Muddled Through - (Maine Clambake Mystery) by Barbara Ross (Paperback)

Muddled Through by Barbara Ross takes us back to Busman’s Harbor, Maine. Julia Snowden finds herself embroiled in another mystery courtesy of her sister, Livvie. Livvie works at Lupine Designs owned by Zoey Butterfield in the off season. Zoey is a potter who makes beautiful plates, cups, bowls, platters, and other related items. Julia gets a frantic call from her sister. She rushes down to the shop to find the place destroyed. Someone managed to get into the shop in the early hours and destroy the store’s inventory. Zoey had been out collecting clay, so she was no in her apartment above the shop. The day after a raucous town meeting, Phinney Hardison is found dead in the basement of Lupine Design. Zoey is the prime suspect since it is her shop, she had access, and she had an altercation with the victim at the town meeting the previous evening. Zoey and Phinney were on opposite sides of pedestrian mall matter. Livvie asks Julia to investigate and prove Zoey’s innocence. Julia has her work cut out for on this case. Muddled Through is the tenth A Maine Clambake Mystery. It can be read as a standalone since the necessary background information is provided. Barbara Ross has a casual writing style. It is friendly and engaging. It makes her stories easy to read. Julia Snowden is single after parting ways with Chris Durand. She has returned to her mother’s home since Gus needed Julia’s apartment for family. It is spring in Maine which means it is the muddy season. The mud and rain make it difficult to get around. You need to have sturdy wellies if you are going to be out and about. The town is in an uproar over the proposed pedestrian mall. Four blocks of Main Street would be blocked to road traffic on Friday and Saturday evening during July and August. Shops could set out their wares and restaurants could offer outdoor dining (a street festival vibe). Zoey Butterfield, a local potter and store owner, is in favor of the pedestrian mall. Phinney Hardison is not in favor of the mall or tourists. He still considers Zoey a flatlander. Phinney is found dead in Zoey’s basement which leads to a major investigation. Julia is a curious person by nature. She likes to know the answers, so it does not take much persuasion to convince her to look into the crime. Julia asks questions, looks up information online, and searches for clues. The mystery becomes interesting in the second half of the book. I enjoyed following Julia as she gathered intel. I love solving whodunits. I had an inkling as to why a certain person committed the crime, but I was not completely sure until Julia uncovered the final clue. The reveal is suspenseful and suits the series. Julia is still trying to get over Chris Durand. Zoey gives her some good advice. It looks like there is a potential love interest or two for Julia (when she is ready). I enjoy the author’s descriptions of Maine. It sounds like a beautiful area. I liked meeting Alice Rumsford (a local philanthropist). I hope we get to see more of her in the future. Muddled Through is a wicked fun time with messy mud, pulverized pottery, ardent debating, mall melee, a slain neighbor, key conundrum, a brilliant breakthrough, and a questioning Julia.

Spring usually means that Julia Snowden is trying to get ready for the busy season with her family’s clambake, but this year, she is being distracted by local politics. Specifically, there is the heated debate in town about turning the downtown area into a pedestrian mall on Friday and Saturday nights during the tourist season. On opposite sides of the issue are business neighbors Zoey Butterfield, who owns the pottery story where Julia’s sister works, and Phinney Hardison. When Zoey’s story is vandalized, the only motive she can think of is this controversy. Then a dead body is found. Is local politics the motive for the violence? Or is something else going on? I’ve been anxiously waiting for this book since the last one came out. Yes, we do get to the storylines left open from the previous book, and I was actually impressed with the growth in Julia that came out of them. Of course, the book left me wondering where we were going to go next, but that’s a good thing. Yes, if you are new to the series, you could jump in here, but you’ll appreciate the growth better if you’ve read the earlier books. This is such a great series you’ll be glad you did. As always, Julia leads a great cast of new and returning characters, and I loved spending time with them. The mystery for this book is strong, and I was once again amazed at how everything was plotted when I reached the end. Fans will be happy with this book. If that isn’t you, fix that today.