Hidden Beneath ARCs Are Here and a #giveaway

by Barb, first post from Maine in 2023

Advance Reader Copies of Hidden Beneath, the eleventh novel in the Maine Clambake Mystery series are here!

To celebrate, I’m giving away one copy each, signed by me, to 10 lucky winners. US only, unfortunately. Enter by April 17, by signing up on the form here. (And not by commenting below, which is how we usually do things here at Wicked Authors World Headquarters.)

Here’s the description of Hidden Beneath.

Serving up mouthwatering shellfish, the Snowden Family Clambake has become a beloved institution in Busman’s Harbor, Maine. But when new clues rise to the surface five years after the disappearance of Julia Snowden’ s mother’s friend, the family business shifts to sleuthing . . .

Julia and her mother, Jacqueline, have come to the exclusive summer colony of Chipmunk Island to attend a memorial service for Jacqueline’s old friend Ginny, who’s been officially declared dead half a decade after she went out for her daily swim in the harbor and was never seen again. But something seems fishy at the service—especially with the ladies of the Wednesday Club. As Julia and Jacqueline begin looking into Ginny’s cold case, a present-day murder stirs the pot, and mother and daughter must dive into the deep end to get to the bottom of both mysteries . . .

Where is Chipmunk Island?

There is a real Squirrel Island in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. When I created my fictional Busman’s Harbor, I thought it would be funny to put a Chipmunk Island in the harbor there. Chipmunk Island appears in several of the earlier books in the series, mostly as the Snowden Family Clambake tour boat, the Jacquie II, takes customers out to Morrow Island and back. In other words, in passing.

Up until this book, I had only the vaguest notion of who lived on the island, and aside from the shape that contributes its name, knew next to nothing about the physical island either. But I wondered about it each time the Jacquie II passed by. The story in Hidden Beneath fills those gaps.

I want to state, categorically, that I have never been to the real Squirrel Island and don’t know anyone who lives there. (Well, that’s not true. I do know one woman who lives there, but I always meet her in Key West.) I’m sure everyone on Squirrel Island is lovely. I made up all the people and places in Hidden Beneath out of whole cloth. Still, I feel like I owe the people of Squirrel Island an apology. Sorry about all the murders. And the other stuff. I didn’t mean anything by it.

I’m excited for you all to have the opportunity to read Hidden Beneath. If you’re not feeling lucky, you can pre-order it from any of these fine retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Chapters/Indigo, Your Local Indie Bookstore.

In the meantime, don’t forget to enter the giveaway! And good luck.