Clam Wake Hardcover - 2014

From the rear cover

In this delightfully charming Bed-and-Breakfast mystery from acclaimed USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Mary Daheim, innkeeper and irrepressible sleuth Judith McMonigle Flynn and Cousin Renie face off against a slippery, cold-blooded killer in a beach community

With the holidays over and Hillside Manor light on guests, innkeeper Judith McMonigle Flynn has a bad case of the January blues. It doesn't help that her husband, Joe, is leaving for New Zealand on a once-in-a-lifetime fishing trip with Cousin Renie's husband, Bill. A few days away housesitting at her aunt and uncle's retirement home on Whoopee Island with Renie sounds like the perfect getaway to lighten her mood. Surrounded by retirees in the off season, the cozy beach town is sure to be quiet and restful, and Auntie Vance has stocked the fridge with all their favorite dishes.

But when Judith and Renie arrive, they quickly discover that the seniors of Obsession Shores prefer cold cocktails and hot gossip to sets of canasta and gin rummy. The latest news buzzing around the community is about a proposed ordinance that has divided the residents, turning neighbor against neighbor. And of course it isn't too long before Judith and Renie stumble across a dead body on the beach. Death isn't surprising in an area full of older folk--until they learn it was a very sharp knife, not a bad ticker, that did in the victim. Though she's curious, Judith has made a promise: no more sleuthing. Yet with clouds of suspicion suddenly hovering over her and Renie, she's got to look into the crime--if only to prove their innocence.

What she finds is puzzling. The victim reputedly didn't have an enemy in the world--except for the killer. Beneath the town's booze-soaked boredom Judith and Renie uncover dangerous shams, scams, and secrets. Digging for clams and answers, the cousins discover that retirement can be deadly--at least among the eclectic, eccentric residents of Obsession Shores.

Media reviews

Citations

• Publishers Weekly, 06/30/2014, Page 0