Novella Review: Nogged Off by Barbara Ross (Maine Clambake Mysteries #4.5)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Fun Christmas story with Julia

Cons: Only if you are expecting a full novel instead of a novella

The Bottom Line:

Spend Christmas in Maine

With seasonal novella

Offered once again

Julia’s First Eventful Christmas Back Home

Three years ago, Barbara Ross contributed a novella to the Eggnog Murder novella collection.  Now, Kensington has decided to offer it as a standalone ebook.  I thought I’d take that opportunity to share my thoughts on “Nogged Off” again.  No, I didn’t reread the story, so these will be briefer than normal since I was originally reviewing it as a part of a larger collection.

This story finds Julia Snowden taking a quick day trip to New York City to pack up the rest of her belongings so she can permanently move to Maine.  When she arrives, she finds her sub-tenant to be upset about some setbacks in her personal life, and Julia winds up inviting Imogen home for Christmas.  However, Julia’s Christmas gets more complicated when her moving truck is stolen after they arrive in Busman’s Harbor.  What is going on?

I love this series, and I enjoyed getting to visit Julia at Christmas.  I was able to get fully lost in this story right away since I already know the series characters and the setting.  The plot was fun with some good twists before we reached the end.  Barbara Ross includes some fun Christmas traditions that are unique to Maine without slowing down the story, and they give us that all important Christmas feeling.  There are a couple of recipes at the end of the story, as always, to enjoy during the holiday season.

If you haven’t already read “Nogged Off,” now is a great time to get it.

Have you read all of the Maine Clambake Mysteries?

NOTE: I received an ARC of the originally collection.