Lots of excitement keeps the pace moving steadily along in the third book of the Lobster Shack Mysteries. Protagonist Allie Larkin’s ankle has mended and she’s ready to dance ballet once more. It’s Halloween in Mystic Bay, CT where Allie’s Aunt Gully’s popular lobster shack is located. It appears some local fraternity pranks are behind the suspicious vandalism going on in town, however; a gruesome murder takes place on Halloween in a spooky graveyard which spikes a local legend that one of the dead has risen and taken a sacrifice.

Author Shari Randall weaves a splendid web of deceit that cozy Readers are sure to enjoy. I like this cast of characters—both the regulars who I met at the start of the series, to the ones created for this particular book. I recommend this story and the previous two stories to cozy fans.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. Thank you.

DRAWN AND BUTTERED is the third book in the Lobster Shack Mystery Series featuring Allie, who narrates the story and supporting cast including Aunt Gully, Lobster Shack owner and a host of friends and shack employees who populate the book. The characters are all well drawn, and range from the eccentric and lovable Aunt Gully to Lorel, short for Lorelei, Allie’s sister who is a hard charging business woman intent on making more money for Aunt Gully and family. Allie and Lorel are almost polar opposites, with Allie being the artistic sister, a ballerina who is currently on medical leave while a broken ankle heals and Lorel owning her own advertising firm.
While Allie’s ankle is healing she has returned to Mystic Cove to live with Aunt Gully who had a hand in raising the girls. Lorel makes a few visits in this book, primarily to try and push her agenda for Aunt Gully to sell her chowder recipe to a nationwide conglomerate. This side story provides some interesting contrast between the sisters and serves to highlight Aunt Gully’s love for what she does which results in rounding out the story to be more than just a murder mystery.
The mystery itself centers around the murder of a college student whose body is found in a family cemetery, known for their own version of ghosts and vampire stories. They are the family that founded Mystic Cove and, as such, have a vested interest in protecting the family name and legacy. That legacy is highlighted in a grant competition that sees the winner taking home the prize because his proposal will advance the history and legacy of the family.
The story has similarities to other tales of hauntings, witches, etc. which give add to the atmosphere of halloween leading up to the murder. There are a local witch and a local fortune teller who flesh out the other-world portion of the book. While the book is in no way supernatural, the atmosphere is still well defined.
While this book is part of a continuing series, the mystery is complete within itself. There are some relationships that may have developed over the previous books, and Ms. Randall does a good job of filling in details that may be carried over from previous books. This is true, also, of the ongoing storyline of Allie’s recovery which serves to explain her presence in Mystic Cove.
The mystery is well plotted and even though there are several potential suspects, it was easy to determine the guilty person. The clues were well placed, and perhaps a bit obvious in spots, which led to an easier solution but did not hamper the enjoyment of the story. The continuing storyline of Allie’s broken ankle is brought to a satisfactory conclusion, leaving the reader to wonder if and how the series may continue.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries. It has all the elements of a good mystery, interesting characters, and a limited amount of blood, guts and gore. It is easy to accept Allie’s determination to solve the mystery, and there is an even amount of tension that has you reading at a steady pace. At the same time, you can put it down to attend to other things and pick it up again without losing the strings of the story.

Drawn and Buttered is the third book in Shari Randall’s Lobster Shack Mystery series. The mystery is well plotted, and the characters are well developed. This quick read is steadily paced with lots of twists in the creative plot to keep readers engaged.

Allegra “Allie” Larkin, a ballerina who is recovering from a broken ankle, is staying with her aunt and helping at her lobster shack, The Lazy Mermaid, in Mystic Bay, Connecticut. Even though Allie loves helping at the Lazy Mermaid, she’s anxious for her doctor to clear her to return to her job dancing with the New England Ballet Theater. Hector Viera, and his wife, Hilda, help Aunt Gully run the shack, and she has a group of friends, Gully’s Gals, who volunteer to help. Gina Fontana, Allie’s aunt, lovingly called Aunt Gully, is being “courted” by Don O’Neill, the president of Chowdaheads, who wants to buy her chowder recipe. Allie has an older sister, Lorelei, who prefers to be called Lorel; her best friend, Verity Brooks, owns a vintage clothing shop; and her other friend, Bronwyn, is an intern at the police department and is studying criminal justice. Bertha Betancourt offers a “Learn to Lobster” tour on her boat, Queenie; and what a surprise the participants received ... an almost record-breaking lobster someone decided to name Lobzilla! Aunt Gully agrees to keep Lobzilla until Professor Fred Nickerson, who’s in charge of the Marine Biology Department of Graystone College, can arrange for a large tank to be delivered to the college. Unfortunately, Lobzilla is stolen; Max Hempstead, Fred’s TA, is murdered in the Parish family’s cemetery on Halloween’ and when his body is found, Lobzilla is at the scene. Allie finds herself drawn into the investigation when the police suspect her elderly dance mentor, Madame Svetlana Monachova, of the murder and is determined to find the real killer.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

Drawn and Buttered is the third installment in the A Lobster Shack Mystery series set in the seaside community of Mystic Bay and featuring ballet dancer, Allie Larkin. Allie still hasn't been given the all clear to return to dancing full time after breaking her ankle so she's passing the time helping out at her Aunt Gully's Lazy Mermaid Lobster Shack, being a teaching assistant to her dance mentor Madame Monachova, and practicing for a small role designed just for her in her dance troupe's upcoming The Nutcracker.

It's Fall in Mystic Bay, the Leaf Peppers are keeping the Lobster Shack busy, Halloween is right around the corner and local lobsterwoman Bertha Betancourt has pulled in a giant crustacean one half inch shy of the world record. Press coverage around the impressive, Lobzilla as he's affectionately dubbed, is bringing in crowds, but when someone steals him from his tank, fingers point to the nearby fraternity at Graystone College.

Over at the Parish estate on Rabb's Point, the annual $25,000 Parish Historical Society grant is being awarded to a local history or art project and three finalists include Madame who is hoping to start a ballet troupe, Professor Fred Nickerson who is in charge of the Marine Biology Department at the College and Lyman Smith, chair of the History Department. The Halloween party following the grant presentation is interrupted when a body is found stabbed in the Parish family cemetery and Lobzilla is lying atop the body.

Allie and her friends Verity and Bronwyn find themselves drawn into the investigation when the police suspect Madame of the killing. Determined to find the real killer Allie soon uncovers a family history shrouded in tales of witches and vampires and a desperate attempt to keep the truth hidden.

A fast paced plot with a lovable cast of returning characters. The vampire theme is not one of my favorites but it didn't take away from the story. I almost felt as though the ending was rushed and while some questions were answered there were some scenes that played a pivotal part of the plot that were not. For instance, what happens to the fraternity members? A great addition to the series and I am looking forward to more adventures with Allie, Aunt Gully and the people of Mystic Bay.

While Summer is over, things are just starting to heat up in Mystic Bay this Fall. A massive lobster is caught and then stolen, Allie’s ankle is healing, a special dance was choreographed for her in the Nut Cracker, a big company is courting Aunt Gully for her chowder recipe, and Allie and Verity are invited to THE Halloween party of the year.

While things are looking up for Allie, things aren’t looking so good for one of the college frat boys, Max. On Halloween night in the small cemetery where the party is being held, Max is found murdered and the missing lobster is beside the body. When Madame’s cape is covered in blood after the body is found, the police seem to consider the elderly dance instructor to be their prime suspect. Allie knows that Madam would not hurt a fly, so she vows to clear Madame’s name. But can she clear Madame’s name and avoid the killer before her dance career is over for good?

The history tied into this book was a great plot and I thoroughly enjoyed it. While this is the third book in the series, it is my first introduction to both the author and her work. It is great as a standalone and did not leave any gaps for me as I was reading it. Thoroughly looking forward to the next installment in the series.

murder, cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, superstitions, suspense

It's Halloween in the historic coastal area between Boston and New York and the frat boys really get carried away at the party held by the local bigwigs. It's all fun and beer until one of them is murdered in the graveyard. Allie is a promising ballerina home from dancing while the broken ankle heals a lot more, but even as she works at her aunt's lobster shack she just has to do some sleuthing when the police seem to focus on her elderly mentor.
Solid plot with engaging characters, plot twists, suspense, and red herrings. A very good read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

Lovers of cozy mysteries will enjoy this one. It has interesting characters. Lots of twists in plot that will keep you guessing. Lots of intrigue dealing with witches, family history and frat boys.

This is a fun cozy with eccentric characters. We have multiple suspects to choose from and a few historical tidbits in this tale. Is there really a vampire in the cemetery?
Family and friends help Allie find the necessary clues, racing against time, as the killer plans to make sure he's not found out.
The tale moves along quickly with a few other interesting side plots to add to the interest. I really enjoyed it and recommend it highly. No sex or graphic violence.
I requested a NetGalley Arc.

I like this series very much. So much that I want to run and get clam chowder and I don't like clam chowder. This installment was really interesting. I loved the way the wealthy family was written. So many layers and so well done. There's action in ever scene but it all works and nothing gets lost.

Another of Shari Randall's fun cozy mysteries. It has a well developed plot, quirky characters and, of course, delicious food from Aunt Gully's Lazy Mermaid Lobster Shack. Ballet dancer Allie Larkin in still working at the Lobster Shack, and helping her old ballet teacher Madame Monachova teach a class at the local college,as she recovers from a broken ankle when Bertha Betancourt finds "Lobzilla", a giant lobster while she is out lobstering. Allie and Aunt Gully agree to keep Lobzilla in their holding tanks until Professor Fred Nickerson, who is studying them, can arrange for the proper facilities at the college but during the night Lobzilla is stolen. Fred comes to pick up the lobster along with Max Hempstead, a student and Allie later runs into him fighting with Isobel Parish, the daughter of the town benefactor. The Parish family holds an annual Halloween celebration at their home and during the party Allie and her friend Verity are among the group that finds Max's dead body with Lobzilla on top of his dead body. When Madame Monachova is suspected of the crime, Allie feels impelled to clear the name of her old friend and mentor, This book captured my interest from the very first page. The story flows at a stead pace and there are plenty of twists and turns and suspects to keep you guessing all the way to the end. I highly recommend it.

This is a fun and engaging story with enough twists to keep it interesting. Fans of cozy mystery reads won't be disappointed.