Murder at the Lobstah Shack is the 3rd book in the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries written by Maddie Day. I've previously read the first two books in this series, but I haven't read the author's other series or the books she's written under the name Edith Maxwell. I will in the future, though, because they are great fun. In this latest installment, Mac finds a dead body on the first page. Well... her friend, Tulia, at the lobster restaurant does, and she begs Mac to help. Only this time, when they realize who is dead, it looks like Tulia could've been the killer!

The series takes place in a small town on the coast of Massachusetts, where Mac's family, friends, and boyfriend are her closest confidants and murder mystery helpers; they even have a group book club that helps, including a former police chief. We visit the world of beauty pageants and homeless camps in this tale, and we also have a few nods to Barbara Ross's book, Fogged Off, where they also find a dead body in a freezer. Not a bad way to go, except in this case, the body wasn't frozen to death. Someone, perhaps 2 people, had reason to kill the woman. Which one did it?

Day's work keeps me entertained. this mystery had a good plotline, and it also advanced the story for several supporting characters, including a big leap forward for Mac. I like visiting the cozy towns and learning all about the various families and residents. I am now caught up in this series, so I will look to start another of the author's in early 2022.

I absolutely love this series! The characters are so fun, and I love the Cape Cod setting. Mac is a fantastic protagonist, and I enjoyed solving the mystery with her. The murder mystery was fun, and I loved the plot twists!

Another excellent edition to a wonderful series! Full of twists and turns that leaves you wanting more and enjoying each moment until the end when the killer is caught!

Along with some tasty New England recipes, author Maddie Day manages to dish up plenty of small town charm complete with a murder and plenty of suspects with a motive who are all being checked out by Mackenzie Almeida, local bicycle shop owner, and the snoopy members of the Cozy Capers book group as she draws us into MURDER AT THE LOBSTAH SHACK.

Liberally laced with memorable characters, friendship, fun and fabulous food this is a cozy you can literally sink your teeth into. Filled with recipes that are designed to tease your taste buds with everything from Lobster Quiche to Apple Spice Muffins. Just sit back and relax with a good book (this one) an Apple Cidertini (that recipe is included too) and let your imagination whisk you away to an afternoon of sand dunes and the salty sea air of Cape Cod.

This is a fun series that keeps getting better. I love that Mac and Tim were getting closer and even Mac's wrapped her brain around marriage and a family much better than she would've in the first book. Mac's pet parrot Belle cracks me up with how she imitates everyone and picks up catch phrases. She's definitely a different type of pet for a main character, lol. I enjoyed it whenever Mac would interact with her sweet little niece Cokey. Just reading how she is with Cokey, I have no doubts that Mac's gonna make a really awesome mom someday.

The mystery was a tough one, and I really thought it was cool how the author put in a little nudge to a friend author of hers, Barb Ross who writes the Maine Clambake series. Yes, I read acknowledgements, lol. As with this author's Country Store series, I always think I have the perp right, but boom! I'm wrong...and loving it! I'm eager to see what's happening next in the series!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher Kensington via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

MURDER AT THE LOBSTAH SHACK is the third book in the Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery series by Maddie Day. You can always count on this author to start her books off with a bang and this newest release is no different. Up front, you know you’re in for an exciting read with plenty of colorful characters, red herrings, and suspects galore. Mac Almeida, owner of the Cape Cod town’s bicycle shop, is an appealing protagonist. She’s kind, thoughtful, and cares deeply for her family, friends, and community. I appreciate that Ms. Day shows Mac actually working and interacting with her customers, instead of relying completely on her brother (a single dad) to run the shop. Another strength of this series is the tender family dynamic that is the central theme of the story and I love how close-knit Mac is to her brother, niece, father, mother, grandmother, and boyfriend, Tim. Their interaction allows their inner character to shine. But by far, my favorite character has to be Belle, Mac’s adorable African Gray Parrot. She steals each scene she’s in while providing many chuckles to lighten the book.

When a body is found in Mac’s friend’s Lobstah Shack, Mac utilizes her friends in her cozy book club to help solve the mystery. I adore how Ms. Day mentions and quotes from other popular cozy mystery books (in this case Fogged Inn by Barbara Ross) and draws parallels to their own investigation. And did I mention they meet at a lighthouse where Mac’s brother lives? Talk about an intriguing location! The plot was well paced and there were enough suspects to keep me guessing as I turned the pages. As the story wound up, I was impressed at the research the author must have had to do to come up with such a unique method for the death. The cohesive conclusion answered all my questions and brought the story to a close with a satisfying ending and new changes to look forward to in Mac’s life.

Mac is fortunate to be surrounded by people who love to cook and bake. Her boyfriend owns a bakery and her mother loves to serve wholesome, delicious dishes and there are several recipes at the back of the book.

I love this series so much! I've never been to Cape Cod, but this series makes me want to go. I want to rent a bike from Mac, have lobster rolls with Tulia, sneak in something sweet at Gin's, take a lighthouse tour with Derrick and Cokey, and enjoy B's and B's at Tim's bakery. And help solve a mystery or two!
Highly recommend!!

Many thanks to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

Murder at the Lobstah Shack by Maddie Day is the 3rd book in the Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery series, and another wonderful addition. I enjoy all of Ms. Day's series, they are never a disappointment. Mackenzie, “Mac” Almeida owns a bicycle shop in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where she keeps busy. Tulia Peter's Lobstah Shack is a popular eating spot. When a body is found in the Lobstah Shack's walk in freezer, the Cozy Capers Book Club, are on the case. This book has great characters, well thought out plot, and an interesting mystery. I highly recommend this book, along with the other two books in the series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Murder at the Lobstah Shack is the 3rd book in the Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery series by Maddie Day.

A body is found at Tulia Peter’s restaurant. Tulia had argued with the victim shortly before her death. The Cozy Caper Book Group gets involved because they know their friend did not commit the murder.

This is the first book I read in the series and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The characters are very supportive of each other and Mac has a very close family. The mystery was interesting and the group found out quite a bit about the townspeople during their investigation. I figured out who the killer was the same time Mac did.

I highly recommend this book. I plan to go back and read the earlier books to catch up on the series.

Thank you to the author, Kensington Cozies, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

MURDER AT THE LOBSTAH SHACK by Maddie Day
Cozy Capers indeed! When a friend calls asking for her help, Mac can’t refuse, and so it begins. It’s so inconvenient to find the body of someone she’s just argued with in public . . . in the cooler, mirroring a passage in the mystery of the week for their book club. My book club was never like that, no dead bodies near our food (what a waste).
Problems mount, and friends keep helping, investigating, and backing each other up, through lost phones (so vulnerable without one), bad storms, and threats . . . and more. I was captured by the threads of this story, worried for the characters, my friends, immersed in the life of this charming town, and now I feel withdrawal at the end.
Oh, we all do hope there are no more problems, say the characters, while the author and readers just smile. There will be more, of course there will.

This wasn't my favorite in the series, but I still enjoyed it. I love the setting and the main character's pet African gray parrot.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free e-copy.

I’m a big fan of this author, but I don’t think I’ve come across this series before!

Mackenzie ‘Mac’ Almeida owns a bicycle repair shop in Westham and has a bit of a reputation – along with her fellow book group members – of getting involved in real-life mysteries, often with life-endangering results. When a body turns up in the shop next door, The Lobstah Shack, run by Tulia Peters everyone assumes that she will be investigating again and when Tulia emerges as a suspect, Mac is determined to do all she can to clear her name. With several others who could be guilty, with Mac get to the truth in time to prevent any more dead bodies turning up?

This is an author who never fails to deliver; whether as Edith Maxwell, whose Quaker Midwife series I just adore, or as Maddie Day she knows how to write a gripping story which will grab her reader’s attention and keep them wondering until the very end. This time round is no different but with the addition of so many mouth-watering meals and snacks I guarantee every reader will salivate throughout! I love that there are recipes included at the end of the book – very handy indeed. This is a skilfully created mystery, written to entertain as well as confound the reader and I must admit that I chose the wrong person to back as the murderer. Well-written as always, this is one book I enjoyed tremendously and am very happy to give all five shining stars!

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is – as always – my honest, original and unbiased review.

I just love everything about this series. The all-inclusive family, the setting of a bicycle shop on Cape Cod, and the cozy mystery book club turned investigators.

I know when I open a book in this series I am guaranteed a good read that will allow me to escape for a few hours.

I was kept guessing until the end and was dealt a few surprises along the way.

You can pick up this series with any book and be just fine.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.

I enjoyed this 3rd installment of the Cozy Capers and while it is a series this can easily be read as a stand alone as well. The writing in this series is very descriptive, the mystery was enjoyable to follow along with even if I figured it out before the reveal. I always enjoy Mac and her cozy mystery book club. I like to think I would be a good sleuth too with all the cozies I’ve read. Haha. I also enjoyed the developing relationship with Tim and can’t wait for what’s next!

Murder At The Lobstah Shack is the third book in the A Cozy Capers Book Club series by Maddie Day.

Mac MacKenzie is heading for her bike shop when she gets a frantic phone call from Tulia Peters, owner of the Lobstah Shack, and her next-door neighbor asking her to come right away to her business. When Mac arrives, Tulia points to the walk-in cooler, and Mac discovers the body of Annette DiCicero. The body has one of Tulia’s custom lobster picks protruding from her neck. Tulia is a member of the Wampanoag tribe, and she and Annette have had several confrontations over the changing of Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day. Even though Annette’s body was found in the Lobstah Shack, Mac doesn’t feel that Tulia can murder. In addition, Mac noticed something in the walk-in cooler that suggests that Annette didn’t die there.

Mac and the Cozy Capers Book Club will put their collective heads together to learn the killer’s identity. Their searching will have them checking Annette’s husband to her husband’s business partner, members of the local homeless encampment, and a lady connected with her in her beauty pageant days.

This delightful series has excellent, well-developed, and believable characters. The story is well-written and plotted, and plenty of twists and turns that the killer was kept unknown to me until the end. The book moves at a nice pace.
Delicious sounding recipes are also included in the book.

I’m looking forward to the next book in this excellent series.

The third book of the Cozy Capers Book Group mystery series starts out with a scene that could have been ripped from the pages of the very book our titular group of readers is currently enjoying (the very excellent Fogged In by one of my all-time favorite cozy writers Barbara Ross, coincidentally.) Our heroine, Mac Almeida, is getting ready to open up her bike shop one morning when she gets an urgent text from her neighbor Tulia Peters, who’s just found a dead body in her restaurant’s walk-in freezer.

The body belongs to Annette DiCicero, with whom Tulia, a member of the Wampanoag tribe, had recently had some very public spats over the idea of renaming Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day. But no one could possibly think that Tulia would kill Annette over that, even if one of Tulia’s custom lobster picks was found lodged in the dead woman’s neck. Mac and the rest of the Cozy Capers Book Group quickly rally around their friend and fellow booklover to get to the bottom of this mystery.

As the well-connected group gets to sleuthing, they discover that Annette had plenty of people who might have wished her harm. From her past as a pageant queen to her present as a hard-nosed accountant married to a man not known for his pleasant personality, Annette had unfortunately accumulated plenty of detractors. But who could have possibly hated her enough to kill her?

Mac’s investigations will bring her not only into the orbit of various shady types with axes to grind but also, thankfully, into far more charitable quarters. From the Quaker meeting house where she finds an unexpected lead to the homeless encampment that her beloved grandmother regularly visits, she discovers not only the many ties that bound Annette to the fabric of the town but also a greater sympathy for the deceased. Will finding justice for Annette put her own life in danger though, especially with a tropical storm bearing down on the coastal town and providing cover for a desperate killer?

I very much enjoyed this compassionate culinary cozy, that highlights the responsibilities of citizenship as well as the necessity of charitable efforts in caring for everyone who needs it. The mystery twists and turns, with some delightful shout-outs to other contemporary mystery novels that I also have enjoyed and recommend. And, perhaps most engrossingly for series fans, Mac’s personal life continues to develop as she and her boyfriend Tim consider taking the next steps in their relationship.

Tim is such a dreamboat, and makes for Mac the recipe that I decided to try out for this week’s column, of the six included here. It’s also a great pick-me-up, in my opinion, for your post-Thanksgiving-turkey hangover!

QUOTE
Lobster Quiche

4 eggs
2 cups milk
¼ cup minced fresh dill
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, minced
12 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 cup cooked, diced lobster meat
1 pastry crust, store bought or homemade from the recipe of your choice

Preheat oven to 415°F.

Beat the eggs with milk, dill, salt, and pepper, and set aside.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a cast-iron skillet. Sauté the shallots and mushrooms until limp. Remove from heat.

Lay lobster meat on unbaked pie shell. Cover with mushroom mixture. Pour egg mixture over top.

Set a baking sheet on the oven’s middle shelf. Slide the pie pan onto the sheet.

After 15 minutes, turn the temperature down to 350°F. Bake until the quiche feels set to the touch in the center and a knife comes out clean, 45-55 additional minutes. It should be golden-brown and slightly puffed and should not slosh when you jiggle it.

Let it set up for 10 minutes before serving hot. Can also serve at room temperature.
END QUOTE

After haunting three different supermarkets, I had to admit defeat and buy crab meat instead of lobster for this quiche. Lobster would definitely have made for a richer dish, but crab substitutes in a pinch, especially if you get the lump variety. I did let my quiche brown a little longer than it probably should have, but this was still a delicious seafood dish that I absolutely gobbled up over the course of several meals.

One caveat: the recipe does call for quite a lot of fresh dill, which put off my husband though he dutifully enjoyed his initial slice. I like dill so I didn’t mind, but you may want to adjust the quantity you use depending on your own preferences.

Next week, we go cross-country to investigate the murder of an unwanted guest, while baking up a lovely seasonal treat. Do join me!

In this third instalment in the Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery series by Maddie Day, Mackenzie 'Mac' Almeida is a bicycle shop owner who is back in the town where she grew up after several years away. She runs "Mac’s Bikes" which caters for tourists visiting the quaint town of Westham, Massachusetts and she is a member of The Cozy Capers Book Group that reads cozy mysteries and meets weekly in the lighthouse where her half brother Derrick is a caretaker. Her mother is an astrologist and her dad is a minister.

Mac is always on hand to help when her friends need her; in the last book, best friend and candy maker Gin, the owner of Salty Taffy candy shop, needed assistance. In Murder at the Lobstah Shack, Tulia Peters from the Lobstah Shack calls one morning asking for help with a body in her walk-in refrigerator.

The author's characters are very engaging, their presences jumping from the pages and by the time I finished reading I felt I knew them quite well, whilst wanting to meet up with them again. Thirty-six-year-old Mac is curious, smart, friendly, and very hands-on. The diverse supporting characters were a hit for me as well; from Mac's family, the staff at Mac's Bikes, Mac's boyfriend, Tim to Mac's African grey parrot, Belle, the local residents and others, the reader is treated to well-crafted characters. I liked the romantic interludes between Tim, a keen race runner and the owner of Greta's Grains, an artisan bakers business based in the town and Mac. Whilst the storyline builds upon the previous book, the novel can easily be enjoyed as an individual read.

The author gave me everything I could want from a fantastic cozy mystery making it easy to escape right into the humorous, light story. The suspects popped, the pacing was even and there were more than enough twists and surprises. If you enjoy a great cozy you need to check out this series. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Murder at the Lobstah Shack and I can't wait to read the first in the series, Murder on Cape Cod, as well as revisiting Mac in book four.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Kensington Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Back in Westham, MA, fictitious town on Cape Cod, where I always try to guess exactly where it would be. Having been on the Shining Sea Bike path, I can imagine a few spots! Mac & her friends are involved in solving a murder, as a body has been found next door at Tulia's Lobster Shack.
The story has a quick pace, twists & turns. A few suspects, revealed at the end with an "ahh, I didn't know/wasn't sure they did it" type of feeling. Belle, Mac's parrot is a riot too!
Thanks to NetGalley & Kensington Publishers for the advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review. A nice, cozy series that takes place on the Cape, enjoyable for many.

Murder at the Lobstah Shack, by Maddie Day, is the third book in the Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery series. The plot is good, with a quick pace, that will keep the pages turning. I like Mac and the other characters in the series--- they struggle with real world issues but don't take it too far. Bella has won my heart! I enjoy the light mystery, friendships, and humor of this series.
Thank you NetGalley, Kensington Publishing, and Maddie Day for the ARC that I requested. I give unbiased reviews on books that I enjoy for friends and followers.
#NetGalley #MurderattheLobstahShack #KensingtonPublishing

I thoroughly enjoyed the latest in Maddie Day's series about Mac and her eclectic family and town. As astrologist mother and pastor father are my favorites. Mac is called to help a friend who has just found a body in her restaurant's food freezer. In order to have suspicion removed Mac and her book club friends investigate the murder of a former beauty contestant. There are many potential suspects that had me guessing until the surprise ending. I appreciated that Mac had progression in her relationship with Tim. I look forward to more in the series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.