Tl dr - This mystery series (this is Book 3) is a great blend of soft and hard. I'm not going to talk about the mystery part of the novel - it's hard to do without spoilers - but I thought it was very enjoyable. Usually romance storylines in books are sex-based - and while Liz and Nate have plenty of sex (off-page, don't worry!) - it's obviously love and respect that is the basis of their relationship. It's rare for me to read a book that posits romance but actually takes a look at how a couple really deals with life and the obstacles it brings. They have conversations, long talks about serious subjects that couples need to talk about (children, finances, where to live). A whole lot better.Īnd the romance between her and Nate is adult and real. The next move was his, and he was going to have to do better than why don't you stay with me tonight. His response was to tell me to sleep on it. But I was all done with pining after men who didn't want me, or didn't want me enough. For one thing, Liz is a woman who doesn't take any shit from men. However, the romance that IS there is pretty awesome. This is yet another book that combines mystery and romance, but I'm happy to say that the romance takes the back burner to the mystery on this one. The only thing unbelievable in this series is that Liz occasionally has help from a ghost - excuse me, 'guardian spirit' - the spirit of her childhood best friend Colleen who committed suicide at age 17. Liz Talbot is such a strong, smart, capable character - but Boyer never has her cross the line into 'badass' or 'unrealistic.' I mean, she can pick locks, B&E, and carries her Sig Sauer 9mm everywhere (she named it 'Sig') - but she doesn't know martial arts and is unable to carry off any unbelievable feats that might strain one's suspension of disbelief, no matter how cool they are at the time. Liz is a Southern lady through and through and the book is a delightful explosion of Southern manners, food, slang, and sass.

When a 23-year-old woman goes missing, Liz Talbot and her partner Nate are hired to investigate. Then she sobbed and retched alternately for a while. She did, just before she started retching. 'I - oh no.' She put one hand over her mouth and furiously fumbled with the other to get the door open. She looked like she'd been sucker-punched.

Lowcountry Boneyard by Susan M. Boyer