Book Review
Lowcountry Bordello by Susan M. Boyer
Book 4: Liz Talbot Mystery Series
Publisher: Henery Press
Publication Date: November 3, 2015
Format: Paperback - 272 pages
Kindle - 749 KB
Nook - 528 KB
ISBN: 978-1943390175
ASIN: B0147MG9W4
BNID: 2940150975965
Genre: Southern Cozy Mystery
Buy The Book:
Buy The Series: Liz Talbot Mystery Series
Book 1: Lowcountry Boil
Book 2: Lowcountry Bombshell
Book 3: Lowcountry Boneyard
Book 4: Lowcountry Bordello
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours.
Book Description:
The Charleston streets are dressed for the holidays in sophisticated Southern style: topiaries adorned with red ribbons, garland entwined with white lights, and poinsettias potted in gold planters. The high class bordello in a stately historic home is certainly no exception. When Private Investigator Liz Talbot’s dear friend Olivia swears she saw a dead body in the parlor of this bordello, one Olivia accidentally co-owns, Liz promptly comes to her aid.
With her wedding back home on Stella Maris less than a week away, Liz must juggle one elderly madam, two ex and future in-laws, three ghosts in the bordello, four giddy bridesmaids, five lovely courtesans, six suspicious patrons…and a partridge in a pear tree as she tries to keep her bridesmaid out of jail and live to walk down the aisle.
Related subjects include: women sleuths, private investigator mystery series, murder mysteries, whodunit mysteries (whodunnit), book club recommendations, Southern fiction, Southern humor, Southern living.
Book Excerpt:
A Day in the Life of Liz Talbot, PI, by Susan M. Boyer
The dead are not altogether reliable. Colleen, my best friend, calls herself a Guardian Spirit. I can’t argue with the facts at hand: She’s been dead seventeen years, and she watches my back. I’m a private investigator, so situations arise from time to time wherein my back needs watching. Technically, Colleen’s afterlife mission is to protect Stella Maris, our island home near Charleston, South Carolina, from developers and all such as that. Since I’m on the town council and can’t abide the notion of condos and time-shares on our pristine beaches, protecting me falls under her purview.
Solving my cases, however, does not. She’ll tell me that in a skinny minute should I happen to mention how she could be more helpful. But she has been known to toss me the occasional insight from beyond that provokes a train of thought, which, upon reflection, proves useful. Here’s the thing: Colleen shows up when she detects I’m in danger. Sometimes she warns me in advance. Occasionally she drops by just to chat. But she doesn’t come whenever I think of her or call her name. It rarely works like that.
One Monday in December, I really could’ve used Colleen’s perspective. We were closing in on Christmas, and I was getting married on the twentieth—in five days. I was a teensy bit distracted, is what I’m saying.
It was a little after ten in the morning, and I was at my desk in the living room of my beachfront house, which doubles as my office. I was deep into research on a criminal case Nate, my partner and fiancé, and I were working for Andy Savage. Andy was a high profile Charleston attorney, and while this case didn’t amount to much more than fact-checking, we hoped it would lead to a lucrative relationship for Talbot and Andrews, our agency.
I stared at my computer screen and reached for one of Mamma’s Christmas cookies. My phone trilled out the ringtone named Old Phone. Old Phone was reserved for old friends. I grabbed my phone instead of the cookie.
Robert Pearson. He’d been a year ahead of me in high school, the same age as my brother, Blake. He’d married one of my best friends. Robert was also our family attorney, and he and I were both on the Stella Maris town council.
I tapped the green “accept” button.
After we exchanged the usual pleasantries, he said, “I wondered, if you’re not too busy, could you drop by this afternoon? There’s something I want to run by you.”
“I have an appointment at one that’s going to take most of the afternoon.” Multi-toned highlights are a maintenance issue, especially with hair as long as mine. My natural sandy blonde would turn Tweety Bird yellow if Dori looked at it wrong. She always took her time, but five days before my wedding she’d be excruciatingly meticulous. I couldn’t walk down the aisle with yellow hair.
“Noon?” he asked.
“Sure. See you then.”
“Thanks, Liz. I really appreciate it.” He sounded way too grateful for such an ordinary request. This is what should’ve tipped me off that something was up.
Copyright © 2015 by Susan M. Boyer -- This excerpt is reprinted by permission from Henery Press. All rights reserved.
The dead are not altogether reliable. Colleen, my best friend, calls herself a Guardian Spirit. I can’t argue with the facts at hand: She’s been dead seventeen years, and she watches my back. I’m a private investigator, so situations arise from time to time wherein my back needs watching. Technically, Colleen’s afterlife mission is to protect Stella Maris, our island home near Charleston, South Carolina, from developers and all such as that. Since I’m on the town council and can’t abide the notion of condos and time-shares on our pristine beaches, protecting me falls under her purview.
Solving my cases, however, does not. She’ll tell me that in a skinny minute should I happen to mention how she could be more helpful. But she has been known to toss me the occasional insight from beyond that provokes a train of thought, which, upon reflection, proves useful. Here’s the thing: Colleen shows up when she detects I’m in danger. Sometimes she warns me in advance. Occasionally she drops by just to chat. But she doesn’t come whenever I think of her or call her name. It rarely works like that.
One Monday in December, I really could’ve used Colleen’s perspective. We were closing in on Christmas, and I was getting married on the twentieth—in five days. I was a teensy bit distracted, is what I’m saying.
It was a little after ten in the morning, and I was at my desk in the living room of my beachfront house, which doubles as my office. I was deep into research on a criminal case Nate, my partner and fiancé, and I were working for Andy Savage. Andy was a high profile Charleston attorney, and while this case didn’t amount to much more than fact-checking, we hoped it would lead to a lucrative relationship for Talbot and Andrews, our agency.
I stared at my computer screen and reached for one of Mamma’s Christmas cookies. My phone trilled out the ringtone named Old Phone. Old Phone was reserved for old friends. I grabbed my phone instead of the cookie.
Robert Pearson. He’d been a year ahead of me in high school, the same age as my brother, Blake. He’d married one of my best friends. Robert was also our family attorney, and he and I were both on the Stella Maris town council.
I tapped the green “accept” button.
After we exchanged the usual pleasantries, he said, “I wondered, if you’re not too busy, could you drop by this afternoon? There’s something I want to run by you.”
“I have an appointment at one that’s going to take most of the afternoon.” Multi-toned highlights are a maintenance issue, especially with hair as long as mine. My natural sandy blonde would turn Tweety Bird yellow if Dori looked at it wrong. She always took her time, but five days before my wedding she’d be excruciatingly meticulous. I couldn’t walk down the aisle with yellow hair.
“Noon?” he asked.
“Sure. See you then.”
“Thanks, Liz. I really appreciate it.” He sounded way too grateful for such an ordinary request. This is what should’ve tipped me off that something was up.
Copyright © 2015 by Susan M. Boyer -- This excerpt is reprinted by permission from Henery Press. All rights reserved.
My Book Review:
In the fourth book of the Liz Talbot Mystery series, Lowcountry Bordello, the reader catches up with P.I. Liz Talbot's latest investigative adventures.
Author Susan M. Boyer weaves an entertaining Southern cozy mystery set in Charleston and the lowcountry island town of Stella Maris, South Carolina, that follows the adventures of Liz Talbot and partner/fiance Nate Andrews as they investigate the suspicious activities that are going on at Liz's friend Olivia Pearson and Aunt Dean Beauthorpe's high class bordello.
Written in the first person narrative, Liz's sassy wit and southern charm keeps the reader engaged as she tries to fill in the pieces of the puzzle of what kind of illicit activities goes on behind the stately doors of the bordello's occupants and their wealthy patrons, while also trying to finish getting ready for her Christmas wedding to Nate that is in five days! This fun cozy mystery is full of intriguing twists and turns that will keep the reader guessing. It has a paranormal twist in the form of Colleen, Liz's ghostly best friend, who is Stella Maris' resident guardian spirit, who also helps Liz with her investigations. And if that isn't enough to draw you into the story, the reader gets up-to-date on Liz and Nate's relationship, and their determination to put the bordello case's distraction behind them as quickly as they can as they make a mad dash to their wedding day.
With a quirky cast of characters whose witty dialogue will keep you stitches, and a fast paced Southern cozy mystery guaranteed to make you want some sweet tea and hushpuppies, Lowcountry Bordello is an enchanting tale that will leave you wanting more of Liz's adventures!
Lowcountry Bordello is the fourth book in the Liz Talbot Mystery series. While the books can be a stand alone read, I would recommend that the series be read in sequential order, as the stories easily flows from one book to next with new mystery adventures for our sassy Southern P.I. Liz Talbot.
RATING: 4 STARS
Susan M. Boyer is the author of the USA TODAY bestselling Liz Talbot mystery series. Her debut novel, Lowcountry Boil, won the 2012 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense, and garnered several other award nominations, including the Macavity. Lowcountry Boneyard, the third Liz Talbot mystery, was a Spring 2015 Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Okra Pick. Lowcountry Bordello, the fourth Liz Talbot mystery, was released April 21, 2015. Susan loves beaches, Southern food, and small towns where everyone knows everyone, and everyone has crazy relatives. You’ll find all of the above in her novels.
Susan lives in Greenville, SC, with her husband and an inordinate number of houseplants.
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Author Susan M. Boyer weaves an entertaining Southern cozy mystery set in Charleston and the lowcountry island town of Stella Maris, South Carolina, that follows the adventures of Liz Talbot and partner/fiance Nate Andrews as they investigate the suspicious activities that are going on at Liz's friend Olivia Pearson and Aunt Dean Beauthorpe's high class bordello.
Written in the first person narrative, Liz's sassy wit and southern charm keeps the reader engaged as she tries to fill in the pieces of the puzzle of what kind of illicit activities goes on behind the stately doors of the bordello's occupants and their wealthy patrons, while also trying to finish getting ready for her Christmas wedding to Nate that is in five days! This fun cozy mystery is full of intriguing twists and turns that will keep the reader guessing. It has a paranormal twist in the form of Colleen, Liz's ghostly best friend, who is Stella Maris' resident guardian spirit, who also helps Liz with her investigations. And if that isn't enough to draw you into the story, the reader gets up-to-date on Liz and Nate's relationship, and their determination to put the bordello case's distraction behind them as quickly as they can as they make a mad dash to their wedding day.
With a quirky cast of characters whose witty dialogue will keep you stitches, and a fast paced Southern cozy mystery guaranteed to make you want some sweet tea and hushpuppies, Lowcountry Bordello is an enchanting tale that will leave you wanting more of Liz's adventures!
Lowcountry Bordello is the fourth book in the Liz Talbot Mystery series. While the books can be a stand alone read, I would recommend that the series be read in sequential order, as the stories easily flows from one book to next with new mystery adventures for our sassy Southern P.I. Liz Talbot.
RATING: 4 STARS
About The Author
Susan M. Boyer is the author of the USA TODAY bestselling Liz Talbot mystery series. Her debut novel, Lowcountry Boil, won the 2012 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense, and garnered several other award nominations, including the Macavity. Lowcountry Boneyard, the third Liz Talbot mystery, was a Spring 2015 Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Okra Pick. Lowcountry Bordello, the fourth Liz Talbot mystery, was released April 21, 2015. Susan loves beaches, Southern food, and small towns where everyone knows everyone, and everyone has crazy relatives. You’ll find all of the above in her novels.
Susan lives in Greenville, SC, with her husband and an inordinate number of houseplants.
Author Website
Henery Press
Goodreads
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Love the series!
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