Susan M. Boyer

Sometimes good books find the right reader, instead of the other way around - after a rash of three star duds, I stumbled across this funny and intriguing detective story by accident, and enjoyed every page. A combination of two of my favourite reading 'themes' - ghosts and the Deep South - make this a personal winner.

Private detective Liz Talbot returns home to the insular Louisiana sea island community of Stella Maris when her grandmother dies. She soon finds out that all is not as it show more seems, and everybody around her seems to have a secret. About the only gripes I have with Susan M. Boyer's novel are with the clumsy product placement and the unnecessary 'romantic troubles' foisted on poor Liz - everything else is a riot! Liz's late childhood friend Colleen returns as a 'guardian spirit' - not a ghost or an angel - to help Liz protect the community; the Talbots are true Southern eccentrics; and oh wow, the food! Just reading the descriptions made my mouth water! Liz reminds me of Kinsey Milhone, but in a good way - still independent and headstrong, but less of a California health freak. The first person narration is packed with personality, which is always a key factor in drawing me into any detective series, and Liz's family had me in stitches.

Cannot recommend enough - brilliant entertainment, with a clever mystery to boot. show less

Never has a murder mystery been so much fun! You know that character who is so humorous, intelligent and witty you want to befriend and hang out with her? That's who Boyer created with Liz Talbot- I'm going to miss her now that I've finished this book! Boyer is chock full of southern charm, romance, intrigue and locational details and I'm now putting Charleston, SC on my vacation go-to list! Thank-you for such an entertaining, brain bending tale, I recommend this book, and this witty author, show more to everyone! show less

Liz Talbot and Nate Andrews are married private investigators. They've recently helped Darius Baker out of a tough spot, and now he wants them to help his son Brantley who is mixed up in a murder investigation. When his attorneys retain them to find evidence to prove Brantley innocent, they go to work.

Liz, however, isn't so sure that Brantley's innocent. Darius only recently discovered that he had a son, and it's because Brantley's adoptive parents were killed -- along with every other show more member of his family -- in a suspicious fire, when none of their smoke alarms signaled anything. Even though he was never charged, she still wonders if he had anything to do with it. But being the professional she is, she's going to help him.

It seems that Brantley, along with two buddies, have invested in a hemp farm and one of them had a college professor uncle that raised him. Tyler, from all appearances, loved his uncle and would never hurt him. But Murray was definitely poisoned, and before anyone could find evidence on his security cameras, his house was demolished in an explosion. Now Tyler is the main suspect, and Liz and Nate are on the trail of a killer -- someone who's killed before and has no problem doing it again...

I have always loved this series and this book isn't any different. It brings me back to Stella Maris Island, just outside Charleston, South Carolina, where Liz and her family lives. We're once again drawn into their lives, along with Liz's teenage friend Colleen, who died when she was seventeen and is guardian of the island. But Colleen's main mission is to protect the island from people who would ruin it, and Liz is only one step in that direction. With only Liz and Nate able to see her, it makes things difficult when she's around.

Liz and Nate have to don disguises to find the information they're looking for, and that includes attending Murray's funeral, where they encounter three women who all insist they were his girlfriend. Finding out that Murray had more layers to him than they thought, they also discover that his current girlfriend Annalise may have been closer to him than anyone. But someone wanted him out of the way, enough to destroy any evidence there might have been. And with what they find out, Annalise might be another target unless they can surreptitiously help her, too.

Among the investigation keeping them busy, Liz discovers that her friend Sonny Ravenel, is heading the police investigation, and he knows something's up with her brother Blake, police chief of Stella Maris. Blake and his girlfriend Poppy have just taken a much-needed vacation, but Sonny refuses to discuss it. Liz, with her natural curiosity, born of the fact of her job, is wondering what's up. But she doesn't have time to worry about it when her mother calls and tells her to find out what's going on with her father -- he's having packages delivered to the house and won't tell her what they are. So Liz, naturally, now has to delve into that somehow while working the murder case.

What follows is a tale of murder, greed, larceny, and lies. Liz and Nate discover more than they expected, and it brings things out into the open that have been hidden without a clue to the truth. There is more to the story, and more people involved than they first expected, It sets forth a chain of events that could cost Liz things she values most; and brings a sadness along with great joy for her.

There is also a hilarious scene between her mother, father, and a horrendous surprise by her father that while funny as can be, almost sets her mother's teeth on edge and when the rest of the family finds out, they're all on her side. Just that one scene alone is worth reading the book.

Since I would love to say more but refuse to give away any major spoilers, I must end this review with what I have already said. When the murderer is found out and everything comes together, it is more than a satisfying story, and it makes it difficult to wait for the next in the series. Highly recommended. show less

Liz Talbot is having breakfast with her friend and owner of The Cracked Pot, Moon Unit. Moon, who is the girlfriend of Police Detective Sonny Ravenel of the Charleston police. Moon tells her that she thinks Sonny wants Liz to know something, but she won't break a confidence and Liz has to "guess" it out of her.

It turns out that a local news anchor, Trina Lynn Causby, was recently murdered, and that the police are getting ready to arrest Darius Baker for the crime. Darius is a recently show more retired television star, and has come home to the place he grew up, just wanting peace and quiet. Sonny doesn't believe that Darius is guilty, but won't say who's pushing for his conviction. When Liz's ghostly guardian angel Colleen (another story for another time) tells her that she needs to get to Darius's home pronto, she goes.

While she's trying to convince him that the police have him in their sights, he refuses to believe it. That is, until they show up at the door and actually do arrest him. Now Liz and her husband Nate Andrews, both Private Investigators, have been hired by Darius to find out who's framing him and why. But unless they can find out and soon, Liz and Nate might not live to to solve another case...

This book is brimming with intrigue, suspense, and red herrings, and Liz and Nate are definitely kept busy throughout trying to get to the truth. In this book, contact with Sonny is kept to a minimum - as in not at all - and Colleen is MIA for much of the book. In this, most of the attention is focused on the couple trying to clear their client's name and find out who, and why, he's being set up. It's a convoluted tale that brings into play three (crazy) ex-wives, witnesses who might know more than they do, and lots and lots of food. Glorious food.

But the best part (aside from finding the killer, of course) are the humorous exchanges between Liz's Mamma and Daddy. Her Daddy is sick, and milking it for all it's worth. Her Mamma is trying to stay sane. And there is a particularly hilarious chapter that involves all the siblings, her Daddy, Mamma, a didgeridoo, Chumley the Basset Hound, and pluff mud (a nasty, brown miasma). That one chapter alone is worth the entire book.

When Liz and Nate get closer to the finding the truth, it puts them both in danger, but since they don't yet know who the killer is, they have no idea what to look for. It's a precarious situation - and without the help of either Sonny or Colleen (who is protecting Darius while he's in jail) - it makes it harder for them to solve the case. When Liz finally does figure it out, due to a an unexpected clue, it makes for an interesting conclusion, and one we couldn't have seen coming if it were right in front of us.

This is the eighth book in the series, and I must say that they just keep getting better. I've come to enjoy spending time with Liz and Nate, and I've become fond of her parents (even more so now after the pluff mud incident, as I will forever refer to it). She's intelligent, resourceful, brave, attractive, loyal, and the type of person I'd like to have around in a sticky situation. She can think on her feet, put things together quickly, and follow the clues to the right destination. It's a delightful combination that makes for a very good mystery indeed.

Rarely do you come across an author who can make you laugh while keeping you following clues in a mystery, without missing a beat. Ms. Boyer is one such of those authors, and her books should be read by anyone who wants a tale they can sink their teeth into without it going into the 'overly cutesy' territory. I loved this book and look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended. show less