Her father is up to something and her mother wants Liz to find out what it is. Liz can't help but sense lots of undercurrents within the family members and she is determined to find out what is going on. Talbot cooks and puts on the table when her family comes for Wednesday night dinner. This one has just as many descriptions as always of the classic Southern food Mrs. Liz and Nate need to find evidence of what happened and who was involved. This one concerns the death of a local college professor who has been killed and later his home was destroyed. Boyer will have given me that comfortable feeling for the location (Stella Maris and Charleston, South Carolina) and the family dynamics that surround Liz and her husband Nate as they tackle another case as private investigators. When I open to the first page in a Liz Talbot series book I know author Susan M. I bought the next book in this series after finishing this and I have to say, that I was very disappointed with that one. I do have to say that the ending is a game changer for the series, and I wish that Boyer had let that linger with readers instead of just waving her hands at it in the next book. We have another funny story featuring Liz's father and the dysfunction of Liz's family at times makes the book a lot brighter. I think that the book was pitch perfect from beginning to end and it definitely made you think about the relationships and families that we make with friends and also with relatives. When Colleen herself finally has to tell Liz that she can't always be there, you would think that Liz would think things through, but if anything her and Nate continue to do reckless things. Her mission is to keep Stella Mars safe from being overpopulated with people. But the Powers That Be are getting annoyed with Colleen since that's not her primary mission. She wants to keep them safe, but realizes that Liz uses her too much while working cases and also that Colleen has saved them both dozens of times due to her actions. We also have a shifting of Colleen's friendship with Liz and Nate in this one. I did like how that story-line was resolved though by the end of this book. Liz is also still suspicious of Darius's son from the events she unearthed in the last book. It is glossed over eventually (but picked up again in the next book). Liz knows how tight their finances are and wonders how Nate has the money he seems to. Liz and Nate work well together, but there's increasing tension between them due to Nate spending a lot of money towards the home they live in and a new vehicle they bought. We have Liz and Nate being asked to investigate when Darius (their client from the last case they worked) asks them to step in when it seems his biological son and two friends are suspects in a murder. I loved the newest installment of the Liz Talbot mystery series.

Lowcountry Boondoggle by Susan M. Boyer