Lowcountry Bombshell
“. . . rich and juicy with plenty of twists and turns.”
Liz Talbot, private investigator, is shocked one morning to find Marilyn Monroe’s doppelganger walk into her office asking for protection. The woman not only looks like Marilyn, her life also has eerie parallels with the life of the dead movie star. And the woman is convinced that someone intends to kill her on the 50th anniversary of Marilyn’s death.
As Liz begins to investigate she learns her wealthy client is not at all like the dumb blond she imitates; she’s a former banker who can quote Nietzsche. But she is also the lonely widow of a carjacking victim who was murdered.
Liz soon learns that her client is surrounded by suspicious characters including a fawning yoga instructor, a truculent housekeeper, a controlling psychiatrist, a crazy mother, manipulating aunt, and a stalking ex-husband. It’s up to Liz to find out who, among this cast of weird characters, stands to gain from her client’s death and inherit her considerable fortune.
Liz has her own complicated personal cast of characters to sort out. First there’s the ghost of her dead childhood friend who is the guardian angel of Stella Maris, the small island where Liz lives. Liz is the only one who can see the ghost, and when she appears it’s usually to give Liz advice.
The second complication is her business partner, Nate. Liz used to be married to Nate’s black sheep brother, but she and Nick managed to stay good friends until they started to have strong feelings for one another. But Nate lives in Greenville and neither he nor Liz wants to move away from their homes.
The third complication is Michael, who, until Nate, was the unrequited love of Liz’s life. Now Michael is free and wants to marry her. He has no intention of uprooting Liz. “You know, this island is your home, Liz. You and me, we share that. This place means something to us. We have roots here. Roots are important.”
What’s a girl to do?
The case grows even more complicated when Liz discovers there’s a connection to an old, unsolved missing person’s case and a gun missing from the police evidence room. How do all these things connect? And how will Liz and Nate escape the very real danger that threatens their own lives?
This fast paced cozy mystery keeps the reader guessing to the end. Susan Boyers’ well researched plot makes the Marilyn Monroe premise quite believable.
Although this book has the strong flavors of a Southern mystery it is by no means provincial. It has a sophistication that belies the setting.
This Agatha Award winning author of the Liz Talbot mysteries has put together a complicated story that’s rich and juicy with plenty of twists and turns. It has lots of peril and romance—something for every cozy mystery fan.