Boiled Over
Barbara Ross

Genre:
Mystery
Rating:

For Julia Snowden, the Founder's Day summer celebration in Busman's Harbor, Maine, means helping her family's clambake company to prepare an authentic taste of New England seafood. Any Mainer will tell you that a real clambake needs wood for the fire . . . so why is there a foot sticking out of the oven?

The townspeople want to pin the murder of the RV park owner on Cabe Stone, a new employee of the Snowden Family Clambake Company--who bolted from the crime scene and disappeared. Julia knows having another murder associated with her family's business is a recipe for disaster . . . but who is the killer? Cooking up a proper investigation doesn't leave much time for the rest of Julia's life, and this is one killer who'll do anything to stop her from digging up clues . . .

Includes Traditional Maine Clambake Recipes!

Review

It’s Founder’s Weekend in Busman’s Harbor, Maine and that means celebration for the whole town, but a lot of hard work for Julia Snowden and her family. The Snowden family wants to provide a delicious seafood dinner for those attending the event and Julia’s brother-in-law actually invents something so they create the perfect clambake for the town. However, before the fun can begin, a dead body is found which quickly puts a damper on the celebration. When Cabe Stone, an employee of the Snowden Family Clambake Company, flees the scene making him the prime suspect, Julia steps in to get to the truth of who committed this appalling crime.

I normally love mysteries that take place in New England, especially Maine. I like the beach setting of the book, but much of the story just didn’t hold my interest. . Part of the problem is there are too many characters introduced at the beginning and I couldn’t keep them straight. I eventually figured out who the important players were, but even though Julia and the rest of the main characters, such as Julia’s sister Livvie and Julia’s childhood friend Jamie, are fairly likeable, I couldn’t connect with them. They just didn’t come alive for me. That in combination with a storyline that was sometimes confusing, I began to lose interest. The Maine setting wasn’t always clearly described, either. For example, I’m not familiar with clambakes, and I had a hard time picturing what the custom steam table “The Claminator” would look like. This was a huge drawback since this inventions plays a large role in the book.

The book’s plot is interesting enough that I wanted to keep reading to find out whether or not the prime suspect, Cabe Stone, was truly guilty. However, the book moved slowly for me until it got close to the very end, when the pace did pick up in the scenes leading up to the big reveal of the murderer’s identity. Although not completely believable, at least the case is resolved at the end. There are, however, some loose ends left in Julia’s personal life presumably to set up a future book.

The dialogue is also well-written, which helps make up for some of the things I didn’t like about the book. There is an especially touching scene between Julia and her mother when they are talking about love that was relatable and made me like the characters more. If there had been more scenes like this in the book, it would have been much more enjoyable. There are several recipes at the end that will appeal to cooks. Readers who enjoyed the prior book in the series, Clammed Up will like the sequel. Readers who enjoy New England settings may also like the book.

Reviewed by Christine