Hidden Beneath (Maine Clambake Mystery Book # 11) by Barbara Ross

Serving up mouthwatering shellfish, the Snowden Family Clambake has become a beloved institution in Busman’s Harbor, Maine. But when new clues rise to the surface five years after the disappearance of Julia Snowden’ s mother’s friend, the family business shifts to sleuthing . . .

Julia and her mother, Jacqueline, have come to the exclusive summer colony of Chipmunk Island to attend a memorial service for Jacqueline’s old friend Ginny, who’s been officially declared dead half a decade after she went out for her daily swim in the harbor and was never seen again. But something seems fishy at the service—especially with the ladies of the Wednesday Club. As Julia and Jacqueline begin looking into Ginny’s cold case, a present-day murder stirs the pot, and mother and daughter must dive into the deep end to get to the bottom of both mysteries . . .  (Summary via Goodreads)

I am a huge fan of Barbara Ross and her Maine Clambake Mystery series and hope that you are also.   If not, I highly encourage you to look into adding this series to your to-be-read list.  There are eleven books in the series so far so you will be spending a lot of time with main character Julia Snowden and her family and friends and you will love it.  You get to see how Julia grows and changes as well as her family and the Snowden Family Clambake business.

In Hidden Beneath,  the eleventh book in this series, we get to learn more about Jacqueline and her childhood.  Jacqueline is Julia and Livvie's mother.  When Jacqueline was younger she attended boarding school where she met Ginny.  They became close friends and while Jacqueline would spend her summers on Morrow Island where the clambake's were held, Ginny summered on another island close by, Chipmunk Island.  Jacqueline would spend a lot of time during the summers on Chipmunk Island with Ginny and her group of friends.  These friends later become members of the Wednesday Club taking it over from their mothers.

Jacqueline hasn't had anything to do with Ginny, her friends or Chipmunk Island in years as life seemed to get in the way as she raised Julia and Livvie and worked on the clambake business.  Then out of the blue after Ginny has been missing for over five years, she is officially declared dead and the Wednesday Club ladies are holding a memorial service for Ginny.  Before Jacqueline can recover from the shock of the memorial service, she learns that she is the personal representative to Ginny's will.  While Julia and Jacqueline are going through Ginny's house on Chipmunk Island and her condo in Portland, they find the journal's that she kept for almost her entire life.

Jacqueline isn't sure that she believes that Ginny drown because Ginny had sent her an email shortly before she went missing but Jacqueline hadn't responded.  Now she wonders why Ginny was reaching out to her after all those years.  Julia being the investigating nosey person that she is starts reading the journals to see if she can find some answers.....unfortunately she develops more questions than answers and then there is another death on Chipmunk Island .......

Readers cannot help but thoroughly enjoy this series and you will want to pack a bag and head to Busman's Harbor and stay for a while.  Luckily you can spend as much time as you want with this series in the luxury of your own living room without the hassle of packing and driving.  Time will escape you while you have the books open.  I am confident that the Maine Clambake Mystery series and the Snowden family will become favorites of yours like they are to me.