BOOK REVIEW: Lowcountry Boil (Liz Talbot Mystery #1) by Susan M. Boyer

Lowcountry Boil (Liz Talbot Mystery #1)

by Susan M. Boyer (Goodreads Author)

Paperback, 408 pages

Published September 18th 2012 by Henery Press (first published September 13th 2012)

Goodreads synopsis: Private Investigator Liz Talbot is a modern Southern belle: she blesses hearts and takes names. She carries her Sig 9 in her Kate Spade handbag, and her golden retriever, Rhett, rides shotgun in her hybrid Escape. When her grandmother is murdered, Liz high-tails it back to her South Carolina island home to find the killer. She’s fit to be tied when her police-chief brother shuts her out of the investigation, so she opens her own. Then her long-dead best friend pops in and things really get complicated. When more folks start turning up dead in this small seaside town, Liz must use more than just her wits and charm to keep her family safe, chase down clues from the hereafter, and catch a psychopath before he catches her.

***

This clever cozy mystery is one that anyone would love.

The whole book centers around the death of Liz's grandmother, Emma. Liz has been working as a private investigator in a different city and hasn't spent a lot of time with her grandmother. During the reading of the will, the entire estate is left to Liz, much to her cousin's dismay. This fact features prominently in the storyline. 

Liz is visited by the spirit of Stella Maris who ends up being her dead best friend, and together they solve the mystery of Liz's grandmother's death. Definitely pick this title up if you love a great mystery.

I found the characters and community of Stella Maris fully rendered beings. You don't see that a lot in novels these days. I loved that about this book. It was almost like you were reading about real people and just discovering what was going on in their lives. At times I even felt stress reading the book. Talk about true to life. 

There was a part where Liz was still yearning for her old flame Michael but I had a feeling that wouldn't pan out in the future. I think that is still up in the air as the book ends but I am holding out hope that Nate, her business partner, will have a bigger part in the second book. Can you say Love Triangle? lol

Definitely one on my must read list this year. Check it out.

4 Stars