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The Chowder House Murder
Not yet published
Expected 26 May 26The first in a brand new, multi-generational cozy mystery series introduces three generations of strong, no-nonsense women who head the Holbrook family seafood dynasty in Downeast Maine…and a murder the Holbrook matriarch and her granddaughter must solve, even as it entangles them in a web of small-town secrets, and a Hatfields and McCoys-level chowder rivalry.
Ever since Halibut Cove’s popular eatery, The Chowder House, started serving matriarch Maggie Holbrook’s famous clam chowder it’s been in high demand. Cooked up at the restaurant by Maggie’s ambitious 19-year-old granddaughter, Audrey, the dish even has a regular nightly customer, retiree Chips Hogan. . . . Until one fateful Sunday night.
After serving Chips his chowder, Audrey rushes off to Maggie’s hilltop home for the weekly family dinner with the rest of the Holbrooks—her three uncles, and her mom, Jill. But before the meal’s end, Jill, a police chief, gets an alarming call. Chips has been found in the street—dead. Jill races out to investigate . . . and is shocked to learn Chips’ chowder was poisoned.
When a Chowder House server recalls seeing local diner cook Waldo Duggan in the alley that same evening, he becomes a suspect. And when it’s uncovered that Waldo bitterly believed the Holbrooks stole the lucrative chowder recipe from the Duggans in the 1930’s, he’s only further implicated . . .
Despite everything, Maggie can’t believe Waldo would murder anyone. For fair-minded Maggie, to keep an innocent man out of jail, and to ease Audrey’s guilt over serving the chowder, there’s no choice but to team-up to crime solve. Soon grandmother and granddaughter are immersed in a stew of rivalries, long held feuds, and looming threats. Because beneath the surface, even a pretty town has its ugly side . . .
Ever since Halibut Cove’s popular eatery, The Chowder House, started serving matriarch Maggie Holbrook’s famous clam chowder it’s been in high demand. Cooked up at the restaurant by Maggie’s ambitious 19-year-old granddaughter, Audrey, the dish even has a regular nightly customer, retiree Chips Hogan. . . . Until one fateful Sunday night.
After serving Chips his chowder, Audrey rushes off to Maggie’s hilltop home for the weekly family dinner with the rest of the Holbrooks—her three uncles, and her mom, Jill. But before the meal’s end, Jill, a police chief, gets an alarming call. Chips has been found in the street—dead. Jill races out to investigate . . . and is shocked to learn Chips’ chowder was poisoned.
When a Chowder House server recalls seeing local diner cook Waldo Duggan in the alley that same evening, he becomes a suspect. And when it’s uncovered that Waldo bitterly believed the Holbrooks stole the lucrative chowder recipe from the Duggans in the 1930’s, he’s only further implicated . . .
Despite everything, Maggie can’t believe Waldo would murder anyone. For fair-minded Maggie, to keep an innocent man out of jail, and to ease Audrey’s guilt over serving the chowder, there’s no choice but to team-up to crime solve. Soon grandmother and granddaughter are immersed in a stew of rivalries, long held feuds, and looming threats. Because beneath the surface, even a pretty town has its ugly side . . .
- GenresCozy MysteryCozy
320 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication May 26, 2026
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About the author
Lee Hollis
52 books821 followersLee Hollis is the pen name for Rick Copp and his sister Holly Simason.
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Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
#TheChowderHouseMurder #NetGalley is a first in a new series by Lee Hollis.
Maggie is the matriarch of her family, and to her, nothing means more to her than her loved ones.
Audrey is her granddaughter and works at the local chowder house.
It's Maggie's family recipe they serve each day, but there's a battle brewing over who the recipe originally belongs to.
Audrey serves her last customer of the day, only to find out he was found dead outside the doors.
As a murder investigation escalates, Audrey and Maggie are determined to seek out the truth, because even in their picturesque town, deadly secrets lie beneath the surface.
Maggie is the matriarch of her family, and to her, nothing means more to her than her loved ones.
Audrey is her granddaughter and works at the local chowder house.
It's Maggie's family recipe they serve each day, but there's a battle brewing over who the recipe originally belongs to.
Audrey serves her last customer of the day, only to find out he was found dead outside the doors.
As a murder investigation escalates, Audrey and Maggie are determined to seek out the truth, because even in their picturesque town, deadly secrets lie beneath the surface.
Displaying 1 of 1 review