Musseled Out

This was a fun and fast read! Made me laugh out loud at times and the recipes were delicious.

Really enjoyed the book.

Musseled Out, the third in the Maine Clambake mystery series, sees Julia and her family facing competition from Thwing, an smarmy entrepreneur. When Thwing turns up dead, Julia investigates to clear her brother-in-law Sonny from the list of suspects.

This was a complex plot; lots of suspects, lots of motives and lots of opportunity. It kept me guessing until the end, and I never had a good idea who was the culprit. I enjoyed that the secondary characters gained more dimension, they became more a part of the story than just scenery. Julia grew as a character as well, it was nice to see her moving forward with her relationship with Chris and with her plans for the future. I identify with Julia's independence and caution, and I thought her thought processes and actions were entirely in line with what the character demonstrated so far. In other words, I find Julia to be a believable and realistic character.

As always, I loved the scenery; I could just imagine Maine in the fall and the gorgeous colors of the leaves on the trees. Also, beware of the food porn, Chris's fantastic dishes will make your mouth water.

A great read, the best in the series so far and I'm looking forward to seeing more of Busman's Harbor.

didn’t realise on first reading Musseled out that it was the third book in the series. Its fine as a standalone book. An enjoyable book but I would have liked to have seen the story develop a little more away from the investigation. However my husband adored the fact that there wasn’t background noise to the story! The setting and the authors obvious love for Maine shines through in her writing and makes all of us want to jump on a plane straight away! Julia is a very believable character if left a little untouched by the dramas in her personal and family life. The book has been full of mystery and has left me wanting to read the previous two!

Musseled Out by Barbara Ross is another fun mystery adventure in her series that takes place in a quaint Maine town, around a family island clambake business.
In this adventure the main protagonist, as she has been cast in the other two books in this series, Julia Snowden who is still temporarily away from her corporate job in New York City helping out with the family business, when murder comes her way again.
This time, a wealthy competitor is found dead, tied and tangled onto an abandoned lobster boat. Add in a lobstering turf war among fisherman, a mysterious illness, and sudden wealth to some citizens of the town - you have another fun mystery from this author.
Though this can be read as a stand alone...why? These books are fun, so much so that after reading the first, my wife and I went and visited the town and clambake on which the novels are based. The relationships between the characters read real, and I look forward to picking up these works and seeing how everyone is doing.
Finally, of the three novels, this is my favorite, not so much for another batch of recipes at the conclusion, but for some in depth information on how lobstermen do their work. Ross incorporates this well and keeps the story moving while doing so. I recommend this book and this series.
Note: I was able to read and review this book based on an advanced copy provided to me through NetGalley - but all that was asked from me was an honest review, not a positive one. This book earned both.