I loved the sub plot in this mystery. This is a steady paced mystery that pulls you in and keeps you there for the fantastic ending. Enjoy this series more with each book I read.

Sealed Off by Barbara Ross is the eighth A Maine Clambake Mystery. It can be read on its own for those who have just discovered this series. Julia Snowden has her hands full in Sealed Off between running the family business, getting ready for the opening of the winter restaurant she runs with Chris, the renovations at Windsholme, the murder of an employee, visiting relatives and the hidden room. Marguerite is an elderly relative who lived at Windsholme when she was a child and is visiting Busman’s Harbor with her granddaughter, Tallulah. She is arriving to take a last look at the house before the renovations begin. I like that she can describe what the once stately summer home looked like when it was at its prime. I enjoyed Marguerite’s readings of the diary. I admit that I found the story of the nanny more compelling than the modern day whodunit. I just loved the descriptions of the room’s furnishing and the beautiful clothing the governess left behind. I was a little disappointed with the outcome (but that is just me). Jason Caraway and Terry Durand bickering about Emmy Bailey was unprofessional and I was surprised that Julia let it go on as long as she did (I know it is fiction—but I thought it odd). No one has bothered to tell Emmy that her daughter could be Terry’s child and that Huntington’s runs in the family. I was happy that this particular storyline is put to bed by the end of the novel. The death of Jason Caraway along with what happened to the missing demo crew worker was not a head scratcher. There was a lack of suspects plus obvious clues that made this puzzle a snap to solve. There were some exciting suspenseful moments that I relished. I would like to see Julia and Chris’s relationship progress. They are happy, but I wonder what the future holds for them especially regarding children. Sealed Off is a good story, but it is not my favorite in the series. I am, though, looking forward to the next A Maine Clambake Mystery. This is a series that I enjoy reading with its charming town and engaging characters. Sealed Off has demolition drama, squabbling suitors, a recondite room, a discovered diary, and fine food.

It's been awhile since I last read one of the Snowden Family Clambake mysteries, and this one was definitely worth the time. A murder at the scene of a clambake is complicated by the discovery of a hidden room in the family's mansion that's being restored. Is Julia's boyfriend's brother, newly released from prison, a suspect? How about the Russian immigrant demolition crew?? Lots to ponder while reading this fun mystery.

This is book #8 in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. I read the first book in the series and then jumped to this one. It is best if you read them in order as I obviously missed a lot of the storyline but the author did a good job so this worked as a stand alone. Julia and her family run the Snowden Family Clambake, along with her boyfriend Chris and several others. Chris' ex-con brother moved to town and is working at the clambake. One of the workers who is a bit of a flirt ends up dead and Chris' brother is blamed. Julia and Chris know he didn't do it so they help solve the mystery. There are some touchy subjects broached in this book but they are handled well (I can't specify or it will give the mystery away). The book was exciting!

Early October is “winding down” time in Busman’s Harbor, Maine, but there’s nothing relaxing about it for Julia Snowden. Between busloads of weekend leaf peepers at the Snowden Family Clambake and a gut renovation of the old mansion on Morrow Island, she’s keeping it all together with a potentially volatile skeleton crew—until one of them turns up dead under the firewood.

When the Russian demo team clearing out the mansion discovers a room that’s been sealed off for decades, Julia’s baffled as to its purpose and what secrets it might have held. Tensions are already simmering with the crew, but when one of the workers is found murdered, things come to a boil. With the discovery of another body—and a mysterious diary with Cyrillic text in the hidden room—the pressure’s on Julia to dig up a real killer fast. But she’ll have to sort through a pile of suspects, including ex-spouses, a spurned lover, and a recently released prisoner, to fish out one clammed-up killer.
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In this eighth addition in the Maine Clambake mystery series, Barbara Ross confirms her talent as a great storyteller. Sealed Off shows parallel stories of the vulnerable female human condition, one in the nineteenth century and the other in the twenty-first century. Julia Snowden, Barbara’s main character, connects with these bittersweet tales of women soldiering on to better their positions in the world no matter the context of the times and relates to their struggles as she wrestles with her own.

When Julia finds the body of a man who worked for the family’s clambake, her boyfriend, Chris, asks her to solve the crime because the obvious suspect is his brother, an ex con, who worked with the victim. Julia’s investigation seems to find more evidence that he is guilty, putting her in an uncomfortable position.

Of course, the title is a play on words, but you’ll have to read the book to find out the how and why. Please welcome Barbara Ross back to WWK. E. B. Davis

PS—As of writing this interview, the first three books in this series were free to read with Kindle Unlimited—subscribe for one month and the cost of buying these books will pay for the subscription!!

When you talk about the actual clambake, you’ve emphasized that it is only the hot stones that cook the meal. How do they get rid of the embers? Is the food wrapped in foil? Do the potatoes have to go on first since the rest of the meal would cook quickly?

Cooking over hot stones is a traditional way to do a New England-style clambake. The embers are raked away once the wood burns off. The food is layered on, as you suggest, from that which needs the most cooking to the least. The corn, onions, and potatoes are wrapped in foil, as are the mesh bags containing meal-sized portions of the steamers (soft shell clams). The last item on the pile is the egg. When it is hard-boiled, all of the food is done.

In Hatteras, our clams clean themselves. After live harvesting, the clams are put in buckets of ocean water for one day where they continue to siphon water through themselves, which gets rid of the sand. Why in Maine do they need clam broth for cleaning the clams?

I think from some quick Googling that in Hatteras you are clamming for quahogs, hard shell clams. The steamers served at a Maine clambake are soft shell clams, but I’m not sure it makes a difference. They are also soaked overnight and that does get rid of most of the grit. But for some reason steamers are traditionally eaten by dredging them first in warm clam broth and then in butter.

Some of the family’s employees start verbally fighting. Julia and her brother-in-law, Sonny, define the problem differently. Sonny claims the problem is Chris’s brother, Terry. Julia thinks it’s Pru, the ex-wife of Jason and also a coworker. Why do their opinions vary?

Pru and her ex-husband Jason have worked for the Snowden Family Clambake for years, and Sonny’s loyalty is to them. Julia, on the other hand, doesn’t want the problem to be her boyfriend’s brother, Terry. Julia hired Terry over Sonny’s objections even though Julia usually tries not to interfere in Sonny’s territory—the clambake fire.

Pru divorced Jason for cheating. Why is Pru jealous of Emmy, a younger single mother, with whom she works?

The heart wants what the heart wants. But in this case, Pru’s concerns may be more practical. Jason’s previous affairs have been passing. He seems to have an emotional connection to Emmy. Emmy has two children and is young enough to have more. Pru and Jason are still connected financially and by their children. Pru doesn’t want her children’s economic security threatened.

Why does Windsholme seem like an age-ravaged, but proud beautiful old woman?

The mansion has beautiful bones and was once proud and strong, but it has been unlived in since 1929 and given just enough maintenance to keep it standing. It’s still beautiful, but the porches sag, the roof leaks, shingles and shutters are missing, and several windows around the central staircase where there was a fire are boarded up.

Seals and dogs have a common ancestor?

Yes! Seals, sea lions, and walruses belong to the same suborder as bears, weasels, pandas, raccoons, and dogs. As you can totally tell by their appealing, doglike eyes.

Why is it illegal to go within 150 feet of a seal?

Seals have sharp teeth and no matter how appealing a pup, there may be a protective mama nearby. Seal pups are often left alone for as much as twenty-four hours, so you shouldn’t immediately assume a young one on its own is orphaned or abandoned.

I thought most migrants were Spanish agricultural workers. Are there Russian migrant crews in the U.S.?

The southern border of the United States has received most of the attention over the past three years, and rightfully so. However, in part I wrote the book to say, “Hey’ we’re here, too!” Thirteen states share a border with Canada. In many rural areas, including in Maine, the border historically was treated casually. People frequently crossed to shop or work. Since 9/11 and even more so in recent years, the border has been increasingly hardened, making some towns almost uninhabitable. I think most people would be surprised to know that Customs and Border Protection can and does board buses and hold roadblocks within 100 miles of the Canadian border and can ask you--without a warrant, without probable cause, without reasonable suspicion-- if you are a citizen. Because this includes sea borders, all of Maine falls into this zone—as do most cities on the east and west coasts.

As to the Russian demo team, when we renovated our home in Massachusetts it interested me that each of the trades that came through--demo workers, carpenters, drywallers, tilers, flooring workers--were comprised of a different nationality, more established immigrants giving a leg up to newer immigrants, as it has worked in this country, always.



The architect of Windsholme is Henry Gilbert. Was he real? Others you talk of were real turn-of-the-century architects.

He is fictional, though based on an architect, a self-taught French immigrant who only lived to design and build a few houses.

I never heard of a two-story kitchen with a balcony. It sounds awesome! Why does Windsholme possess one? What function did it have?

The kitchen in Windsholme is in the basement, the dining room on the first floor. The kitchen is ringed by a balcony on the first floor level that serves as a pantry, holding the family china, silver, crystal, linens, etc. I don’t know exactly where this idea came from, but there is a two-story pantry at The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island. I haven’t been there in decades, but perhaps it seeped into my brain when I visited.

When a sealed room is discovered off the nursery, the diary of Lilly Smythe, who was a governess to the family’s two children in 1898, is found. Lilly was an educated professional, like the family’s yacht captain. Why did this put them in a socially awkward position?

Lilly Smythe, the governess, and Captain Beal, the captain of the Morrow family yacht, are educated people from middle-class families. But on Morrow Island, they are neither part of the upper-class owner’s family, nor are they servants, exactly. In such a small place, they are quite dislocated.

Both female victims, in the 19th and 21st centuries, were isolated. Is this one factor of victimization?

Isolation is attractive to victimizers, though the two cases in the book are quite different. In one, the woman has a job and is surrounded by people, but it turns out their loyalty is to their family and class and not to her. In the other, the victim has become quite isolated by circumstance and undertakes a dangerous journey. If she’d had someone in her life who could have cautioned her about the risks, she might have approached the situation differently.

What is cioppino?

Cioppino is a tomato-based seafood stew that is generally attributed to the Italian fishermen of North Beach in San Francisco. In the recipe in Sealed Off we give it a little twist by using east coast seafood instead of west coast.

Pizzaiola sauce?

Pizzaiola sauce is a red sauce that includes olive oil, garlic, and oregano. Pizzaiola means, “in the style of a pizza maker.” It can be used with any protein that is flavorful enough to stand up to it. The recipe in Sealed Off is for halibut pizzaiola.

Why doesn’t Le Roi, Julia’s cat, like Chris?

Le Roi moved in with Julia before Chris did. Le Roi believes the primary relationship in the household is between him and Julia, and Chris is the interloper. Chris, naturally, sees it another way.

Pru’s sister tells Julia the truth. Do sisters have a unique perspective?

I suppose it depends on the relationship. In this case, Pru’s sister, Aggie, has had a front row seat to Pru’s entire relationship with her ex-husband Jason. Aggie has nothing to lose by telling Julia the truth.

What is a highliner?

A highliner is a highly successful fisherman. The word is used for lobstermen as well, who consider themselves to be fishermen.

Would you advise a young couple to examine each other’s families to see if they are joining the right tribe?

Ha, ha. Again I say that the heart wants what the heart wants. I’m lucky to have wonderful in-laws. Both my kids do, too.

Is Windsholme haunted?

Windsholme is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a workman who died during construction and the ghost of a maid whose appendix burst during a terrible storm when they couldn’t get her off the island. So far, I haven’t taken a position on whether it is actually haunted in any of the books.

Marguerite, Julia’s mother’s ninety-six-year-old cousin, is visiting to see Windsholme one last time before the mansion is renovated. She is the last member of the family to have lived in the house and remember it in its prime. This book is filled with bittersweet stories of women, every one of them. What was happening in your life at the time of its writing?

Oh my goodness! I’m not sure anything in particular was happening to me, though we did sell my mother-in-law’s 1879 Victorian sea captain’s house on the coast of Maine while I was writing Sealed Off, which was bittersweet. And writing in 2019, the themes in the book--the challenges and heartbreak of refugees and immigrants, and stories of powerful men taking advantage of women in subordinate positions—were all around me as I wrote.

Although this is the 8th in The Clambake Series, this is the first one I have read. I enjoyed the story, the descriptions of Maine and the well-defined characters. The plot was surprising and an overall good cozy mystery.

Sealed Off is the eighth book in the A Maine Clambake Mystery series.

It’s early October in Busman’s Harbor and the end of the clambake season is about over for the Snowden Family Clambake business. When Julia Snowden goes to Morrow Island for that day’s clambake and soon finds out that Jason Caraway is missing from his fire pit duties. A search is begun and Julia finds him buried in a woodpile. Suspicion soon falls on Terry Durand, her boyfriend Chris’s, brother, who has recently been released from prison. Terry becomes the prime suspect based on his record and that he and Jason had recently been fighting. Julia and Chris set off to see if they can clear Terry’s name and soon find there is no shortage of other suspects.

In a subplot, a Russian demolition crew has begun on Windsholme, the family home on Morrow Island, to ready it for renovation in the coming Spring. Much to the family’s surprise, a hidden room is found. When Julia’s 96-year-old distant cousin, Marguerite, arrives for a visit, they hope she will be able to shed some light about the room. As Julia is looking through the mystery room she comes across a hidden journal. With the help of Marguerite, they believe that the journal belonged to the nanny, Lillian. The family hopes they will be able to learn where Lillian might have gone and why the room was sealed off.

I love this series and this another exciting and wonderful addition to the series. The book is well-written and plotted with a wonderful cast of believable characters.

Delicious sounding recipes are also included in the book.

I will be looking forward to the next book in this exciting series.

It's close to the end of the season for Julia Snowden's family clambake, but tensions are rising between several of the employees, so much so that Julia isn't sure they will make it through the 6 final meals without a blowup. When two of them come to blows, that's only the precursor for finding one of them dead the next morning. Promising her boyfriend to find out the truth and hopefully exonerate his brother, she looks into the murder. Meanwhile during the renovations of the.manor house on the island, they discover a perfectly preserved hidden room....total sealed off. Among the items found was a diary of a young governess and discovering the truth about what happened to her at the turn of the century. Both stories are interesting and well played off of each other. I love this series and enjoyed this book, may even more that the last couple.

The first few of the Barbara Ross Maine mysteries were fun. Now the author seems to be straining for plot elements. A story about the house on their island, where they hold clambakes, is not as interesting as the regular cast of characters. I'd probably skip it.

This is the eighth book in the Maine Clambake series. It's the second one I've read and while I had no trouble following along, starting at the beginning would have given me a richer sense of the characters and background. There was an intriguing separate story line that included a governess' 1898 journal and sealed room that dovetailed nicely with the main story of a murder and both kept my interest up to the end.

I like the descriptions in the book, I really feel like I'm there with these hardworking folks. The Maine coastline sounds beautiful but a little bit unforgiving in the winter. I also like learning about clambakes and a peak at turn-of-the-century life on the island. I highly recommend this book and I will go back and start at the beginning.

I received an advance copy of the book from Kensington Books via NetGalley and am leaving an honest review.

Best of Series – So Far
This is a wonderful episode with murder, injustice, intrigue and some surprising history from the 1890s. Between remodeling the old house, closing down for the season and a freak storm, there are some amazing finds. There are several interwoven stories that make this a story the reader needs to pay attention to details. It is all very enjoyable and the final reveal was quite surprising. I found myself reading slowly to savor all of the great details. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

It’s only a week until the end of the Maine clambaking season when a worker with the Snowden Family Clambake is found dead under a wood pile. Julia is running the clambake and also directing the renovation of the old family mansion, vacant since 1929, on Morrow Island. When the contractors find a hidden room complete with a diary from 1898, Julia decides to investigate both mysteries in Sealed Off.

The addition of a historic mystery in Sealed Off makes it a compelling read. Both mysteries are intriguing and well-written. There are plenty of suspects and red herrings to sort out. It also contains five recipes cooked by characters in the book for:
• Greek Style Lamb Chops Sous Vide (which means sealed off like the title)
• Halibut Pizzaiola
• Slow Cooker Cioppino
• Olga’s Brownies (which sound deliciously homemade)
• Ma’s Pot Roast

Sealed Off is the eighth book in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. However, it can be read as a standalone. It is recommended for the realistic characters, timeliness of its plot, and the well-researched historic topics. 4 stars!

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sealed Off by Barbara Ross is the 8th book in A Maine Clambake Mystery, and a great addition. Julia Snowden and her family are busy finishing up the Snowden Family Clambakes Company season, and starting to redo the families mansion. Worker's from Russia are doing the demolition on the place, when a hidden room is found. When a murder take place, the sleuthing begins. There are a lot of twists and turns in this book, which Julia is determined to solve. Ms. Ross's books just seem to get better and better. Reading about all the fresh seafood, makes me droll. I highly recommend this book and the whole series, you won't be disappointed. 
I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. Thank you.

This is an intriguing little mystery by Barbara Ross.The characters are a tight- knit family, running a business, called Snowden Family Clambake which caters to Tourists. They are provided a day away which includes a clambake and a tour on the Jacquie II. The clambake this year has a lot of tension due to Emmy, a worker, who is attractive to two men or so it seems. Julia Snowden, is the main voice and through her we meet a lot of the locals and her family. The food sounds first rate too... lobsters, soft-shelled clams...some of Maine's finest. But murder has its own way of settling a score and when a body is found near the wood pile of Windsholme, the family mansion on Morrow Island... a lot of things from the past are stirred up.

Part of the heart of this mystery is a Journal by Lilly Smythe, a Governess sent to the Island in 1898, to tutor two brothers. Her sealed room, unknown and hidden is discovered by the family during a remodel. Spooky- though because her clothes are still there and her wire-framed spectacles. The family shows Margarete, who is in her 90's, around the Mansion. Finally, we are treated to remnants of the Journal pages and the last remaining days of Lilly. What happened to her?

I enjoy books set in Maine. The scenery is on the coast and set with long days of sailing and lots of historical settings. The extra ingredient is a good "whodunit" set among these families and neighbors. The hard work the fishermen endure and the descriptions of local haunts and people are vivid. The pace picks up in the last chapters, when we discover that all is not as it seems. But will the murders stop at one and who is doing them?

Barbara Ross has given us another well- paced mystery with a cast of characters you want to know. I am giving it five stars.

Julia has no time to relax, there are buses of people ready to enjoy her families Clambake and they have just begun a few renovations to the mansion located in their island. Things seem to be going well that is until the renovation crew finds a sealed off room. No one can figure out why the room would be closed off and attentions are turned elsewhere when one of the crew is found dead. A diary was found in the sealed off room, did it have something to do with the mans death or was it simply a case of hate. Julia knows that she must investigate and figure out who the killer is. She can't have such a huge problem hanging over her family's business and they need to finish up the renovations so as not to lose money. With so many people in the suspect pool Julia realizes she has to start knocking people off the list. Will she be able to pull out a killer among all these suspects or will she be left swimming alone in the deep end.

Sealed Off, the 8th Maine Clambake Mystery by author Barbara Ross, neatly rolls two mysteries into one. During demolition of Windsholme a hidden room is discovered, perfectly preserved for over 120 years, and including the journal of a young governess who disappeared without a trace. When a longtime Snowden Family Clambake employee is found murdered on the island not long after, Julia has her hands full trying to prove the innocence of Terry, Chris' brother who was recently released from prison, and also trying to solve the puzzle of the woman who went missing so very long ago. Ms. Ross does a wonderful job of tying both mysteries together, and Sealed Off was a fun cozy to read and solve along with Julia. 5 stars!

Wow, what a great story with a twist. I really enjoy these characters and they didn’t disappoint. Add Marguerite and Tallulah into the mix and that just adds to the enjoyment. How fun would it be to have a house that has been in your family for forever and to be able to update and then live in it, at least part time while you also run your business out of it. Course we all know that things don’t always go as planned. It might help move things along if folks told the truth, but why would they want to do that? I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.

Another delightful return to a Maine Clambake. Nice to visit with familiar characters and meet new ones. Clever interwoven story of past history of the house and current happenings. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley.

This is the eighth book in the Maine Clambake mystery series. It is the first book I have read by author Barbara Ross. While I read it stand-alone, I suggest reading the earlier books as I was confused by the relationships as well as the characters. It was a little like dropping into a movie halfway through.

The book is definitely more dramatic than not. Generally, I expect some humor in cozy mysteries and this book did not have that. While not a suspense book, it is more of a straight mystery.

The characters live on the coast of Maine and make most of their money during the tourist season when people come to their lovely town and want to indulge in a real Maine clambake. My husband is from Maine and when I described the clambake to him, he agreed it was authentically portrayed.

The family has their share of drama with all sorts of revelations, both personal and historical, and some of those are contained in this book. There are multiple mentions of other things that had occurred in earlier books as well.

When a body is found on the island where the clambakes are held, suspicions fall immediately on the ex-con.

It’s hard because he is the brother of the sleuths boyfriend. She starts investigating to find out if he is guilty or if he is being set up to take the rap.

There is a look to the past as a diary from the 1800’s surface while the mansion on the island is being renovated for use for the clambakes and to further the opportunity to make more money during the tourist season.

An old mystery comes to light and those involved start looking for answers to that mystery as well.

I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this series until I read this book. I've missed a couple in the series but I was able to keep up. This is a well written cozy mystery and the characters are enjoyable. I'm also a big fan of the setting. Murder, clam bakes, love triangles, and human trafficking all play a big part in this book.