cozy mystery with some standard but fun investigative activity and a good protagonist. tysm for the arc.

Torn Asunder if the 12th and final book in the Maine Clambake Mystery series by Barbara Ross. I have enjoyed this series and was sad to say goodbye to the characters that I have come to know. Morrow Island, the island owned by the Snowden family, is a perfect spot for a wedding—and the Snowden Family Clambake. Julia Snowden is busy organizing both, as she is the Maid of Honor in her friend Zoe's wedding and they are doing a lobster bake for the rehearsal dinner. The next day, the wedding doesn't go quite as well. When a wedding crasher dies from an injection in his neck, the investigation begins immediately with all the police on the island for the wedding. As they learn more about the dead man, it is easy to see why someone would want him dead, but who was it, and how did he die. Julia, her fiancé, Tom and one of the guests who is a detective, are on the hunt to find the answers.

This was a wonderful end to the series. There are weddings, secrets, lies and of course a murder to end our visits to Busman’s Harbor, Maine. Zoe's new husband is a police officer, so there were plenty of police on the island when the murder occurred. There is also an altercation that ends in a mess, one that made me laugh. All my favourite characters were here, and everyone gets their ending. I'm not going to give away any of the plot, but suffice it to say that it is a timely storyline. There is an epilogue that takes us a few years into the future so we can see what happens to all our favourite characters. Kudos to Barbara Ross for this wonderful finale to this series that ties everything up nicely.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -NetGalley ARC

When I requested this from NetGalley I didn’t realize that it was the 12th book in a series. I think the author tried to write this so it could be read as a standalone, but I don’t think it worked out that way. I felt like I was missing something. The story was interesting though and the characters amusing, so I did finish it and gave it four stars. The end has an epilogue 5 years into the future so I wonder if this is the last book? If not you might want to skip the epilogue since there is spoilers.

Torn Asunder is a very moving book with so many things happening simultaneously on this Island. I didn't read all the books I hope to read them back from the beginning. I am sorry to see the author Barbara Ross is writing the book as the final one. It is a very good easy and comfortable read. I enjoyed reading them. Liked the little Island where the books take place. Bussman Maine sounds exciting place to go on vacation. Julia is amazing and fun and a really good character. I like the ending I was shocked and did not expect that it was going to be the last book, But once I read it you can't miss it it's a nice ending to the book. Good Luck to Barbara Ross I hope she comes up with something new and adventurous!!.

Great book, this is the last one of the series but it can be read as a standalone, I haven't read any book from this series and didn't feel lost at all.
The writing is good and easy to read, it was very interesting but I would have loved a more dramatic ending it felt a little anticlimatic.
overall it was a nice read, and I recommend it to lovers of cozy mysteries.

Julia Snowden runs the Snowden Family Clambake during the summer and works with her best friend and business partner, Zoey, during the off season. Zoey’s dream has always been of a traditional wedding—white dress, huge cake, thrown bouquet, first dance, everything except being walked down the aisle since she doesn’t know who her father is. Now her dream is about to come true.

The wedding will take place on Morrow Island where the clambakes are held. Even though Zoey lacks blood relatives, the guest list is full of mutual friends, neighbors, and the groom’s large family. Her dream wedding is planned to the last detail—except for a storm rolling in. They need to serve the food at the rehearsal dinner and get everyone onto the Jacquie II and get them back to the mainland.

There is one older man who seems to know everyone but isn’t on the guest list. He joins the family table and as the first course is served, falls off the bench, unable to breathe. The staff handles the situation in as subtle a manner as possible but it’s impossible to keep the news from the guests. The man has died. Worse yet, it looks like murder.

With the guests off-island, due to return for the wedding the next day, the Coast Guard unable to come for the body, cell and phone service down, and a dead guy, it’s not the dream wedding Zoey planned. It’s a nightmare. There are twists and turns, red herrings, lies, and motives everywhere Julia looks. She and her significant other, Tom, plus a few trusted others, attempt to solve the mystery and still pull off the wedding on time. Can it be done?

This is book 12 in the series and sadly, the last. I’ve enjoyed Julia and her family, Gus, Mrs. Gus, Livvie and Sonny, Jamie, Zoey, and the rest of the townspeople. It would be a wonderful place to visit—as long as you’re not the next murder victim!

Ross also has written six holiday themed stories with two other authors (Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis) and two Jane Davenport mysteries. Most of the books were reviewed for KRL. I wish we’d seen more of Jane—she’s a great character

Since the meals served during the clambake are always described in mouth-watering detail, Ross has included recipes at back of the book to give readers a taste of island life. They include: lobster-caviar canapes with mushroom duxelles, fennel and blood orange salad, baked stuffed lobster tails, asparagus mushroom risotto, and chocolate-covered toffee squares.

A great addition to an incredible series! Wonderful characters in an incredible setting. This book will keep you guessing until the end.

What a great way to end the series. Yes, that is right; this is book 12, the final one in the Maine Clambake series which means no more amazing lobster related recipes and the end of a well written story arc. Spoiler alert, there is an excellent epilogue as well as a very tasty orange and fennel salad recipe among many other tasty sounding recipes. On to the story…imagine your friend and business partner is getting married, it is her rehearsal dinner and you are the maid of honor, the wedding planner, the venue coordinator and the caterer (essentially). Zoey has all the confidence that Julia has this covered but Julia has a case of pre-wedding jitters. There are all sorts of people there at the Snowden Family Clambake venue from Zoey’s art friends to Jaime’s New England family. Now imagine there is one person that no one seems to know but everyone has talked to and he falls down dead. That gives a whole new take on party crashing. Something doesn’t make sense someone has to know him because people don’t show up a rehearsal dinner on a private island without knowing someone. To add a little more mayhem to this already tense situation, there is a storm and not everyone made it off of the island but they did make it to Julia‘s family home, Windsholme, which has become the venue. Then the story takes an even more unusual turn as people start answering Detective Tom‘s questions and a most interesting picture is painted because it seems that several members of the wedding party have had dealings with mysterious and somewhat conniving Mr. Clarkson. There are plenty of suspects, a surging storm, and misdirection at every turn. The story had me hooked and while I was distracted by the amazing foods being described I was able to figure out the “who” and the “why” but not the “when” or the “how”. I found this series about 6 books in and while I now know how it all ends, I am still going to go back to the beginning to see how it all started. I give this book 5 out of 5 lobsters or wedding cakes, your choice.

Another great addition to the Maine Clambake series, This is book 12. A short boat ride from Busman’s Harbor, Maine, Morrow Island is a perfect spot for a wedding—and a Snowden Family Clambake. Julia Snowden is busy organizing both—until a mysterious wedding crasher drops dead amid the festivities . . .
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, family members, and Zoey’s artist friends to find out who turned the clambake into a crime scene . . . Sort of an overused plot but Ms. Ross gives a few clues and red herrings to keep you turning the pages.

Princess Fuzzypants here: This is a bittersweet review. I have enjoyed this series watching Julia grown and develop with the rest of her friends and family. She has found love and lost it and found it again. There were always good mysteries to solve and I have looked forward to each new book. I enjoyed this one too but it is clear that this will be the last as there is an epilogue that ties the story lines up very neatly.

Before that happens, Julia is hosting an important wedding for two of her best friends. When a stranger appears on the island and then is murdered, it is up to Julie and boyfriend Tom, the groom and the Best Man to sort through all the facts and fictions to discover who he was and why he was killed. There is no shortage of candidates once they unravel his identity. He was a con man of monumental proportions who preyed on the vulnerable. He lied and cheated a number of the guests and was planning another hoax when his “career” was cut short.

I did figure out who he was and why he was at the wedding but the range of the damage he had done was startling. I even suspected the killer but not for the right reasons. There were lots of twists, as always, that, will keep you guessing. As is often the case, the killer turned out to be someone for whom I had more sympathy than the deceased. But I was sadder than normal when I finished the book. I am going to miss Julia and the crew. *Sighs*
Five purrs and two paws up.

I was so sad to find out this was the final book in the series. It was a wonderful ending to one of my favorite cozies. The setting, characters, and mystery was just as amazing as the previous books. I highly recommend you start with book one and binge read until the end.

This has been a wonderful series and this last novel was a great completion. I enjoyed the plot and visiting with all of the characters again. The author did a great job on ending the series. It was perfect.
Many thanks to Kensington and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Dollycas's Thoughts

Windsholme, the mansion on Morrow Island is ready for guests and events. Julia's best friend Zoey Butterfield and her fiance Jamie Dawes will have the first events held there, with their rehearsal dinner, wedding, reception, and dance. The rehearsal dinner may have to be rushed due to a storm moving in but Julia is confident all the festivities with be a grand success.

What Julia hadn't counted on was one of the guests dying at the rehearsal dinner. The man appeared to know many people but after his death, no one knew the man's name or why he was even there. At first, it was thought he had a shellfish allergy but then an injection mark was discovered on his neck. With most of the guests back in Busman’s Harbor and the predicted storm's arrival, Julia assists her boyfriend in questioning the guests spending the night at Windsholme. They want to be sure the wedding can take place the next day so they need to find out who the wedding crasher was, who killed him, and why. 

_____

I have traveled to Busman’s Harbor and the Snowden Family Clambakes since 2013 and enjoyed every trip. Julia, her family, and her friends have been through a lot over the years. All the characters evolved realistically as relationships changed or endured. They stayed strong keeping the clambakes going and worked through so many obstacles to turn Windsholme into all it could be. They did it all while murder after murder took place or a cold case needed a new investigation. Sadly, this book is the final chapters of the Maine Clambake Mysteries, and Ms. Ross has wonderfully ended the series. 

Windsholme has been restored to its grandeur, and there was another season of clambakes and a summer filled with weddings. We delved into Zoey's life, and the wedding crasher's complicated murder was solved. Then Ms. Ross takes us ahead 5 years to share the future of the characters we have come to love over the 12 installments. She wraps the series up with wise words from Julia's mother. "Grab life. Grab love." "And hold on for the ride." The Maine Clambake Mysteries have taken readers on one heck of a ride and I am delighted to have been there for it all. 

Torn Asunder is a fabulous ending to one of my favorite cozy mystery series. Thank you, Barbara Ross, for entertaining me, introducing me to such genuine characters, making me think to solve some complex mysteries, and for all the fun virtual trips to Busman's Harbor and Morrow Island.

For maximum enjoyment, this series is best read from the start. 

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Oh no, this is the very last installment of one of my favorite culinary cozy mystery series! It’s a wonderful way to see out the books, though, with a series of beautiful weddings promising clear skies and bright horizons to all of our beloved characters once the final page is turned.

But first, there’s a murder to deal with. Julia Snowden is the co-owner of the Snowden Family Clambake, and is a little nervous about starting the new season on Morrow Island with a wedding. Because this isn’t just any ceremony that she’s overseeing, but the nuptials of two of her best friends, ceramic artist Zoey Butterfield and police officer Jamie Dawes. As maid of honor, she wants everything to be perfect for the marrying couple on their special day.

The first indication that the weekend won’t go off complication-free is a storm forecast for the night of the rehearsal dinner, on the evening before the wedding itself. The dinner is a traditional island clambake, with the guests being transported from Busman’s Harbor before the meal and back afterwards. Only a select few members of the wedding party and the clambake company are expected to stay on the island afterwards.

Julia is already keeping one eye on the weather when she notices a dinner guest who doesn’t seem to be attached to either side of the wedding. Since interrogating and potentially getting rid of a wedding crasher would be far more disruptive than just letting his presence slide, Julia decides to let him socialize, even if he does seem to be having almost as many disagreeable conversations as pleasant ones with the actual guests. Alas that the very worst happens, and the interloper suddenly slides from his picnic bench, the seeming victim of a serious allergic reaction.

Julia and her friends try to save him but he’s too far gone. Discreetly, they move his corpse away from the rest of the guests, whom they have to start shepherding back to the mainland quickly with the storm coming. As Julia and her boyfriend Maine State Police Detective Tom Flynn begin piecing together what happened to the victim by questioning the people remaining on Morrow Island, they slowly uncover his twisted history with far too many members of the wedding party. Once it becomes clear that the dead man was actually murdered, Julia and Tom will do everything possible to catch the killer so that the best day of Zoey and Jamie’s life so far can still proceed (mostly) as planned.

As a fan of the Maine Clambake mysteries – I even have a framed map of Busman’s Harbor on my wall! – I’m so sad to see this series go. I can definitely agree with Barbara Ross’ reasoning in the afterword to this novel though, and am super looking forward to reading whatever she writes next. Julia deserves a break from crime-solving, as well as her happily ever after.

There were five delicious recipes included in the back of the book, all of dishes served over the wedding weekend. Since my kids are home from school for the summer and pestering me constantly for entertainment, I decided to try making these kid-friendly treats with them:

QUOTE
Chocolate-Covered Toffee Squares

For the base
1 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt

For the top
12 ounces high-quality chocolate (milk or dark, as you prefer)
1 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts, as you prefer; these can also be left out)

Preheat oven to 350-degrees

Mix cookie ingredients together using a food processor or mixer.

Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Spread the cookie dough thinly across the parchment paper; it should be about a quarter inch thick.

Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.

While baking, melt the chocolate in a double boiler.

When the cookies come out of the oven, spread the melted chocolate across the top with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle with the chopped nuts.

Do not cut into squares until the cookies and the chocolate are completely cool. Cut into any size you like.
END QUOTE

These were so easy to make that my thirteen year-old is fairly confident he could bake them on his own next time! I don’t think he was quite paying attention when I was separating the egg yolk from the white but a little training will help him learn quickly enough, and I’m entirely confident in his abilities otherwise.

More importantly, these tasted amazing! I wouldn’t call them toffee squares so much as toffee cookies, especially if you wind up accidentally making some of them rectangles like I did. Regardless, they were perfect, melt-in-your-mouth, chocolate-covered treats. I do recommend using a pizza cutter to make the cutting part easier, and think that these tasted absolutely amazing without nuts, though your preferences may differ, of course.

Next week, we come south to my neck of the woods to make a very millennial treat while investigating a far more tragic wedding. Do join me!

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie

It was wonderful to be in Maine again with the Snowden family and friends! I was invited into their story at the beginning and my attention was held throughout. The characters are well-represented by their conversations, actions, and reactions throughout, and I felt as if I even knew some of the wedding guests by the end of the story.

“Grab life. Grab love. Whenever you can.” (Julia Snowden’s mother, on an extraordinary day)

It was the first wedding in seven years to be scheduled at Windsholme, on Morrow Island, in Maine. The Snowden Family Clambake is held there throughout the summer. Zoey, the bride, and Julia’s best friend, is the owner of Lupine Design in Busman’s Harbor. Julia is now her business partner and the business manager. Zoey’s fiancé is Jamie, Julia’s lifelong friend and neighbor. Julia is thrilled for both of them.

Zoey, a brilliant potter and designer, has been part of the art world most of her life. Most of her guests were those she met or studied under throughout her career. She had no living blood relatives, and had made friends she now considered the family she has chosen, mostly from the art community and in Busman’s Harbor.

The rehearsal and rehearsal dinner were held the day before the wedding. Some of the closest friends and family of both bride and groom joined them at the rehearsal dinner. After the cocktail hour, they served the traditional Snowden Family Clambake meal. The only possible challenge was a storm coming in.

The entrees had barely landed on the tables when a guest suddenly struggled to breathe, then collapsed. Several police officers were present: Jamie, Julia’s boyfriend Tom, and Pete, Jamie’s best friend and partner. All rushed to help him. Someone thought he had an allergic reaction, but an EpiPen didn’t help, nor did CPR. The stranger at the dinner was dead.

When the anticipated storm neared, they sent the guests back to the mainland via the Clambake’s tourist boat. As the storm hit, the men moved the body inside a room that wouldn’t be used while they waited for the coast guard to pick up the remains. The intensity of the storm grew and the coast guard called back. They couldn’t come until the following day, as they were inundated with calls from people that had to take priority.

When they rolled the man’s body to see if he had ID, Jamie noticed a needle stick behind his ear. They learned he was Kendall Clarkson from California. Suddenly, the cell phone signals and power were lost. The generator would handle the lights, refrigerators, and freezers, but there was no way to contact anyone. The wedding party, Julia’s family, and several others would be alone until the next day. And the murderer might still be there.

Tom, with the State Police Major Crimes unit, Jamie, his best man Pete, both with Busman’s Bay PD, and Julia would begin to question the people who were still there. Even though several of the wedding party were from California, none of the wedding party admitted to knowing him. Neither Julia nor Jamie had seen him on the invitation list.

Everybody has secrets, and it took several sessions of questions before people would give up their secrets. Even Zoey had a secret, and she finally revealed to Julia who the man was and that she had invited him. Somehow, she has to tell Jamie. Likewise, Jamie has to tell Zoey that since the man was murdered, the police may not let their wedding happen until their investigation is complete.

This was an incredibly fascinating mystery with many heavy emotions. There were more twists and turns than an amusement park ride. Julia helped both Jamie and Tom with investigations in the past, and they knew she was often successful at getting people to open up. She was paired with Tom when he questioned guests. There were several suspects, all of whom were still on the island.

I enjoyed this novel tremendously, and was all in for Zoey and Jamie getting married, the next day, as scheduled. I was stumped by this mystery, as several secrets revealed several motives for murder. The solution to the murder was satisfactory, if not sad. I fully appreciated the final chapter with all the updates, and highly recommend this mystery and series.

It's so refreshing to see the clambake series come full circle, a fulfillment of Julia's plans from the first book with so many bumps and changes along the way. The sense of building on the past and finding a beautiful future is so intertwined in the series and this volume takes it to a new level. Ross brings the close community we've all gotten to know so well to an even more isolated situation with a wedding party stranded on an island in a storm. While reading all of the previous novels and novellas gives you a deeper understanding of the characters and the weight of the events, you could still enjoy the mystery without reading the others in the series. But it would spoil a lot of plot-lines when you inevitably went back to enjoy more of Busman's Harbor.

When a murder interrupts the wedding celebrations of Julia’s friends Zoey and Jamie, she must investigate so they can still get married.

This one felt different in a few ways. First, it is all pretty much confined to the island, so there is not really a tracking down of clues. We also got a lot of personal plot but that makes sense (spoiler ahead) when you get to the end and see there is a “five years later” epilogue (which Ross then confirms in the acknowledgments that this is the last book). It was a nice send off for Julia and crew, but definitely not my favorite of these mysteries.

I received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Snowden Family Clambake season is about to begin, but on tap first is the wedding for good friends Zoey Butterfield and Jamie Dawes. Julia wants everything to be perfect for her friends, but an uninvited guest and an impending tropical storm put everyone on edge. When someone dies, possibly murdered, there is a real possibility the wedding will not take place. Julia and her boyfriend Maine State Police detective Tom uncover motives for many guests including Zoey. This is a fitting end to the delightful Snowden Family Clambake series. I'm sorry to see it end.

Julia is getting ready for the first wedding to be held on their island since they've had all the work done. Her best friend Zoey will be getting married and she is trying to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. The evening before the wedding the family of the bride and groom gather for the rehearsal dinner. A man is there but no one seems to know who he is and it only gets stranger when he dies. At first they think it was an allergic reaction but they soon find out it was murder. When a storm hits not long after the rehearsal dinner Julia along with her cop boyfriend begin an investigation. They soon learn that several of the people not only knew the man but also worked with him as well. They begin to sift through the clues in hopes of putting the puzzle together and coming away with a killer.

Barbara Ross draws her Maine Clambake series to a close with Torn Asunder. Morrow Island,. close to Busman's Harbor, Maine, is the site of the rehearsal for the wedding of Zoey to her policeman boyfriend.. Zoey is the best friend and business partner of Julia who runs the clambakes on Morrow Island. During the celebrations a stranger falls dead, murdered. As the guests are marooned on the island with the corpse, it slowly emerges that the dead man was a con artists who had harmed many of the people at the rehearsal. Who took revenge? Atmospheric and cozy.