An autumn chill has settled over Busman’s Harbor, Maine, but Julia Snowden is warming up the town by offering lobster stew at the local diner. When her landlord discovers a dead body in the walk-in refrigerator, Julia must figure out who ordered up a side of murder.Nothing’s colder than a corpse–especially one stashed inside a sub-zero fridge. The victim spent his last night on earth dining at … dining at the restaurant bar, so naturally Julia finds herself at the center of the ensuing investigation. Lost in the November fog, however, is who’d want to kill the unidentified stranger–and why. It might have something to do with a suspicious group of retirees and a decades-old tragedy to which they’re all connected. One thing’s for sure: Julia’s going to make solving this mystery her early bird special…
Includes Traditional Maine Clambake Recipes!
Praise for Clammed Up
“Readers can enjoy both figuring out the mystery and taking an armchair visit to coastal Maine.” —Library Journal
more
Fogged Inn is the 4th book in the Maine Clambake Mysteries written by Barbara Ross. I’m reading the books in order and love the coastal Maine setting. In this installment, Julia finds a dead body in their walk-in freezer… and that’s the opening page of the book. Talk about jumping right into the murder scene. Loved it… Ross did an incredible job at explaining what happened when Gus (Julia’s landlord) found the deceased man, then back-tracking to understand the events of the previous evening when Julia was running her restaurant with boyfriend Chris.
The fog is rolling in during the November setting, adding to the eerie sense of drama. Four couples were present plus the stranger who ended up frozen to death. A bus accident closing the town off from anyone getting in/out. A missing woman in addition to the murder victim who had stolen another stranger’s car. A bit of a closed door mystery, but for me, the best part was the showdown Julia arranged at the end. When she suspected the murderer was one of the eight people in the restaurant, she stopped by to tell each of them that she had a confidential document that might reveal important information about an issue from the past. She went into hiding and waited for someone to break into her apartment… but all was not what it seems. Loved it!
My only concern was that we never really understood 100% exactly how the killer off’d the stranger and got away with it. We know the method and the timing, but Julia shut down the restaurant and left by 11ish… and somehow, the victim was inside the restaurant. I either missed the exact steps for how the killer did the deed and hid the body. Minor stuff, could’ve been me, still was an entertaining showdown and reveal! I’ve already bought the next book, a mini novella that takes place right around Christmas. And it has eggnog, which I love. Will read that next month.
I love this series!
I have been reading this series since the beginning and it is one of my favorites. I really like the Maine setting and the characters. The mystery in this one started out really good but I was a little disappointed by the solution. I did like the growth of Julia’s relationship with Chris. This one begins with Gus finding a dead body in the walk in Cooler. Chris and Julia are living above Gus’ diners and opening it for dinner. The current mystery turns out to be related to a past mystery. I did like the glimpses into Busman’s Harbor past. It takes place during the winter so the Clambake business and other family members are not present. This series should be read in order. Enjoy
This is a fun series! I love returning to Maine and catching up with Julia and the residents of Busman’s Harbor.
Book four in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. So we finally get to see what this little town does once the summer is over and only the locals remain. Julia and Chris have opened “Gus’s Too” which is a dinner restaurant inside Gus’s that they run separate from Gus. A new customer spends the evening at their bar and after some strange events ends up found dead the next day. Of course this puts Julia and Chris right in the middle of the investigation whether they want to be or not. This is yet another excellent installment in this series that keep the reader guessing until the very last page and I was enjoying every minute of it as it is so well written. If you love cozy mysteries you have got to try this series as I have been unable to put it down. I really enjoyed it so I give it 4/5 stars.
Ross’ Clambake series is a delight, but Fogged Inn really kept me reading from beginning to end (I didn’t want to put It down until I knew who did it).
Not your typical cozy ending…good mystery!
Love this series! Realistic without being gory. I’m invested in these characters and their flaws.
I look forward to Barbara Ross books.
I love this series. I started it because I love Maine, so mysteries set there are a great escape for me. I have a friend whose Uncle used to run Lobster events which I’ve always enjoyed so I figured I’d learn more about the way it’s done. The family involved is interesting and has a lot of tension mostly around keeping their business going. The central character came home from being a successful business person in the big city to help her family. She has a love interest that has it’s own challenges and a town full of quirky Downeast characters that you’ll love. The mysteries are good, but the full package makes them compelling and fun as you get to know everyone better. If you love Maine it will transport you there while you’re reading,
I have read later books in this series and they were much more enjoyable. The basic premise sounded great, but the execution was wanting. Also, the protagonist was infinitely more self centered. And we won’t even discuss the multiple horrid mispronunciations by the narrator–no, it was not due to regional or even national dialect.
Now that was messed up There were so many moving characters that it got kind of confusing at times. (You know this person was with this one but then they traded in for a upgrade.) Loved the restaurant in the off season idea and I hope it works out for them.
Quite possibly the best book yet in one of my favorite cozy mystery series. I love the progression of depth in the regular characters, so while the mysteries themselves are stand-alone, the series reads best without skipping around from the chronological order. Speaking of the mystery, this was a complicated but well-developed case. I never would have guessed at the connections, the twists, or the outcome, not because I couldn’t keep track but because the layers had a rich complexity I don’t typically find in this particular genre. I’m truly excited to see what happens next in Julia’s little Maine world.
It’s the off-season in Maine, and Julia and her boyfriend Chris are operating a dinner restaurant in the building where their friend Gus has his breakfast and lunch restaurant. When Gus comes in one morning to open, he finds a dead body in the refrigerator. The victim had come in for dinner the night before, but he is a stranger in town. Who was he? And why was he murdered in the restaurant?
This book opens with the murder right away, and the pace never slacks. I did miss a few of the usual supporting characters who are reduced to cameos here, but the new characters more than make up for it. The book builds to a sobering climax that adds some nice depth to the book and even a couple of our characters. I love this series, and this is another great entry.
good characters with a good story-line set in Busman’s Harbor, Maine. it’s a pretty fast paced read, but it manages to hold your interest the entire story. if her other books are as well written and intriguing as this one, I plan on reading all of Ms. Snowden’s books!
Disappointing. I had really liked the previous books in the series.
Fun to read due to the location.
OK story of small town life in Maine. Interesting story but movedf slowly. Would recommend reading.