Steamed Open is the seventh book in the A Maine Clambake Mystery series.

I’ve loved this series since the first book. I can always count on an interesting and well-written story with interesting and believable characters. I’ve never been to a clambake, but I never tire of reading what is included and what goes into the preparation of the clambake.

Beloved resident, Heloise “Lou” Herrickson, has left her property, including her house, lighthouse, and lighthouse keepers cottage to her grand-nephew, Bartholomew Frick. The first change that Frick makes is to install a fence and locked gate preventing clammers and residents access to the beach that they have enjoyed for years. The clammers, wielding their clam rakes and residents begin a boisterous protest but are informed that the matter will have to go through a court process to resolve. Julia thinks that if she can talk with Frick, that maybe some kind of agreement can be worked out. As she approaches the front door she meets Ida Fischer, the Herrickson’s housekeeper. Ida lets Julia know that she has just resigned and tells her where Frick was when she last saw him. It turns out to be a short meeting and Julia’s pleas of understanding fall upon deaf ears. Then as Julia is leaving, she is approached by a neighbor, Vera French, who wants to express her sympathies to Frick and get a look inside the house. Later that day as Julia is returning from Morrow Island after the evening clambake, she is met by the police who inform her of Frick’s death.

Julia is more concerned with who will inherit from Frick, than who the killer was, hoping that it isn’t anyone involved in the protest. But, at the same time, she feels that knowing who the other heirs that are mentioned in Lou’s will may point to the possible killer. This turns out to be a dilemma for her as the late husband’s godchild, Elizabeth Anderson, cannot be found. Also, there is mentioned in the will a daughter that no one seemed to know anything about and was written out of the will.

Also coming out in this book is more about Julia’s boyfriend, Chris. Chris has been mostly secretive about his past and family. Finally, Julia is able to get him to open up and explain why he limits his contact with them. Also, plans for the restoration Windsholme, the old family home on Morrow Island, are being reviewed so that construction may start soon.

Recipes are also included in the book.

It always wonderful to spend time with the enjoyable residents of Busman’s Harbor and I will definitely be watching for the next book in this great series.

Maine, tourist-town, cozy-mystery, family-dynamics, law-enforcement, suspense, murder-investigation *****

It's a good thing that the primary target for murder got done in early because he was totally odious! The townsfolk are all hardworking people with a very short earning season who have just lost their beloved centenarian benefactor who bequeathed her seaside property to above rat. Being a small town, it's the state police who bring in detectives and forensics, but sifting through the evidence isn't as useful as it might be. Then there is the issue of line of inheritance to dig through! Julia is a local back from away and she is very good at digging into the past despite problems in her own life that threaten to derail family harmony and the business. Well crafted and with escalating suspense, plot twists and red herrings. A very good read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

This was a really good book that I don"t really know where to start. At the beginning of the book The Jacquie II was headed out to sea with most of the towns people on board to scatter the ashes of a local lady who was loved by all, named Lou Herrickson. She owned a beautiful Victorian mansion overlooking Sea Glass Beach. She left everything to her great nephew, under the stipulation that he live there for a year before he could sell any of her belongings. He made a point of putting up a fence so that no one could get to the beach to go clamming or swimming the very same day as they had scattered her ashes. Of course in any good mystery he ended up DEAD!!! Now to figure out who did it. Was it the housekeeper, or one of the clammers, or the neighbor, or the one who last saw him alive or so she says. I am not going to spoil this for you, so you MUST read this book. I would give it a 10 if I could.

Loved this book! Reading about Julia and her family is like spending tinne with close friends. You pick up right where you left off and It's like no time has passed. Very complex mystery with some sad parts, but overall very entertaining. Can't wait to see what's next!

This series is one of my favorites, and this latest installment was so special. This story had a great mystery and the characters are beloved and dear friends. The story itself was so bittersweet and just a little heartbreaking, but that just made it all the more beautiful. This is completely and totally a book to read again and again.

Ross’s cozy series tackles a real life hot button topic in Maine – beach access to locals. Julia Snowden’s Family Clambake business is in trouble when a flatlander blocks access to the shoreline. Bartholomew Frick has spent a mint on his mansion and he doesn’t intend sharing his access to the water with anyone. Everyone in town is angry and it’s really no surprise when Frick turns up dead. The big problem is finding a culprit in a very long list of suspects. Ross understands Maine and Mainers very well, it’s what puts her cozy series head and shoulders over others who write about the Pine Tree State

A truly wonderful cozy mystery filled with an intelligent heroine in Julia Snowden, strong family ties, a beautiful Maine setting, and delicious clambake food but also dealing with the serious subjects of the hard life of Maine residents who need to work two or three jobs during the summer tourist season to be able to live out the winters and also bringing up the dire consequences Huntington's Disease which runs in Julia's boyfriend Chris' family and the dilemma of whether or not to get tested to find out if you have the dreaded gene.
Julia runs Snowden's Family Clambakes, her family's business in Busman's Harbor, Maine. Each day they run two cruises out to the island for lunch and dinner clambakes. Will Orsolini has been supplying most of their clams which he gets out at Herrickson's Point but when the beloved owner of the land, Lou Herrickson, dies and her nephew Bart Frick inherits the property, he closes it off to all the clammers and beachgoers who had been using the property for decades. After a noisy demonstration by the local residents, Bart is found murdered with a clam rake and several of Julia's friends are suspects so, once again, she becomes involved in trying to solve the crime. This is an exceptionally interesting story which is deeper and more complex than most cozy mysteries and I highly recommend it.