I love this series more and more with each book. It's like coming home to family every time I read a new installment. Fantastic book. I didn't want it to end.

This soon to be released, 8th installment of the Maine Clambake Mystery series contains all of the wonderful scenery, characters and intrigue that you've come to expect from his fantastic series, but it contains so much more. Marguerite and Tallulah are back for a visit! (Fans of this series, will be thrilled by this news.) Between the clambake and renovating the old family home, Julia and the her family get embroiled in a mystery on their island and a mystery in their past. The development of both story lines and the continued development of the Snowden family history is a delicate balancing act, and it comes together beautifully in Sealed Off!

Two mysteries on Morrow Island vie for the reader’s attention in the latest Maine Clambake Mystery. First, one of the crew, Jason, is found murdered under the firewood pile. Then, the demolition crew discover a room, in the mansion being renovated, that is completely sealed off – and has been for decades.

Julia hires Chris’ brother Terry, a just released convict, to help the last few days of the clambake season. Terry and Jason, a long time crew member, fight over a misunderstanding with another crew member. The next day Jason is found dead and Terry becomes the leading suspect in his murder.

Now that the Snowden family owns Windsholme, the mansion on Morrow Island, they are working with an architect and starting renovations to make the house useful again. On a tour with Marguerite, who grew up in Windsholme as a young girl, the contractor asks Julia and the architect to follow him. His demo crew found a finished room, compete with furnishings, that had been undisturbed since the late 1800’s. The room was completely sealed off by finished walls on all sides. An open notebook lay on a small wooden desk – a journal written by the occupant in 1898.

Julia, Chris and her family, along with Marguerite, begin sleuthing: who killed Jason and what happened to the resident of the hidden room.

Sealed Off is one of the strongest entries in the Maine Clambake series. Barbara Ross combines the intrigue of a Russian demolition crew, the warm personalities of the Snowden family and friends in Busman’s Harbor and drops in a few secrets about the history of Windsholme. Red herrings, twists and unexpected events, all roll out at a healthy page turning pace. Well done Ms. Ross

I love the Maine Clambake Mystery series by Barbara Ross, and this latest offering did not disappoint. Even though it is contained in a small town in Maine the scope was international. Even more interesting was current mystery juxtaposed to the one that took place in the Morrow family home in the late 1800's. The characters are all wonderful and entirely believable to me. I can't wait for more of this edgy, a little more than cozy series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own,.

Another wonderful book about Morrow Island and the clambakes. For anyone who dreams about New England.

Julia Snowden is in charge of running the family business. She brought it back from the brink of bankruptcy and has been working hard to make it profitable again.
A surprise inheritance for her mother brings the funds to rehab the beautiful but in dire need of repair home on the isle.
Julia is stressed between the repairs, disagreements between a few employees and keeping it all running smooth....well smooth until one employee turns up dead on the island.
The most obvious suspect is her brother in law to be, but it's just too pat. Chris, her fiancee asks her to investigate, as she's had good luck finding answers in the past. She does and is surprised but what she finds.
Ms. Ross weaves an engrossing tale with great characters and vivid descriptions of the sight and smell of the locale.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC to peruse and thoroughly enjoyed it.

This series continues to get better with each new book. I recommend. Characters and plot kept me interested.

This is such a reliably good series. The characters are well drawn and I love that the Maine setting is so well done that it's almost a character. Love it!

Another delightfully well written Snowden family mystery. It is lovely the way the author includes the rich Maine history and the Morrow Island history along with the mystery. Love the mysterious seal. Will he show up in the next mystery? Can’t wait for the next installment of this marvelous series.

Having enjoyed this series from the beginning, I can almost think of Julia Snowden and her family as friends. Julia lives and works in Busman's Harbor, Maine with her boyfriend Chris and works with her sister, brother in law and mother in running the Snowden Family Clambake during the tourist season. The season is almost over when one of their crew, Jason, is found murdered on their island. Since Jason was just involved in a fight with Terry, Chris' brother who was recently released from prison, making Terry a likely suspect, Julia agrees to look into the situation. Julia is also embroiled in figuring out another mystery, this one from the 1890's. When renovating the old family mansion on the island the construction crew comes across a walled off room which still contain the clothing and diary of its occupant - the family governess. This is riveting to the family as they all try to figure out what happened to her. Once again, this is a fast paced, charming mystery with a wonderful cast of characters, a beautiful setting and delicious clambake food. It's a winner!

Sealed Off by Barbara Ross in the 8th book in the Maine Clambake Mystery series featuring Julia Snowden and her family in Busman’s Harbor, Maine.

I have loved this series from the beginning, and Ms Ross did not disappoint. I love Julia as an honest, feisty sleuth and her abilities continue on with this installment when she tries to find the murderer of an employee just as the tourist season is wrapping up. There are plenty of motives and potential suspects, and I enjoyed how it ended. I also enjoyed the mystery subplot as well with the historic find. It will be nice to see where this goes.

5/5 stars. Excellent read.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub account immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

Its clambake season for the Snowden's. the 2nd day julia and sonny are preparing for the clambake and some of there staff isnt at the boat dock. Then a body is found on the island. The police set out to find the murderer while julia does her own investigating. To hear more read the book

Summer is winding down and the Snowden family is wrapping up the Summer at their island clambake business. When an employee is murdered, everyone thinks another employee is guilty because he had spent time in prison, but he swears he is innocent and Julia agrees to help prove his innocence. But there are so many secrets that Julia has to get through before she can even begin to see the truth.

While wrapping up business for the season, the Snowden family also has an elderly relative visiting, to see the family’s summer home that is being renovated. As they take the family on a tour of the house, a hidden room has been exposed and they find the diary of a young girl who worked for the family in the Summer of 1890. With the room and personal belongings intact, the Snowden family is pulled in by the young woman’s story that ends abruptly. Who was she and what happened to her? A lovely mystery within the overall story.

This is a great series I discovered earlier this year that also has quite a few earlier books for me to enjoy while I wait for the next entry in this series.

It’s October in Busman’s Harbor and the tourists aren’t quite ready to head home yet. Julia Snowdon is busy feeding folks who are visiting to see the fall foliage at the same time she’s restoring an old home. Things get even more hairy when one of Julia’s workers is found dead, and the another body is found along with a diary written in Russian in a hidden room. This is a perfect cozy read for a chilly October day. Fans of the series will not be disappointed