Clammed Up by Barbara Ross

Julia came back home to save the family business.  The bank is ready to foreclose, their business plan calls for steady business and all profits to go back into the business.  She gave up her business and invested her money in the family business to help it keep afloat.  Now there's been a murder and the police won't let them operate.

Kensington Books allowed me to read the first book in this new series for review (thank you).  It's A Maine Clambake Series and is available now at your local bookstore.

The first big event is a wedding.  Everyone is nervous, but Julia has it all planned out and everything is going as planned.  At least it is until she finds the best man hanging inside the house...

I enjoyed reading about their clambakes and how they kept to the original way of doing it.  I've been to Blake Island, off the Washington coast, and eaten salmon and little individual blackberry pies, so I had an idea of what it might be like.  We had Indian dances; they were going to have a wedding.

There are plenty of suspects but murder on an island is harder to do.  They need boat access. While the best man was a bit outrageous in his behavior, nobody really hated him or wanted to do him harm. Someone killed him, though.

The interplay between the characters is represented well and is realistic.  Stress and strain take their toll on people.  There's a taste of a new love interest and it's a good mystery.  The killer was not apparent and the motive was unusual.  I'll have to see what happens with Julia in the next book.  I enjoyed reading about her.

Happy reading.