Julia Snowden is in Maine for the winter, and everyone in town is snowed in. She is picking up packages for her mother at the post office when they receive a surprise package from an unknown sender that turns out to be a lost family heirloom that is extremely valuable. Julia’s mother grew up believing she didn’t have many family members left, but as Julia begins to investigate, she uncovers more of the family history and clues to who may have sent the “Black Widow” necklace that has been lost for a century. ( )

theft, greed, Boston, family-dynamics, family, friendship, murder, murder-investigation, multigenerational, cozy-mystery, law-enforcement, mysteries, amateur-sleuth, suspense, blizzards*****

Julia Snowden was born and raised in a small tourist town but went away to college and then to Manhattan for a career in high finance until it got the better of her. Now she is back and is a major force in the family clambake business and is back with her old flame (Chris) who runs a landscaping business. Her mother receives a rather small parcel in the mail with a family heirloom thought stolen in the 1920s, so Julia looks to friends to help unravel that mystery. Then there is the issue of line of inheritance to dig through! Julia is very good at digging into the past all while mom is nervously awaiting her other daughter's new baby during a blizzard. The biggest problem is that mom has no ideas about any possible living relatives. Julia digs that out and it all leads to very dysfunctional family, but in Boston of all places!
Well crafted and with escalating suspense, plot twists and red herrings. A very good read! ( )

Not my favorite in the series. I like the winter setting. Half of it takes place in Busman's Harbor; the other half in Boston. ( )

Iced Under by Barbara Ross is the 5th in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. Once again, Julia Snowden is involved in a couple of mysteries, but this time, not in Busman's Harbor. This is a fresh idea that really pulled me in to this story. It is February and there is an impending storm coming. Chris is off in Florida helping a friend set up his boat for the tourists so Julia decides to visit her mom. Jacqueline asks her to pick up her mail at the post office on the way. As well, Livvie is expecting to deliver the new baby anytime. When an anonymous, mysterious package that was in the mail is opened, a family mystery is revealed.

As the story unfolds we learn about long lost relatives, family betrayals, tightly held secrets and a history that many would consider shady. This history helps us to understand Jacqueline and the life that shaped her. Once again, Julia uses her brain, her computer and her research skills to follow the clues and information to unravel the mystery of the "Black Widow". There is a murder in this book, but it is actually secondary to the family mystery. Julia's love for family and her moral compass push her to dig deeper to solve the mysteries.

The new characters in this story are wonderful. They are accepting, honest and loving. The plot pulled me right in and I kept reading quite late in the night to finish this one and find out what happened. This book was much more emotional than the others in this series. When family is such an integral part of the story like it was in this book, it is easy to become more involved with the characters. The historical information imparted in the story was quite interesting and not something I had heard of before. I will definitely do a bit more reading to find out more. It was obvious to me that this had been quite well researched. This book took a different route than the others in the series, but was still just as good and entertaining as well. I am looking forward to what Barbara Ross has in store for us with her next book. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.
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This fulfilled all the requirements for a cosy, undemanding mystery. This is the fifth book in the series and I haven't read any of the previous books, but this works as a standalone. The storyline from the previous story were gracefully incorporated into the narrative and the characters were well-developed. The mystery involves missing jewels and family members and lost connections, so there's nothing remotely brutal or violent in here. There are some delicious descriptions of food and recipes are included at the end. Soothing and comforting, for when you need the pleasures of an entertaining quick read. ( )