Sealed Off (Maine Clambake Mystery #8) by Barbara Ross

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.   (Summary via Goodreads)


I love getting lost in a good book, especially when they are part of a series and you've read the previous books and that is exactly how it was for me reading Sealed Off by Barbara Ross.

Sealed Off is the eighth book in Ross's Maine Clambake Mystery series and the reader cannot help but love hanging around with main character, Julia Snowden.  Julia is a very, very busy person running her family clambake business along with her sister, brother-in-law and mother but add a dead body and Julia turns into a super hero on steroids !!

Julia and her family are at the end of the season and trying to get through the last 2 weeks of clambakes before closing for the winter unfortunately 2 of their employees get into a fight at the end of one of the bakes and the next day one of them is found dead.....and three of the employees didnt show up for work....one of them being the brother of Julia's boyfriend.

Sealed Off is full of secrets, some recent and some many, many years in the past....with Julia taking charge of finding out everything she can.  Ross has a great knack of grabbing the readers attention as soon as you open up the book and keeps you chargin through until the very last page.  You cannot help but love Julia, her family, the clambake business, all the secrets and the way Julia finds out everything she can.  You cannot help but love her devotion to her family, friends and her town, her determination to ensure everyone is safe, and the way she makes it look so easy !!!  I totally enjoy the time I spend with Julia in Busman's Harbor and look forward to my next visit.......


Review by Missi M.