Clam Wake

Bed-and-Breakfast Mysteries #29

by Mary Daheim, Lindsay Ellison (Narrator)

Innkeeper and irrepressible sleuth Judith McMonigle Flynn and cousin Renie face off against a cold-blooded killer in a beach community in this delightfully charming Bed-and-Breakfast mystery from USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Mary Daheim.

With the holidays gone and Hillside Manor almost empty, Innkeeper Judith McMonigle Flynn has a bad case of the blues. A housesitting stint at her aunt and uncle’s retirement home on Whoopee Island with cousin Renie seems like the ideal pick-me-up. Surrounded by retirees in the off-season sounds peaceful and pleasant--or so the duo thinks. But it isn’t long before a dead body pops up in their vicinity. Not surprising in an area full of older folks—until they learn it wasn’t a bad ticker that did in the victim, but a very sharp knife. With clouds of suspicion hovering over her and Renie, Judith reluctantly begins sleuthing—if only to prove they didn’t commit the crime.

But what she finds is puzzling. The victim reputedly didn’t have an enemy in the world--except for the killer. Digging for clams and answers, the cousins discover that retirement can be deadly—at least among the eclectic, eccentric residents of Obsession Shores.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Adult Fiction, Audiobook

Audio CD

First published July 1, 2014

About the author

Mary Rene Richardson Daheim was an American writer of romance and mystery novels.

Reviews

[Marcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, I give up on this series of books. :(

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually like Daheim but this book just wasn't as cohesive as some of her other stories. It jumped around a lot and the character of Renie, who is supposed to be the comedic foil for Judith just annoyed me. Her comments often didn't make sense or were intrusive to the action. Meh. It took me a long time to read because I kept putting it down.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tried so hard to like this book. Loved this series when it first came out. But with the last couple of books, I hate to see the cousins getting nasty and mean as they grow older. I am hoping the next book will find them as witty and endearing as they were in the beginning :)

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK but not thrilling as a mystery. Yeah, it had discovering the required dead body but more of the book is witty repartee with cousin Renee than sleuthing. Gets a bit old.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why do I keep reading this series?

[Sherry Fundin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clam Wake is a hilarious and enjoyable tale. Cozy mysteries are great summer reads, murder written with snarky dialogue and occurring in unusual places, like a retirement home.

Clam Wake is just such a novel. Mary Daheim, a USA Today and New York Times bestselling novelist, is a prolific writer and has many more mysteries just waiting to be read by me and you.

I saw the cover and it made me think of Cape Cod, so I had to read it. I have spent many summer vacations walking the flats and digging for clams. I can smell the odor of rotting vegetation when the tide goes out. I try to outrace the tide as it comes roaring in, much faster than most people anticipate. At first it is just lapping at my feet, then my ankles, then my knees……More than once, I have swam, instead of walked back in.

Cousins, Judith and Renie are house-sitting on Whoopee Island for their aunt and uncle, while they vacation.

Judith is an innkeeper and Renie, her best friend and cousin, works from home doing computer design. Even with their responsibilities, they have flexibility. Their many adventures seem to be because they are in the right place at the right time, or maybe, the wrong place at the wrong time. It depends on how you look at it.

Judith – funny, inquisitive and kind hearted. She seeks truth and justice with her amateur sleuthing. She is logical and a problem solver.

Renie – snarky with her sharp and cutting comments. She is very protective of Judith. She is always blurting out inappropriate jokes and I can’t help but laugh. She has a bottomless stomach and a vivid imagination. She is a character after my own heart and I fell in love with her.

Victim – hasn’t an enemy. Everyone liked him. Then why did a big knife take him out?

Judith even has her own fan club – FASTO – Female Amateur Sleuth Tracking Offenders. Her murder solving capabilities are well known, so when there is a murder at the retirement home, you can be sure her and Renie are going to be hot on the trail.

I know they are headed for trouble and I am eager to help them find their way out of it.

Clam Wake is a small town with all those pesky little secrets small communities harbor. The biggest hobby seems to be gossiping.

The retirement community does not have odd people, it has eccentrics.

I have listened to my hubby tell of the beach life on Cape Cod and the game of musical houses all the parents would play. His parents would host the cocktail hour one night, someone else the next, someone else the next….You get the idea. I am sure a great time was had by all. ^_^

Clam Wake is a fun mystery with a plot within a plot. Mary Daheim kept me wondering – who did it? I didn’t figure it out. Not because of a bunch of bells and whistles, just a lot of suspects that Mary twisted and turned around, keeping me guessing. Hmmmm, that doesn’t happen to me very often. Because of the great writing, easy reading and my inability to figure out the killer ahead of time, I must give this cozy mystery a 5 star rating. Very good, Mary.

“I’m wondering about these Obsession Shores people. Do the retirees just sit around during the winter and wait for the cocktail hour?”

“Hey – I know a good game – ‘Categorize the killers.’ Let’s start with Crazy as a Bedbug and work our way up to Jolly as Old Saint Nick.”

I received this novel in return for an honest and unbiased review.

[Robin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I used to enjoy this series. I read a few chapters of this book and gave up not only on this book, but any future books. The characters are annoying. I have had enough.

[Betsy · Rating 1 out of 5]

A disappointing book. I did not like the cousins nor do I care for most of their relatives, especially Vance. I hoped for much and got little.

[Madeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 30th book I have read by Mary Daheim. I enjoy reading these lighthearted murder mysteries; it's like walking back into the house of a very dear old friend.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a favorite. It was not well written and I found the story dull.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Judith and Renie manage to get in trouble while house sitting for their Aunt Vance & Uncle Vince while their husbands are on a fishing adventure in New Zealand.

This is book 29 in the series and these characters have become old friends.

[Bea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this was the first book in this series that I've read, I had no trouble reading it as a stand-alone. The series has been on my radar for years but I'd never gotten around to it and then this tour came along.

Twenty-nine books in, characters are pretty well set in their ways. It took me a while to warm up to Judith and Renie, the leads, and their exceedingly eccentric relatives. About a hundred pages, the book still hadn't grabbed me but slowly as I kept reading I became more involved. Who killed Ernie Glover and why? By all accounts, he was well liked and there were only mild grumbles about him. Was it connected to the battle over installing sewage pipes? Was he fooling around, as a few people suggested? Why do all the seniors on the island drink so much? I had serious concerns about the seniors and what looks to be a high rate of alcoholism among them. Granted, the island doesn't offer much in the way of entertainment and you're dependent on the ferry for transport to the mainland but I wish Daheim had been less glib about the drinking; instead she made a running joke out if it.

I also had a hard time warming up to Renie and to Aunt Vance; both are loud-mouthed, rude, and obnoxious. While many of the other characters found them refreshing and bracing I just found them obnoxious. Maybe if had more time invested in the series and knew them better, I might like them more. Judith on the other hand, while often grumpy, was more relatable, and easier on the nerves. I appreciated the fact that she respected the local police and tried to find a balance between sticking her nose in and minding her own business. Judith and her cousin Renie did play well off each other and were believable as cousins who were also friends.

The mystery kept me guessing, there were lots of red herrings and twists and turns. The solution felt anti-climactic to me and Daheim left lots of loose ends. I have mixed feelings about loose ends - in the real world, they are inevitable and neatly tying everything up is unrealistic yet when reading, I do like to have at least most of the threads resolved. So whether the ending works for you or not will depend on your preference.

Reading back, it seems as if I didn't enjoy the story but I did. I did have problems with it but I loved Daheim's description of the island and how realistic it felt. The characters may have been too quirky for me but they certainly weren't boring, and I will read more in the series. The story was flawed but enjoyable and once I made it past the first third of the book, I was hooked.

[Kimberly Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

#106

Well it was a good thing I had no expectations from this author, because I wasn't disappointed; but I was both mildly surprised and disgusted.

I was surprised because I liked the story and the conclusion: Two cousins (one who is a well known amateur detective) go to house sit for their Aunt & Uncle in order to cast a proxy vote against a sewer project on the small WA island where the Aunt & Uncle live. The cousins stumble upon a dead man, who it is mentioned looks like one of the cousin's deceased father. The residents are harboring (pun intended) a secret, a mysterious boat is seen late every night crossing across the inlet, and a woman w/ child-like mentality wanders around the community taking the residents' prescriptions.

I was Disgusted because: the majority of the characters, 1 cousin, the aunts, and mother are snarky, mean, rude, b!+@#&s and I don't care if they have a "heart of gold/good heart"! You do not call your children or nieces "Idiot", "Dopey", "Dummy", "Dingbat". You also do not go out to dinner with someone and eat their dinner while they are away from the table..... Disgusting people.

At the back of the book is a recipe for "Auntie Vance's Beef Noodle Bake", which would normally enticed me but the Author, herself is rude (although I guess she considers herself funny). Excerpts from the recipe: "Don't go cheap. Life's too short"; "Skip the lean stuff; get the grade with the most fat or you might as well eat a cardboard box"; "Green isn't as good for you as the other three--so what if they cost more"; "BIG Dash, don't skimp-- nobody lives forever"; "See above-- you've got eyes right"; "Plenty of it-- you got something against flavor"; "Whatever you call the damned thing"; "Forget you have arteries"; "If you're too dumb to figure it out, you shouldn't be reading this"; & "It's a Canadian product, so what. You want to start a border war"

So the author herself is as rude & tacky as her characters, which obviously resemble her-very-own snarky self.

What the author isn't: "funny". But I'll give the book 1 ★ for the story and non-main characters.

I will not be reading her again.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

As seen on my blog:
Hey, Folks!

There have been a few bumps in the road lately, but life has calmed down a bit now, so I'm back. The novel I just finished is "Clam Wake," by local author Mary Daheim. This mainstream cozy mystery is number 29 in the popular "Bed and Breakfast series, following 2013's "Gone with the Win." I received an early copy of this publication free of charge from the writer herself, with the understanding that I would give everyone who looks at this my honest opinion.

At the beginning of this tale, we find amateur detective Judith Flynn fighting a severe case of the January Blues, until she and cousin Renie are asked to spend a few days at their Aunt and Uncle's island house while their relatives are out of town. All that is required of them is to attend a community meeting and cast a by proxy vote. Sounds simple enough, but wherever these two go, can murder and mayhem be far behind? Fans will not be disappointed. All they have to do is set foot on the beach, and they practically trip over the body of a local man. True to form, the death is ruled a homicide. Can Judith and Renie team up once again to uncover a killer, or will one of them become the next victim?


I am always thrilled to embark on yet another adventure with Ms. Daheim, as the cousins always deliver. This episode is no exception, especially if you like humor mixed in with your who-dunnit. The violence is kept to a minimum for those of you who are squeamish. There are a few swear words sprinkled throughout, but I think it is appropriate for those sixteen and over. Though it technically could be enjoyed on its own, I would encourage people who have yet to explore this delightful series to begin with the first title, " Just Desserts," and continue on chronologically from there. I recommend these volumes to anyone who likes Carolyn Hart or others who craft stories in that vein. My rating is five out of five stars, so delve into this one now. Until we meet again…
Happy Reading,
Carolyn

[Lelia Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s kind of mindboggling that this series has lasted so long (#29!) but even more so that it has held up pretty darn well. It follows the tried and true formula of amateur sleuth continually coming across bodies and feeling that she simply must solve the crime but, somehow, author Mary Daheim manages to keep things fresh.

Innkeeper Judith and her cousin, Renie—a truly obnoxious individual but one who sort of fits like an old glove—have been left behind by their vacationing men so Judith has left the bed & breakfast in capable hands and they’ve gone off to housesit for Auntie Vance and Uncle Vince on Whoopee Island. The two will be proxies at a community meeting about installing sewer lines but, lo and behold, within hours of arriving, Judith and Renie have discovered a body. Naturally, sleuthing ensues. Is the battle over sewer lines versus septic tanks really that desperate? What did this poor guy do to deserve being offed? And does Judith’s family history have something to do with all this?

Clam Wake is fun, no doubt about it and, although it may not be the very best in the series, I found a lot of comfort in returning to the Pacific Northwest and spending a little time with Judith, Renie and assorted family, friends and pets, especially Judith’s cantankerous mother, Gert, and equally crabby cat, Sweetums. I missed Joe and Bill, though, and hope to see the husbands again in Ms. Daheim’s next book.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, August 2014.

[Ruth Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

My absolute favorite thing about the book was the description of the setting! I am from Washington state, and any time a book takes place in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, it often gets my stamp of approval. Add a bit of mystery to that, and the author has a story that is essentially essentially cozy (a bit more profanity than I generally prefer, but not bedroom scenes), and the author definitely has a recipe for success.

As for the mystery, I felt a bit at a loss since this was the first book in this series I have read. Yes, the book is a standalone, but I would have preferred reading the first book in the series. It seemed like the two cousins go way back, and I did not know their colorful history.

The book itself is written fairly well and easy to read. At times, I found my interest waning, but that is just an opinion of mine. The mystery is straightforward and ends exactly as it should.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.

[Wall-to-wall books - wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what you would call a Cozy Mystery (just my kind!). This book is a mystery, but it is a little more fun and lighter to read. In spots this was a bit slow for me, but still very enjoyable. It was a nice easy going, lazy afternoon kind of read.

What really made this book for me was the characters. What a zany cast of older ladies! The conversations between them were hilarious! And talk about snark. They were a very likable and believable group, one that I would fit right in with.

Also I thought the descriptions were done very well. I could really picture it and felt like I was there with them on the beach digging for clams - yum!

This mystery kept me guessing right up to the end. A good little mystery! If you are looking for something on the lighter side - this may be the book for you.

Thank you "Partners in Crime" for sending me this beautiful hardcover book for my honest review.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually enjoy this series more. There's always a lot of back and forth between Judith and her cousin Renie, but there was way too much of it this time and a lot of it didn't make much sense. For that matter the solution to the mystery was last minute and bizarre as if it was just there to confuse the reader.

[Alise HARRIS · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Renie! She's such a crab! My only problem with this is she was talking about an AFC playoff game between the Bears and the Panthers. Those teams are in the NFC. If you're going to write about something you don't know about, do a little research.

[Peggy Gates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too confusing

There were so many characters it was hard to remember who was who! I found the story line very confusing.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm ever hopeful that the next book will be like the first few. Still no.
I read lines as though Judith joked or teased, or even merely said, but the author writes "Judith snapped." Judith is getting grouchier and more surly; and Renie gets dumber and more childish.

Maybe it's because changes in my life have made it so I can't sit and read for hours, so I do most of my reading before going to sleep at night, but there didn't seem to be much connectivity. Events happen that don't seem to tie into anything else. And I was left with several unanswered questions. (Spoilers - Why was there a grave marker? Why was the body in the cellar? How did someone barely able to walk succeed in doing things out in the open without being noticed? Was there more to the mystery boat than causing the cousins to see people walking around with flashlights?)

And I really thought the unsatisfactory end of the last book would be straightened out in this one.

Other than all that - it was entertaining.

[Kwoomac · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hated this book. I hated all the characters. I hated the mystery. Oops, killed the wrong person! Lots of discussion about afternoon cocktails, which should have been fun, but I felt like the author was making some kind of statement. Maybe about retirement communities? Was she for or against them? Also, one of the characters kept saying she couldn’t do anything because she had a hip replacement. Unless the hip replacement went wrong, which wasn’t mentioned, she should feel great. She has a new hip. I’ve had a hip replacement and it was great. Everyone I know who’s had one is almost giddy with how good they feel. Anyway, the sleuths aren’t very good and they do stupid stuff like break into dark basements. Surprise! It did not go well. I see there are a lot of these but not for me.

[Michelle Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great quick read. I jumped in at #29 when I found it at a used book sale. It was fun, and kept moving along. I liked that she had a page where she tells you what year the mystery takes place. Very helpful. I had to remind myself that FDR died in 1945 to get a handle on what age everyone is in the novel. I will definitely go back and read more of these.

My advice - keep track of the myriad of suspects. Love that she uses the Stan Lee approach to names. Vince and Vance, Hank and Tank etc.

[Wanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have read quite a few books in this series and am getting a little tired of it. The situations are a bit farfetched and the characters are getting really obnoxious. Since I am very familiar with the Pacific Northwest I can recognize the area but I find it a bit annoying the way the author has altered the names of places into some really ridiculous names. She will take the original name and change it just enough so it sounds stupid.
The mystery story itself was just ok.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, this book was pretty okay. A lot of the book was just the two main characters walking around and talking to people and not being involved with the mystery at all. It wasn’t until the last 50 or so pages that they found out some things and even after that the main character didn’t even deduce to the right killer. And even after that, it was someone else who told them who the killer was and the book basically just ended there.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Judith and Renie are staying at Auntie Vance and Uncle Vince's home on Whoopee Island. They are to proxy voters for their Auntie and Uncle, to say "No!" to the sewer system. But as usual after they arrive on the Island, they go for a walk on the beach and find a body. This is a funny, crazy and zany book, anyone would enjoy.

[Debra McEathron · Rating 2 out of 5]

The B&B series is starting to get old and too much bickering between Judith and Reenie. The series loosing its appeal. Not enough character development and Judith is not doing so well in solving the murder cases. It was sad to find out about her father.

[Laurie Mcclary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to give up on this book. Too many characters, to many characters I found hard to like and after a while I found myself not really caring who committed the murder. I did like the description of the scenery though.

[Marcia Frederick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twists andTurns!

Really good whodunnit! Sometimes all the characters were a little hard to follow, but the story moved along so quickly it wasn't hard to figure out! Looking forward to reading the next book in the series!

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Hilarious Romp

This time Judith and Renie are house sitting for their aunt and uncle on an island, and meet a large group of eccentric islanders in the course of solving the mystery.
The villain, of course, was unexpected in a way, although obvious in another.