Clam Wake: A Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery

Daheim’s goofy 29th Bed-and-Breakfast mystery (after 2013’s Gone with the Win) takes Seattle innkeeper Judith McMonigle Flynn and bickering cousin Renie Jones to Whoopee Island to house-sit for Auntie Vance and Uncle Vince. Judith and Renie hold their relatives’ proxy for a contentious vote by residents of a housing development, Obsession Shores, regarding sewer lines. The small community consists mostly of elderly folk, many of them couples who like to drink and share rumors, but it becomes clear that one of these outlandish island characters is a killer. On a rainy walk on the beach shortly before the vote, the cousins discover the body of Ernie Glover, who had owned a house in Obsession Shores. An ominous warning doesn’t discourage Judith from engaging in her usual amateur sleuthing. An addled wanderer, a phantom ship, rare coins, and suspected affairs spice up a plot that never quite gels, but the cousins’ antics are sure to please series fans. Agent: Maureen Moran, Maureen Moran Agency. (Aug.)