The Chowder House Murder (A Downeast Maine Mystery)
Cozy Culinary Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Maine
Publisher : Kensington Cozies
Publication date : May 26, 2026
Print length : 352 pages
Hardcover
ISBN-10 : 1496755057
ISBN-13 : 978-1496755056
Kindle
ISBN-13 : 978-1496755070
ASIN : B0FP7P4VVP
Audiobook
ASIN : B0FV1YGWGJ
Audio CD
ISBN-13 : 979-8228778832
ASIN : B0G8FN1LXC
The 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.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Chips Hogan arrives at The Chowder House nightly, usually the last customer, adamant about ending his day with a cup of Maggie Holbrook’s famous clam chowder. These days, it is Maggie’s granddaughter, Audrey, who is doing the cooking at the popular eatery. Audrey didn’t stick around long because her presence is required at the weekly family dinners. But before the dinner is complete, when her mom and police chief, Jill, receives a call telling her Chip Hogan is dead. Her investigation shows that Chip’s famous cup of chowder contained poison.
How could that be? Many had eaten that day, and no one reported any issues with their meals. Someone targeted Chip, but how did that poison get into Chip’s chowder? Audrey and Maggie are going to find who tampered with Chip’s chowder and how. If they don’t, it could spell the end of The Chowder House, and one could end up serving time for a crime they didn’t commit.
Launching a new series is never easy, especially when it comes with a large cast of characters, and that is true even for an experienced cozy mystery author like Lee Hollis. Maggie Holbrook (Nana) is the family matriarch. Her oldest son, Oliver, is a defense attorney and quite a storyteller, and he is married to Katie, a nurse at the local hospital. Her middle son, Cord, and youngest son, Sandy, work together on a lobster boat. Cord has just become engaged to Phoebe Barker. Sandy is a handsome young man whose sexuality may be a secret to some at first, but becomes clear to the people who mattered in this story. Maggie’s daughter, Jill, is the chief of police, and Jill’s daughter, Audrey, works at The Chowder House. Every member of the family arrives with a backstory, and each has connections within the community that help build out the supporting cast. While I didn’t feel especially close to any one character yet, the groundwork is clearly there for them to deepen as the series continues.
Along with plenty of family drama, there are two mysteries woven through the pages of The Chowder House Murder. In addition to Chip Hogan’s murder, a cold case resurfaces and adds another layer to the story. Chip’s murder is somewhat intricate, but the clues are planted early enough for attentive readers to start piecing things together. The cold case takes a little more patience, especially as Audrey pushes for long-buried truths to come to light. What I enjoyed most was watching the three generations of women—Maggie, Jill, and Audrey—work in tandem to unravel both mysteries, even while Jill keeps insisting the professionals should handle it.
The Chowder House Murder lays a solid foundation for this new series. With three strong women, the story has an interesting dynamic to build on. Because the core cast is so large, I think a character list at the beginning of the book would be a smart addition and would make it easier for readers to settle into the story. Halibut Cove feels like the kind of setting that could easily support a long-running mystery series, and I am curious to see where Lee Hollis takes these characters next.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Kensington Cozies and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
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