Oh, my word. I am having the best time reading a new author. She is a wonderfully Southern writer. She writes cozy mysteries. Thankfully, there are ten of them in this series; sadly, I am almost finished with the second one. Which means that there are only eight more to go. She really knows the South Carolina Lowcountry, and Charleston, in particular. She has nailed the people, the sights, the smells, and the eccentricity of the people.

Well, I guess you would like to know who I am talking about, don’t you? Silly, me. Of course, you do. I am talking about Susan M. Boyer. My friend from Greenville, where Mrs. Boyer lives, told me that I just had to read her Liz Talbot series. She was right. I simply adore the series. They are bright, clearly written, fast-paced, hysterical reads. The murders are convoluted enough to keep you guessing but controlled enough that you don’t get bogged down trying to figure things out.

Liz gets in more scrapes than any modern character I can think of…and she does it on a small barrier island just off Charleston. You would think Mrs. Boyer would run out of interesting characters on an island with a contained population, but, no, there is plenty of crazy populating that island. A psychic godmother, a proper southern mother, a good-old-boy-gun-toting father, an overprotective brother, a New-Age cafe owner. Well, the list goes on…and on…and on. 

Did I mention that Liz is a private eye? No? Well, she is. And she is mighty good at it. I love that part the best. She is not local law enforcement, so she can bend the rules on occasion. Okay, she strolls right on past “bending”, but we don’t mind in the least. I love that she enjoys skinny-dipping in the ocean at dawn. You have to like someone who doesn’t take herself so seriously.

The first book is Lowcountry Boil, and the second one is Lowcountry Bombshell. That’s right. Each book has “Lowcountry” in the title. I am really looking forward to Lowcountry Boneyard, the third book. Who knows what mischief Liz will get into next.

If you haven’t read any of her books, yet, now is the time. If you’ve already read all ten of them, hush now, don’t give anything away.