This is the first book in the Liz Talbot Mystery series by Susan M. Boyer through Henery Press. The tag line for this publisher is "The Henery Press Mystery Series Collection, if you like one, you'll probably like them all!" And I must admit that so far every one I have read from Henery Press has been fantastic. This book was no different.
The book started with Liz Talbot and her partner Nate Andrews are in the middle of persuing a rabbit into a park in Greenville, South Carolina. Just when they got the rabbit cornered, he pulls a gun on them. They manage to distract him and pull their own guns. Wisely, he drops the gun and reluctantly takes off the headpiece to his costume. They then confirm his identity and serve him with his divorce papers. As they are walking away, Liz sees her long dead best friend from high school sitting on the swing set, and tells her that it's time to come home. Having grown up on the lowcountry island of Stella Maris, Liz takes this in stride, but Nate senses something is wrong. This is where we find out that Nate is the brother of Liz's ex-husband Scott. As they are sitting at a local bar winding down and reflecting, Liz gets a telephone call from her brother telling her to come home. Their grandmother was dead, and as it turns out, it's not an accident.Liz Talbot is such a great character. She dresses in Anne Taylor, wheres Kate Spade shoes and handbags, enjoys electronics, carries a Sig Sauer 9 mm and is a bit of a germaphobe. Oh, and she turns out to be the point of contact for the Stella Maris' island guardian, her former best friend and ghost, Colleen. This book is full of southern charm and idiosyncrasies. If you don't feel the strong need for a tall glass of sweet tea and a walk on the beach after reading this book, you need to come spend some quality time in the south. I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads and was super glad that I had book 2 ready to dive right into.
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.
Sounds kinda fun. I hadn't seen this series before or heard of the press. That's great that they're really living up to expectations! Cute covers too!
ReplyDeleteIt was fun. I could totally see myself sitting down in a booth at the local diner and having a blast people watching in this town. Book 2 was even better, probably because the characters were already like friends. :)
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