). I felt the killer outed themself, but it was done with flair so it worked for me.
I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
Delectable beginning to the new Lobster Shack series! Protagonist Allie Larkin is a ballerina with a broken ankle. While recuperating, she heads home to help her vivacious Aunt Gully at her Lazy Mermaid Lobster shack in lovely Mystic Bay. It’s Memorial Day festivities time, and during a best lobster roll contest which Aunt Gully hopes to win, all the judges are poisoned and one of them succumbs.
The plot includes lots of excitement which keeps the story moving swiftly. I enjoyed the cast of colorful characters. There are numerous diversions to lead readers to falsely suspect many different people; however, collect all the right clues and they’ll lead you to the vengeful killer.
Curses, Boiled Again by Shari Randall is the first in a new cozy series and was quite an intriguing beginning to this series.
Allie Larkin, a ballerina who has broken her ankle, has returned to Mystic Bay to help her Aunt Gully while healing. Aunt Gully has been entered into a Lobster Roll contest put on by a YUM, a food network. Allie and Aunt Gully hopes that this will put her new lobster shack, the Lazy Mermaid Lobster Shack, on the map for foodies and tourists alike. However, before the competition even begins Aunt Gully receives threatening letters from “lobster liberators”. Then at the contest one of the judges dies due to poisoning. Allie’s concern for her aunt compels her to investigate on her own.
A smoothly paced plot with some twists, red herrings, quirky but lovable characters, and the reveal twist made this a memorable cozy mystery.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from St. Martin’s via NetGalley. All of the above opinions are my own.