Torn Asunder is a gripping, can't-put-down, absolutely delightful cozy mystery. I'll be honest, Torn Asunder was the first book in this series that I've read, and I'm devastated to know that it was actually the last book of the series. I loved every aspect of the book - the characters, the setting, the food, and the mystery. I'll definitely be going back and reading the first 11 books. In this epic conclusion, Julia is planning and hosting her best friend Zoey's wedding. Unfortunately, at the rehearsal dinner, an unfamiliar guest dies. Who is this guest? How did he know the bride and groom? Was his death suspicious? Julia is determined to make sure Zoey has the absolute perfect wedding, no matter what.

Torn Asunder has everything that a perfect cozy mystery needs - fun characters, a beautiful setting, delicious recipes, and an intriguing mystery. I absolutely will be going back to read the first books of this series. I so thoroughly enjoyed Torn Asunder. I hope this author writes another cozy series! Also, be prepared to crave seafood after reading this book.

Although I vaguely recall this was meant to be the last in the series, I had forgotten until I got to the ending chapters and realized what the author was doing. Kudos to Barbara Ross for Torn Asunder, the 12th and final Maine Clambake Mysteries, and one of my all-time favorite cozy mystery series. Stuck on an island. Random guest at a wedding. Filled with secrets. Murder. Lies. Family connections. Drama. So many good things about it, and the ending was a lovely way to honor the characters. Definitely a series for newbies and industry faves to read. Perfect setting in Maine. Just made my day!

Do you hate when a favorite series just ends without warning? Then the latest - and last - Maine Clambake book will please you on several levels. Julia and her team are hosting their first wedding at Windmere when a mysterious stranger turns up dead. After a storm traps them on the island, Julia and Tom scramble to solve the murder so the wedding can proceed. All in all a satisfying conclusion!

What a fun story of intrigue, murder, romance, clambakes, and everything in between in the final installment of the Maine Clambake Series. It has been great to get to know the wonderful characters throughout the series. This enjoyable cozy mystery can be read as a standalone but it is more fun to read all the books.

I'm sorry to see the end of this series. The characters were wonderful. If you like cozy murder mysteries and seafood this is the series for you.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/194477881-torn-asunder

Zoey‘s wedding has finally arrived and Julia and her family are thrilled to be hosting it on their private island. At the rehearsal dinner a mystery guest shows up and no one knows who he is. And when he dies from what appears to be an allergic reaction, it puts the wedding plans in question.

With the wedding party, and a couple of extra guest stranded on the island during a terrible storm, Julia, and the three attendees in Law enforcement try to find out what happened in order to keep the wedding on track. With secrets lies and betrayals, can they sip through fact in fiction in order to solve the case, and save Zoey’s wedding day?

I always feel like I’m taking a vacation up on the East Coast when I read a book in this series. Not to mention I get a craving for lobster rolls. But the author does such a great job of transporting you to Maine, that you are engaged in helping Julia and the gang figure out what happened. One of my favorite cozy series!

This is the 12th and unfortunately last book in the Maine Clambake series. If you like cozy mysteries I think you
will like this series. The characters have become friends and with every new book it was fun to revisit them. In this story the first wedding on the island and in the new home has a few setbacks but it does happen despite the murder at the rehearsal dinner. The beautiful descriptions of the island and that area make me want to visit there. While I am sad this book is the end of the series I can understand the author’s decision. I received an arc of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.

No no no say it isn't so. This is the last book in this great series!!! I'm going to miss the crew of this wonderful series. While this one could be read as a stand alone it's best to start at the beginning so you can get to know the cast. All the books are a non stop read with lots of action and a great story line. Goodbye Bushman Harbor. Thank you for the journey and good times.

A cozy mystery that gives insight into life on an island. There is murder, intrigue, family dynamics, the unknown of whether or not a small business can succeed. Follow along and sort out all of the various mysteries.

In Torn Asunder, the storyline is one that intrigued me. When I started to read the book, I couldn't put it down wanting to know the ending.

Fantastic!

Synopsis:
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.

I enjoyed this book very much. There were a few very possible suspects. The murdered man had many enemies and they all deserved to wish him dead. I felt bad though when I realized this is the last book in the series. I have really enjoyed this series.

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of TORN ASUNDER (Book 12 of the Maine Clambake Mystery series) by Barbara Ross in exchange for an honest review. This appears to be the conclusion to the Maine Clambake Mystery series. It has been awhile since the last book, so all renovations are complete and the mansion is ready to host weddings. Julia Snowden is hosting a very special wedding; it’s for her best friend and business partner Zoey! However, whether the wedding proceeds as planned comes into question when a mystery guest unexpectedly dies at the rehearsal dinner. At first, no one even admits to knowing the man. Alas, there are a bunch of liars at the party. Not only did multiple attendees know the man, but everyone who knew him had motive to murder. Whose grudge motivated the murder? There’s limited time to solve the crime. Will the post-reception send off result in a killer sailing off?

I like the book and enjoy the series. I recommend the book to fans of the series and the series to fans of cozy murder mysteries in coastal and island settings and featuring family-owned businesses.

#TornAsunder #NetGalley

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

That phrase kept coming back to me as I read through "Torn Asunder" knowing it was perhaps the finale of a favorite series. I'd heard the rumors, of course, which probably made me delay reading to delay the inevitable, but I found a smile on my face as I finished Ross' last acknowledgements page. Yes, the rumors were true. No more Clambake books. That said, the good news for new readers is you have a wonderful reading experience ahead of you as you savor the twelve books of the series. This book was a satisfying conclusion. That said, I can't help hoping maybe Barbara Ross will do a Debbie Macomber on us and discover that as wonderful as being a full time grandmother is, there are more stories in her and we'll get the occasional glimpse into the lives she's left us knowing they'll live. Even if she doesn't, my thanks to her for allowing us to share time with her grandkids while serving up the series.

As for the final mystery, well, you just know Zoey's dream wedding isn't going to come off without a hitch. Who is that dead man on the floor at the wedding rehearsal dinner? Was he allergic to clams? If not, why is he dead? And, who the heck is he? Seems no one claims to know him. Julia finds that odd since she saw several guests talking to him throughout the evening and he even sat with the groom's family. Some of the conversations seemed rather heated, too, not the norm for casual conversation with a stranger. Julia's detective boyfriend Tom and even the groom-to-be, Jamie, also with the police, find themselves dealing with a dead body when a torrential lightning and wind storm hits. Even the Coast Guard can't prioritize a dead body over the needs of the living in the area. As a result, Tom and Jamie, then Pete and Sonny, spend the evening alternately guarding the body and questioning guests who remained on the island after some departed before they became aware it wasn't a regular death.

With no internet or phone services, they're on their own. Julia joins in the questioning rounds as it becomes more and more apparent that perhaps the man wasn't as unknown to some as they said. He seemed to have connections to several, including Zoey, the bride-to-be. I won't detail that as it's best read in it's entirety but will admit to being far more sympathetic to the eventually revealed murderer than the victim. And that's just the main plot line. Lots of romance and family relationships explored, both romantic and not, as well as the work involved in keeping the on-going Snowden Family Clambake business healthy and profitable. Despite all the intrigue, lying, and mystery, however, the sense of a close-knit family and circle of friends will make the reader feel as if they're being embraced by that closeness as the tension rises. Finally, you'll smile at the ending but don't stop reading quite yet. Make sure you check out not only the recipe contributed by Barbara Ross' husband but the closing acknowledgements. My thanks to her for tying things up so neatly and hopefully for us readers. And, also thanks to #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks - #KensingtonCozies for allowing me this last, charming visit with the extended Snowden Family. I'll miss my visits to Busman's Harbor, Maine.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. This story was such a great ending to a great series. The Characters are fun and I love the setting of a remote island in Maine. The mystery was fun and full of twists. I loved the way it ended.

This is a great end to the series. Barbara Ross tied up loose ends and the characters had their happily ever afters. It has been a fun ride with the Snowden Clambake Crew.

Well, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that I enjoyed this book a lot. The bad news? It's the last in the series. More good news--but it's the first one I've read.

This is an enjoyable, fast read. I feel so bad for Zoey throughout the book--and also for Julia, hosting her first wedding and going through all these disasters. The plotting is good, and I like the characters and their relationships with each other.

I hate clams and can't imagine anything less romantic than a clambake, but I think I'm going to have to go back to Book 1 and read this series in full.

Thanks to the publisher, who provided a free review copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: 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, family members, and Zoey’s artist friends to find out who turned the clambake into a crime scene . .

I dont want this series to end!!! This is the twelfth #maineclambakemystery book by @maineclambake and I have loved Julia, her family and the town of Busman’s Harbor. It seems very fitting that the first murder was on morrow island and so is the last.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

#tornasunder #maineclambakemysteries
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Loved reading this book and author. I'm sad to see this is the last book in the series. Hope she writes more books. Hope you enjoy the series like I did.

I loved Torn Asunder, Barbara Ross’s newest entry in her Maine Clambake series. This is one of my very favorite cozy mystery series and this book is excellent. Julia Snowden is back as well as most of the family and friends that have frequented the series throughout the years. The action centers around the wedding of two secondary characters and, yes, there is a murder thrown in to potentially disrupt the festivities. This particular entry seemed to make a couple of subtle nods to Agatha Christie with the action confined primarily to one isolated location (And Then There Were None) and then various characters being revealed to have had previous relationships with the victim thus widening the suspect pool (used more than once by Dame Agatha). I actually thought that this was fun, though I do wonder if it was intentional. I have always appreciated the chronological nature of the Julia Snowden series, where characters grow and their lives evolve and change. Kudos to Barbara Ross for that. This book remained true to that tenet, and it has added to its depth and tone. Without giving anything away, the ending was bittersweet for me.

I highly recommend this book, which can be read as a standalone. That said, I think the reader would enjoy reading the entire series, in order if possible. Some are included as novellas in other books of a seasonal nature. Five Stars.

I was thrilled to receive an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley.

Ross’s Torn Asunder presents summer at its best - a private island, clambakes, weddings, and summer storms. As Zoey and Jamie prepare to say “I do,” a mysterious guest is murdered at the rehearsal dinner. Knowing the wedding depends solving this mystery, Julia, Tom, and Jamie go into overdrive. A great book!