In Sealed Off, the eighth Maine Clambake Mystery coming December 31, a diary is discovered during the renovation of Windsholme, the Snowden family’s abandoned mansion on Morrow Island where they run their clambakes. In this diary entry Lilly writes about an important day in her life, the day she first comes to work as a governess for the Morrow family.

June 3, 1898
I arrived at the appointed time at the townhouse in the Back Bay. Two carriages waited to take us to the sailing yacht in Boston harbor. I sat with the young men whom I had only met for a few moments when I had come for my interview. William is fourteen and Charles eleven. I am to tutor them this summer before they go off to school in the fall. Their father, Mr. Lemuel Morrow, is particularly concerned they are deficient in German and mathematics.

When we got to the docks there was another cart there piled with steamer trunks three deep. I have only my valise, with a second blouse and skirt, two nightgowns, my undergarments, and a bathing costume I borrowed from my cousin Bertha.

Before I knew it, we were on the Morrow yacht, preparing to leave. The party is large. There is Mr. and Mrs. Morrow and their boys. Mr. Morrow’s mother is with us, too. She is almost as wide as she is tall and wears a perpetual scowl. I hope I won’t have much intercourse with her. Then there is Mr. Morrow’s brother, a bachelor, quite a bit younger than Mr. Morrow, I think. I am to call him Mr. Frederick.

And that’s just the family! We have a cook and two maids traveling with us, along with the yacht captain and four crew. I am told the yacht will return to Boston from time to time to bring weekend parties of guests to the island. In addition to those on the boat, there will be a gardener and a porter awaiting us there, and a housekeeper who has gone ahead to open the mansion with help from two local women. This is the largest and grandest household I have ever worked in. I hope I am up to the task.

The yacht was finally loaded and we left in the late afternoon. A light supper of cheeses and meats was served on the deck and we all made merry, singing and playing guessing games. All except the cook, Mrs. Stout, who was sick despite the calm seas and took to her bunk.

My young charges are delightful. I look forward to working with them. On the deck, young Charles approached me, staring deeply. “You are too beautiful to be our governess,” he whispered.

“If it wasn’t for her specs,” William added.

“Charles! William!” Mrs. Morrow senior scolded. “You apologize to Miss Smythe.”

“I don’t see why Charles should apologize,” Mr. Frederick responded. “He speaks the truth. We have our own Gibson girl among us.”

I blushed and old Mrs. Morrow snapped, “Enough. All of you.”

The stars at sea are the brightest I have ever seen. Finally, we all made for bed. I slept in a compartment filled with bunks with the female servants.

In the morning, we were at anchor. When I came up on the deck, Morrow Island was before us. The house they call Windsholme sits at the highest point on the island. It has a deep porch where I believe I will spend many happy hours. It looks strong and sheltering, ready to protect those who live inside. What a grand adventure is in store. I believe this will be the happiest summer of my life.

You can read more about what’s in the diary in Sealed Off, the eighth book in the “Maine Clambake” cozy mystery series, coming December 31, 2019.

Early October is “winding down” time in Busman’s Harbor, Maine, but there’s nothing relaxing about it for Julia Snowden. Between busloads of weekend leaf peepers at the Snowden Family Clambake and a gut renovation of the old mansion on Morrow Island, she’s keeping it all together with a potentially volatile skeleton crew—until one of them turns up dead under the firewood.

When the Russian demo team clearing out the mansion discovers a room that’s been sealed off for decades, Julia’s baffled as to its purpose and what secrets it might have held. Tensions are already simmering with the crew, but when one of the workers is found murdered, things come to a boil. With the discovery of another body—and a mysterious diary with Cyrillic text in the hidden room—the pressure’s on Julia to dig up a real killer fast. But she’ll have to sort through a pile of suspects, including ex-spouses, a spurned lover, and a recently released prisoner, to fish out one clammed-up killer.

Purchase Link
# # # # # # # # # # #

About the author
Barbara Ross is the author of the Maine Clambake Mysteries and the Jane Darrowfield Mysteries. Her books have been nominated for multiple Agatha Awards for Best Contemporary Novel and have won the Maine Literary Award for Crime Fiction. Barbara’s Maine Clambake novellas are included along with stories by Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis in three holiday anthologies from Kensington Publishing. Barbara and her husband live in Portland, Maine. Readers can visit her website at maineclambakemysteries.com.

All comments are welcomed.