Steamed Open: 10/09/24

Steamed Open by Barbara Ross and Dara Rosenberg (Narrator) (2018) is the seventh book in the Maine Clambake mystery series. Summer has come again to Busman's Harbor but Snowden Family Clambake is having a supply problem with its steamers. The beach where the local clamming is done is now fenced off by the new heir to the Herrickson House. Then to complicate things further, that new heir is murdered leaving the future of the house and the nearby beach at loose ends.

An on-going theme in this series is the interaction of modern day life in Busman's Harbor with the town's historic architecture. Some homes are pristine. Some are well loved but run down. Some, like the Snowden house, are all but destroyed. All of them, though, have histories and continue to be an influence on the townsfolk.

This mystery has a cold case like structure in that Julia needs to find any surviving heirs to the Herrickson House. What she needs to do and how she does it is similar to Iced Under (2016). The difference here is that there's no direct tie between the Herrickson House mystery and the Snowden family. Julia's concerns here are strictly centered on access for clamming and keeping the house from development if at all possible.

The side plot with Chris and his family drama continues. He finally reveals why he's been so cagey with sharing his family history. It's skirts the edge of becoming melodramatic but Barbara Ross keeps the story subdued enough.

The next book in the series is Sealed Off (2019)

Five stars

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