Author: Barbara Ross
Genre: Mystery
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781496735737
Kensington Cozies
256 Pages
$8.99; $6.99 Amazon
April 23, 2024
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Julia's best friend and business partner, Zoey, is about to marry her policeman boyfriend. Of course, a gorgeous white wedding dress shouldn't be within fifty yards of a plate of buttery lobster -- so that treat is reserved for the rehearsal dinner. Julia is a little worried about the timing, though, as she works around a predicted storm.
When a guest falls to the floor dead, it turns out that no one seems to know who he is, despite the fact that he's been actively mingling and handing out business cards. And when an injection mark is spotted on his neck, it's clear this wasn't caused by a shellfish allergy. Now, as the weather deteriorates and a small group is stranded on the island with the body -- and the killer -- Julia starts interrogating staff and family members, and Zoey's artist friends to find out who turned the clambake into a crime scene...
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Julia Snowden helps run the Snowden Family Clambake, which is given all summer on the private island her family owns. Her best friend Zoey is marrying Jamie, another friend, and they want to hold their wedding on the island. While is was difficult to find an open weekend, everything is planned. Julia and her sister Livvie are in the wedding party, along with Jamie's police partner Pete and his cousin Dan. They are the scheduled ones to stay on the island overnight.
The rehearsal dinner is a grand affair. All the guests are invited to try the clambake dinner, and so both sides are attending. Jamie's large family, and Zoey's friends, since she has no family left. Julia notices a man mingling that she's never seen, and assumes he's a friend of Zoey's. But when the man dies during the dinner, no one seems to know who he is.
But do they? While most of the guests were able to leave before the storm hit, it is now in full force, and the remaining people are stuck on the island with a corpse. With a man that possibly one of them murdered. :Luckily, Julia's boyfriend Tom Flynn is there, a detective with the Maine State Police, so he can question everyone. But will they tell him the truth? Or will a murderer go free?...
I have read all the books in this series, and I have enjoyed them all. They are like old friends to me. Julia, her family members, her friends. I have witnessed their heartbreaks and triumphs, and shared this through them vicariously. It has been a journey that I've highly enjoyed. A journey that has, alas, come to an end. I would not have mentioned this, but others on social media have already popped the balloon.
But the mystery is done just as well as we expected. People are keeping secrets, telling lies; and eventually it will all have to come out. Someone knew the dead man. Someone wanted him dead. But with so many suspects -- and they are -- which one had the opportunity. Many had motive.
Julia isn't sure the wedding will go on, but Zoey wants to get married, and nothing is going to stop her, not even wondering if someone she knows is a killer. But Tom and Julia need to find that killer before the wedding. The problem is, will they be able to do so?
In the end, we are given a bittersweet finale to this series. There is a lot of pleasantry in it, a completion of the tale, as you will. It is a lovely tribute to all those we've known (and loved many of them); and a fitting end to the story. I am sad to lose this series, but the author has done a wonderful job through the years. Thank you, Ms. Ross. Highly recommended.
I received an advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Barbara Ross's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/r/barbara-ross/
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