Shari Randall

Allie Larkin is a ballet dancer, but she has broken her ankle. While she heals, she travels home to help her Aunt Gully in Mystic Bay, CT -- a quaint, seaside New England town. Aunt Gully has just opened The Lazy Mermaid Lobster Shack and she's competing in the annual Memorial Day Lobster Roll competition. As a newcomer to the Mystic Bay culinary scene, Aunt Gully being invited to participate in the competition is a big deal, and Allie is happy to help her. Strange things have been happening lately. Her aunt has been receiving threatening letters from a strange group, the Lobster Liberation Group. The notes, stuffed under the door of her lobster shack, state that if she doesn't close shop there will be dire consequences. Aunt Gilly shrugs off the warning, laughing about Lobster Libbers. Allie can't shake off her worry though. The letters have her extremely concerned. When four judges at the lobster roll contest are poisoned, Allie realizes that she was right to worry. One dead judge, three sick ones, Lobster Libbers, vandalism, threats and murder......where is it going to stop??

I really enjoyed this book! The story is full of light humor, quirky characters and fun....plus a bit of murder and mayhem as well. I had a terrible cold while I was reading this, and the humor made me feel better as I sat wrapped in a blanket, a space heater blowing on me, drinking hot tea and feeling very sorry for myself. It's hard to feel sorry for oneself while reading about the antics of Aunt Gully, the free spirit, who talks and sings to lobsters before she boils them. Not to mention Allie, the injured ballerina and her snarky, slightly uppity, sister Lorel. (Don't call her Lorelai....she hates that.)

I needed a pick-me-up....and this book was just the ticket for me! The cover art, as with most cozies, is fabulous!

The one thing that surprised me just a bit is the fact that Allie really never said anything about her ballet career....that she missed it, wanted to go back to it, her fans, etc...... But.....that would have muddied up the plot a bit if she had been whining about her ankle the whole time. Just felt that was one spot that was a bit lacking in her character development. A bit more about her past would have been interesting. I was perfectly content with finding out who poisoned the lobster roll judges.

When I finished this book I really wanted to take a trip up to Baltimore and have lobster and crab cakes at the Inner Harbor. Not really the same as a Mystic Bay-like place.....but awesome sea food! Not to mention a huge bookstore and a Hard Rock Cafe right there. Poe museum, aquarium and science center right there too. And the seafood has to be mentioned twice. :) Who's with me???!!!! Let's go! :) Mystic Harbor reminded me a bit of Nag's Head here in NC.....laid back beach town with lots of tourists and characters, snooty people in yachts and just a lovely place to be. :) That's as close to a New England town I can get to within driving distance of western NC.

My book reviews do tend to wool gather and digress into all sorts of subjects don't they! But.....it does mean that this book made me laugh and made me think of places I have been and equate to the location in the story. That's a success I think!!! :)

A great start to a new cozy series. I can't wait to find out what happens next!

Curses, Boiled Again! is the first book in the new Lobster Shack Mystery series. A second book, Against the Claw, will be out in July 2018.

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from St Martin's Press via Netgalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

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A fantastic debut from Shari Randall. Allie Larkin is injured as a ballerina and dimes back to help her Aunt Gully at the Lazy Mermaid Lobster shack. When all four judges were poised at a Lobster Roll contest sponsored by the Yum! Network (one dies), Allie helps unravel the whodunit with the help of her friends and family. The story is highly original, though as a frequent cozy reader I figured out the murderer fairly early. But it definitely wasn’t predictable. The best cozy I’ve read in awhile. Nice New England flavor with being overbearing about it. Delightful!… (more)