Town in a Lobster Stew-B.B. Haywood

Town in a Lobster Stew
B.B. Haywood
Berkley, Feb 1 2011, $7.99
ISBN: 9780425240014

Candy Holliday moved with her father to the small seaside Maine town of Cape Willington where they work their blueberry farm. It is a town that attracts tourists in the summer starting on Memorial Day when the lobster stew cook-out takes place.

Elderly Wilma Mae calls Candy to ask her to find her missing recipe that won the event thirteen years in a row. Mr. Sedley gave that recipe to Wilma with the stipulation she conceal it in a secret drawer. Candy, who writes the Community Corner for the Cape Crier and is also an unofficial detective agrees to look for it. Before she get very far, the body of Mr. Sedley is found wrapped in a tarp in Wilma’s basinet. Candy changes her inquiry into learning who killed Mr. Sedley and why When she figures out who the culprit, the case spins as that person is murdered. Like the Energizer bunny, Candy continues her probe only the killer watches very move she makes

This is a charming cozy (in spite of the homicides) as B.B. Haywood captures the essence of coastal New England as she did with Town in a Blueberry Jam. Candy is sweet except when she stumbles on to a murder mystery; she admits she gets a precarious thrill investigating homicides. Although a carpetbagger of sorts, she nicely fits in with the eccentric townsfolk as she matches everyone quirk for quirk. With seafood and recipes adding to the flavor of a Town in a Lobster Stew, sub-genre fans will enjoy spending early summer in Maine.

Harriet Klausner