The Chowder House Murder

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.

When a Chowder House server recalls seeing local diner cook Waldo Duggan in the alley that same evening, he becomes a suspect. And when it's uncovered that Waldo bitterly believed the Holbrooks stole the lucrative chowder recipe from the Duggans in the 1930's, he's only further implicated . . .

Despite everything, Maggie can't believe Waldo would murder anyone. For fair-minded Maggie, to keep an innocent man out of jail, and to ease Audrey's guilt over serving the chowder, there's no choice but to team-up to crime solve. Soon grandmother and granddaughter are immersed in a stew of rivalries, long held feuds, and looming threats. Because beneath the surface, even a pretty town has its ugly side . . .

Author: Lee Hollis
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
Published: 05/26/2026
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.96lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.79w x 1.16d
ISBN: 9781496755056


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 03/01/2026 pg. 88
Kirkus Reviews 05/15/2026

About the Author
Lee Hollis is the pen name for Rick Copp, a veteran Hollywood screenwriter who has written for numerous television series, including The Golden Girls, Wings, Scooby-Doo, Teen Titans, and Barbershop. He is the co-writer of The Brady Bunch Movie and also produced, wrote and starred in the hit web series Where the Bears Are, which has over 60 million views on YouTube. He has also authored a number of novels under his own name. As Lee Hollis, he has written over 30 novels and 9 novellas to date including the Hayley Powell Food & Cocktails Mysteries (with his sister Holly Simason), the Downeast Maine Mysteries, the Jarrod Jarvis Father-Daughter Mysteries, the Desert Flowers Mysteries and the Maya & Sandra mysteries. He lives in Palm Springs, California. Please visit LeeHollisMysteries.com to learn more.