Susan M. Boyer

I am really enjoying this series. Liz and Nate are finally getting married. It is going to be a Christmas wedding and they are finishing up their last case before the big event when Liz gets a call from Olivia. When Olivia, in tears, says she needs Liz right away, she heads off to Charleston to see what is the matter. Arriving at Olivia's great aunt Dean's house, she is told that Olivia's husband is dead inside the house. When they enter, there is no body, no blood and the room is fine. Is show more Olivia going crazy or is there a mystery here.

Liz is smart, dedicated, and funny, even while dealing with her uptight wedding planner, her mother and trying to help Olivia out. The house is a high-end bordello and it turns out that Olivia is a half owner. Nate is very present in this book and it is nice to see him play such a huge part. Nate is a true partner in the story, both in the business and as a support to Liz as her future husband. The wedding plans kept interrupting the investigation which reminded us that Liz and Nate are working hard to have somewhat of a normal life. Once again her family are there to support and help her wherever they can. Sonny, her contact in the Charleston PD showed another side as well. He got quite upset with Liz and went behind her at one point. Nice to see he is not a total pushover.

The murder mystery was cleverly plotted, as were how the bordello was started and how it was run by the great aunt. It was an interesting premise based on how expensive these older homes are to maintain. The ending was fantastic. It was totally plausible and the facts in the story backed it up, but did not totally give it away while reading. It is nice that she is able to pull off the supernatural bits with Colleen's presence. I love that Liz is finally going to be able to tell Nate about her spirit friend. Another wonderful addition to the Liz Talbot Mystery Series. I am ready to start on the next one. show less

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

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

I really do love this series; reading it is like visiting a home town. The settings and characters feel familiar (especially Liz's daddy).

I also really love Boyer's choices when she writes; she'll start with a predictable, out-there cozy cliche, but take it in a different direction. She'll have fun with it, but not take it seriously. Unlike another cozy author I read recently who took her story in a similar direction but tried to make it work, only to make a hash out of the entire thing.
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Lowcountry Bonfire starts off with a woman setting her husband's car and his clothes on fire; retaliation for the affair he's been having. When the firefighters pop open the trunk to control the fire they discover more than his clothes. But Zeke was killed with strychnine and his wife didn't have access to any and she's devastated that he's actually dead.

Liz and Nate start investigating and Liz finds a 20 year off-the-grid gap in Zeke's history that opens up a viable channel for investigation. What she discovers is fun for the reader in a Jason Bourne-ish kind of way, but ultimately it's the investigation closer to home that yields more results - realistic ones that are far more horrifying and heartbreaking.

Colleen's ghost doesn't get a lot of airtime here, although there was at least one scene where I thought she was just cruel; I like that she later had to face the consequences of taking a thing too far.

I like where the author has Nate and Liz too; they're an old married couple now ::grin:: but they have a nice affectionate balance in their relationship that is believable and I've always liked that Nate respects her independence and ability to take care of herself.

This book might not have had all the gasps that previous books have had, but it was a very solid mystery with a red herring that was sort of fun to explore. And if I ever have any renovations done on my house I am SO getting a secret compartment put in! show less