Book Review: Low Country Boneyard

Kerry Hammond reviews Susan M. Boyer's new book, Low Country Boneyard. You can see an interview with Susan here.

I joined the Liz Talbot Mystery series by Susan M. Boyer at book 3, and I’m so glad I did. One of my favorite ways to judge how much I like a book is how many reading deals I make with myself. If you’re a booklover, you may know what I’m talking about. It goes something like this: “I need to get in the shower, but after I read just one more chapter.” Or, “I need to start dinner, but I’m on page 132 and page 150 would be a good stopping point” (did I mention I think I have a touch of OCD?). Then, when I reach page 150, “it’s not the end of a chapter, so I’ll just keep going until the next chapter starts (see OCD comment above), dinner can wait.” Let me just say, a lot of deals were made, a lot of pages were read, and a lot of fun was had.

As I said, Lowcountry Boneyard is book 3 in Susan M. Boyer’s series, right behind Lowcountry Boil and Lowcountry Bombshell. The books take place in South Carolina and feature private investigator Liz Talbot. In this installment, Liz is hired by a wealthy Charleston family to search for their missing daughter, Kent Heyward. Kent, a 23 year-old heiress, went missing a month ago and the police have come to a dead end. Liz is the family’s last hope at finding their daughter. The Heyward’s are a family of money, status, and, as Liz soon discovers, many secrets. As Liz gets closer to discovering the truth, she finds her own life is in danger. There are some secrets that people clearly don’t want revealed. Aided by the ghost of her dead best friend, Colleen (trust me on this one, Colleen is a great addition to the story), Liz and her partner—and boyfriend—Nate will let nothing stop them from finding the truth.

I loved the characters in this book. Liz and Nate are great, and Liz’s family is such a hoot I couldn’t wait for her next visit to their house. The mystery was well written and extremely enjoyable. I am not ashamed to admit that I didn’t solve it until Liz did, but I like to be surprised, so that’s another sign of a good book for me.

If you’re the kind of person who needs to read a series in order, by all means, start at book 1 (I’m headed there myself). But if you have a devil may care attitude, and can throw caution to the wind and jump in anywhere, you won’t be disappointed. Boyer doesn't make you think you've missed anything, and Lowcountry Boneyard can stand on its own because it’s written with just the right amount of backstory and explanation. Just don’t think you’re going to be able to fit in a lot of showers or make a lot of dinners until you’re finished.