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Curses, Boiled Again! (Lobster Shack Mystery) Audio CD – Unabridged

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 292 ratings

Allie Larkin was living her dream as a ballet dancer when a bad fall put her out of business. Now she's back home in Mystic Bay to heal a broken ankle while also helping her dear Aunt Gully get her Lazy Mermaid Lobster Shack off the ground. Nothing would help Gully more than winning the local food festival's Best Lobster Roll contest. The competition is sure to be killer-especially after one of the contest judges dies after eating a roll from one of Gully's biggest rivals.Soon, all eyes fall on Gully as the prime suspect. Allie may only have one good leg to stand on, but she's not going to let her aunt go down for a crime she never could have cooked up. Can Allie, along with her devoted crew of friends, family, and customers, find a way to trap the killer and claw herself out of this hard-boiled murder case?
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Product details

  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1515936287
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1515936282
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.59 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.3 x 0.6 x 7.4 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 292 ratings

About the author

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Shari Randall
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A native New Englander, Shari loves hanging out with the gang at the Lazy Mermaid Lobster Shack in fictional Mystic Bay, Connecticut, where the lobster rolls are delicious, the company’s good, and murder’s always on the menu.

Her debut, Curses, Boiled Again, won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel.

When she’s not committing murder (on the page, of course), Shari enjoys walking the beach near her house, traveling, reading, visiting her globe-trotting children, and dancing. She’s currently trying to talk her husband into a tango class.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
292 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoy the book's engaging plot with interesting twists and side stories. They find the characters fun, colorful, and well-developed. The pacing is fast and keeps the story moving quickly. Customers describe it as a great start to a new series with delicious food descriptions. Overall, they find the book an easy read with snappy dialogue that keeps the story moving.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

23 customers mention "Enjoyment"23 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book. They find it entertaining, with a fun cover and unique tale. The book is described as a cozy series with great settings and characters. Readers look forward to the next book in the series. It's a good choice for reading on sunny days at the beach or rainy days on the couch.

"...that occurs at a televised food contest was pretty unique and amazing, especially when a gimpy ballerina, her no nonsense sister, and Aunt Gully..." Read more

"General Introduction Shari Randall has come up with a fun book here...." Read more

"...I did enjoy this tale. The location was well written, the dialog interesting, and the crime with many motives kept me turning the pages...." Read more

"...I can't wait to find out. Overall, an excellent read!" Read more

20 customers mention "Plot"20 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the engaging plot with interesting twists and a satisfying ending. They find the book well-written with vivid descriptions of the places and characters. The mystery keeps readers hooked until the end.

"...with all the fun, there are chills and thrills and surprises and a great twist...." Read more

"...She had plenty of clues sprinkled throughout, most of which I missed, not because of bad placement, but because of good placement...." Read more

"...And, yes by the ending of this interesting and character filled murder mystery, I was craving New England styled chowder!..." Read more

"...I'm so glad I took the bait! The characterization is excellent, although I haven't completely connected with main character Allie yet..." Read more

15 customers mention "Character development"15 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the well-developed characters. They find the characters colorful and fun, with finely drawn details. The plot keeps readers engaged with multiple motives and red herrings.

"...The Characters Allie Larkin is a fun character. I automatically felt for her with the injury crushing her dreams for the moment...." Read more

"...And, yes by the ending of this interesting and character filled murder mystery, I was craving New England styled chowder!..." Read more

"...Shari Randall develops such colorful characters and keeps the plot moving, moving, moving...." Read more

"...Great Characters! An ending that I couldn’t have begun to guess! Can’t wait to read book 2 and pretend I am at Aunt Gully’s...." Read more

6 customers mention "Pacing"6 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's pacing. They find the plot engaging and fast-paced, making it easy to read quickly.

"...The story was nicely plotted and paced, with a satisfying twist at the end. All in all, this was lots of fun on a rainy winter day...." Read more

"...Randall develops such colorful characters and keeps the plot moving, moving, moving...." Read more

"...Ms. Randall’s character development is keen and swift. Her knowledge of people’s behavior is astute which makes her plot all the more believable...." Read more

"How'd it end? I'll never tell. Enjoyable book - read it through quickly, and I'll be picking up others by Shari Randall." Read more

5 customers mention "Start"5 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the start of the series. They find it a promising debut and a great beginning to a new cozy mystery series.

"This is an enjoyable first novel and a promising start to a new cozy mystery series...." Read more

"A fabulous debut. Randall brings so much to this book. Yes, it's a cozy, but don't let the cover fool you...." Read more

"Great start to the Lobster Shack series!..." Read more

"Great beginning to a new to me series. A charming coastal setting, with characters you want to be friends with, and a fast paced and engaging plot." Read more

5 customers mention "Taste"5 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's food descriptions. They find the food sounds delicious, even though they are allergic to lobster. The book is described as a great treat and well-written with an easy plot.

"...(family on the U.S. east coast, me in the southwest), but the taste and richness (and butter!) stays with you...." Read more

"...It had lots of twists that kept me guessing. The food descriptions were amazing...." Read more

"...Entertaining characters too. The Lazy Mermaid food sounds delicious even though I’m allergic to lobster." Read more

"Lobsters are tasty" Read more

4 customers mention "Readability"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read with a good plot and snappy dialogue that keeps the story moving.

"...The Dialogue Very snappy dialogue kept the story moving. I liked how everyone talked...." Read more

"Fast-paced and easy read. I could not put this book down, I loved every line of it...." Read more

"What a great treat. Well written with an easy plot. One of the first stories I have read that had zero romance, and was still a whole lot of fun!" Read more

"Easy read and hard to put down." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2018
    I love lobster. I've only had it a few times (family on the U.S. east coast, me in the southwest), but the taste and richness (and butter!) stays with you. So when I saw this little lobster on the front cover, running TOWARD me (not away), I picked up this book because the cover was fun, as is the name: Curses, Boiled again. (How many titles can you come up with involving lobster parts? So many....Genius) A murder mysteries that occurs at a televised food contest was pretty unique and amazing, especially when a gimpy ballerina, her no nonsense sister, and Aunt Gully (great character, great name) band together to solve the murder of a famous movie star after she takes only one bite of a competitor's lobster offering. Suspects abound and clues are dropped as liberally as dripping melted butter, but assembling those clues will keep you reading. All the while the reader is there, in Mystic Bay, at the beach with the salt air, the cool breeze, and a town's cast of characters that range from adorable to quirky to sinister. But even with all the fun, there are chills and thrills and surprises and a great twist. (I thought I knew who did it, but I was wrong and I didn't care. The villain was so much better than the one I chose.) All the loose threads were tied up in the end (mandatory), and I can't wait to read the next installment. I just feel really bad for the citizens one Mystic Bay. If the author (Shari Randall) keeps writing such good books, a whole lot of them will be marked for murder in the the future.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2019
    General Introduction
    Shari Randall has come up with a fun book here. There’s no such thing as a brand new book idea, just putting your own spin on an idea already out there. This author does it in spades. A restaurant, a food festival, and reality television? I’ve seen plenty of combinations for two of these, but all three? Not too many at all.
    The one thing missing from this book is a lobster roll recipe. I got to find one, since this book made me hungry for one!

    The Characters
    Allie Larkin is a fun character. I automatically felt for her with the injury crushing her dreams for the moment. She is fully developed, and I enjoyed her bit of a scatterbrained attempt at solving the murder. She feels more realistic that way.
    I love Aunt Gully, because she is a feisty broad. And she’s caring of others. The right personality for a restaurant.
    The sister Lorel is one I love to hate. She seems too perfect for me, too put together, has no clue the insecurities she creates. Reminds me of my own sister. Doesn’t everyone have one of these in the family? I hope in the sequel she gets accused of the murder! Sorry Shari!
    The cops I liked in this story because they are a little bit fumbly. Reminds me of Amos Tucker in Murder She Wrote. This is the kind of cop that needs help, making this cozy mystery one step closer to a reality.
    There were a lot of secondary characters in here because of the type of plot base. But I don’t think I had much trouble keeping them straight.

    The Setting Descriptions
    The setting I wish I could have envisioned better. There were so many different settings that I had trouble figuring out where I was.
    On the other hand, the descriptions were very vivid, very telling, and I did get a feel of the places in the story. I just struggled piecing them all together to get a view of the town.

    The Dialogue
    Very snappy dialogue kept the story moving. I liked how everyone talked. And even though most were from the same area, there was just enough differences in how people phrased things to keep everyone straight on who was saying what.

    The Pace
    The story didn’t seem to drag at all. I kind of flew through this story. It would have been nice to have an additional intense scene or two, felt this was a bit lacking. I know cozies aren’t supposed to be intense, but it’s good to have a bit of a heart pounding going on.

    The Plot
    I liked the concept of this story. As stated before, it’s not unique, but it’s not used too often. Shari Randall did a good job on mixing up different ideas for a mystery together into one.
    I found plenty of red herrings that I didn’t know where red herrings until the end. She had plenty of clues sprinkled throughout, most of which I missed, not because of bad placement, but because of good placement.
    I had no clue who committed the murder until the reveal. It shocked me. I shouldn’t have been. I should have guessed this, but the story was so well developed it fooled me into forgetting about it.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2018
    Off we go to Mystic Bay to visit and enjoy Aunt Gully's wonderful lobster rolls and chowder. Where, you ask? Why at the Lazy Mermaid Lobster Shack of course. And, yes by the ending of this interesting and character filled murder mystery, I was craving New England styled chowder!

    A popular television food program, called YUM!, has chosen the Lazy Mermaid as one of four contestants for a lobster roll cookoff. Everyone is so excited. And, the competition is to be held right in Mystic Bay. Aunt Gully is joined by her nieces, Allie (The Boston Ballerina,) and Lorelei (The Business woman.)

    Allie is home due to a damaged ankle and loves helping her Auntie, ok, not so much the lobster picking, but you get the idea.

    The show comes and the four contestants watch eagerly as the four 'important' judges take their first bite...ah, oh. And, off we go with ambulance sirens racing to the hospital where one judge, the one from Hollywood and Broadway dies. Poison, did I say poison? Oops I did but let's keep it among us friends, okay?

    The police look at the contestants and it is up to Allie to clear her Aunt's name as well as her own.

    I did enjoy this tale. The location was well written, the dialog interesting, and the crime with many motives kept me turning the pages.

    Do give this new series a read. I'm downloading the sequel today!
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2020
    I didn’t find it interesting enough to read quickly, but I did finish it. The motive for the crime seemed a bit far-fetched.
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2019
    I stumbled across this series by accident: this book was a suggestion by Amazon after I purchased the newest Barbara Ross east coast seafood-loving mystery. I'm so glad I took the bait! The characterization is excellent, although I haven't completely connected with main character Allie yet (I'm sure that will come). I especially enjoyed the foodie-based TV network presence and the premise of the lobster roll contest. Too bad Rick and Rio are fictional, because I would love to see their Foodies on the Fly show! Hope this isn't a spoiler, but I am disappointed that there was no resolution as to what ultimately happened to the characters who were originally suspected. I felt bad for them and hoped they would get back on their feet. Or maybe this will be resolved further on in the see? I can't wait to find out. Overall, an excellent read!
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Melix82
    4.0 out of 5 stars Atmosfera del New England
    Reviewed in Italy on June 28, 2018
    Primo romanzo della serie "A Lobster Shack Mystery" ci introduce la protagonista Allie Larkin una ballerina che a causa di un infortunio deve mettere in pausa la propria carriera. Decide di tornare nei luoghi di infanzia e di lavorare con la zia a un chiosco che vende panini con l'aragosta : dopo un contest culinario terminato in tragedia si trasformerà in investigatrice amatoriale come nella tradizione dei cosy mystery. Nel complesso la storia scorre bene, anche se a volte un po' lentamente, i personaggi sono credibili e il finale presenta un colpo di scena imprevedibile. Penso che leggerò anche i successivi che verranno pubblicati. Raccomandato.
  • Nina Senecal
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on February 26, 2018
    Nice read after a long day