Review: Low Country Bombshell by Susan M. Boyer

Lowcountry Bombshell
Author: Susan M. Boyer
Publisher: Henery Press
Published: September 2013
Pages: 266
Edition:  Trade paperback
Source: Thank you to the publisher and to TLC Book Tours for a complimentary copy.  Receipt thereof bears no influence on my opinion nor of this review for Lowcountry Bombshell.
Genre:  Mystery

Private Investigator Liz Talbot thinks she’s seen another ghost when she meets Calista McQueen. She’s the spitting image of Marilyn Monroe. Born precisely fifty years after the ill-fated star, Calista’s life has eerily mirrored the late starlet’s—and she fears the looming anniversary of Marilyn’s death will also be hers.

Before Liz can open a case file, Calista’s life coach is executed. Suspicious characters swarm around Calista like mosquitoes on a sultry lowcountry evening: her certifiable mother, a fake aunt, her control-freak psychoanalyst, a private yoga instructor, her peculiar housekeeper, and an obsessed ex-husband. Liz digs in to find a motive for murder, but she’s besieged with distractions. Her ex has marriage and babies on his mind. Her too-sexy partner engages in a campaign of repeat seduction. Mamma needs help with Daddy’s devotion to bad habits. And a gang of wild hogs is running loose on Stella Maris.

With the heat index approaching triple digits, Liz races to uncover a diabolical murder plot in time to save not only Calista’s life, but also her own.

My review:

Lowcountry Bombshell features Liz Talbot, a private investigator and her partner Nate (business and personal) and is part of the Henery Press Mystery Collection. When Liz is contacted by Calista McQueen, a Marilyn Monroe lookalike who seems destined to mirror her life and death, is it a coincidence that Calista is almost the same age Marilyn was when she allegedly committed suicide?  When Calista's psychic advisor is found murdered, a hit in fact, the stakes are raised and Liz finds herself with several suspects including Calista's mother, an odd "aunt", a disturbing psychoanalyst, and a guy in a black mustang with death on his mind to name a few. 

It could be someone's cruel master plan to time Calista's death to the very anniversary of Marilyn's or does it have anything to do with being a "dead ringer?"  Perhaps it's the lottery win her deceased husband won unknowingly as he was found murdered and Calista was the sole recipient of a very generous jackpot.

Lowcountry Bombshell is fast-paced and well-written and you'll want to read it all in one sitting. It is a cozy mystery filled with suspense, an edge of your seat finale and a good hit of romance!

Susan M. Boyer's debut novel, Lowcountry Boil is the recipient of a few awards including the Agatha Award for Best New Novel. I cannot wait to see more from this author!

Susan M. Boyer has been making up stories her whole life. She tags along with her husband on business trips whenever she can because hotels are great places to write: fresh coffee all day and cookies at 4 p.m. They have a home in Greenville, SC, which they occasionally visit, and they run away to the beach as often as possible.

Susan’s debut novel, Lowcountry Boil, is an Agatha Award winner for Best First Novel, a 2012 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense recipient, and a 2012 RWA Golden Heart® finalist. Her next book, Lowcountry Bombshell, will be released September 3, 2013.

Susan’s short fiction has appeared in moonShine Review, Spinetingler Magazine, and Relief Journal, among others.

To learn more about Susan, visit susanmboyerbooks.com. You can also connect with Susan on Facebook and Twitter,  see what she’s pinning on Pinterest, and find her on Goodreads.