Genre: Mystery
Hardcover; Paperback; Ebook
ISBN #: 9781635110487; 9781635110456
Henery Press
268 Pages
$30.42; $14.36; $6.99 Amazon
July 5, 2016
Five Stars
Somebody pushed Shelby Poinsett out her second-floor library window and it wasn't her husband. At least that's what Charleston's most prestigious law firm wants Liz Talbot to prove. Liz must run the spectrum of Southern society, from the local homeless shelter where Shelby volunteered to the one-hundred-year-old book club where Charleston's genteel ladies are dying to join, to bring a killer to justice.
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When Liz Talbot and her husband Nate Andrews are hired by Fraser Rutledge and Eli Radcliffe, Charleston attorneys, to find information that proves Clint Gerhardt innocent of the murder of his wife, Shelby Poinsett, they don't realize that this case could be more difficult than anything they've ever worked on before.
It is due mainly to the fact that there are almost too many suspects - from Shelby's book club members, people she helped down at a shelter, and even Sonny Ravenel, a Charleston police detective who is her brother Blake's best friend.
The problem lies in the fact that the investigating detectives seem to think Clint is the guilty one, due to the fact that Shelby and Clint were home alone at the time, and there is no indication of anyone else's presence. It doesn't help that the previous private investigator who worked on the case has suggested that Clint killed Shelby because her thought she was having an affair.
But once Liz meets Clint, she knows in her bones that this man loved his wife, and there was no way he could have killed her. Which only leaves her with more questions: If not Clint, then who? And why? And the deeper she digs, the more secrets she uncovers, and all of them somehow connect right back to Shelby. Even with the help of her ghostly friend Colleen, Liz and Nate are finding that clearing Clint of Shelby's murder could put Liz in the crosshairs of a killer...
It is due mainly to the fact that there are almost too many suspects - from Shelby's book club members, people she helped down at a shelter, and even Sonny Ravenel, a Charleston police detective who is her brother Blake's best friend.
The problem lies in the fact that the investigating detectives seem to think Clint is the guilty one, due to the fact that Shelby and Clint were home alone at the time, and there is no indication of anyone else's presence. It doesn't help that the previous private investigator who worked on the case has suggested that Clint killed Shelby because her thought she was having an affair.
But once Liz meets Clint, she knows in her bones that this man loved his wife, and there was no way he could have killed her. Which only leaves her with more questions: If not Clint, then who? And why? And the deeper she digs, the more secrets she uncovers, and all of them somehow connect right back to Shelby. Even with the help of her ghostly friend Colleen, Liz and Nate are finding that clearing Clint of Shelby's murder could put Liz in the crosshairs of a killer...
There are authors who are very good at tossing around red herrings. But Ms. Boyer has the ability to open an entire tin of red herrings and, in offering up to her readers, dares us to find the truth before Liz does. In this, she excels.
As with all of her books, I loved this latest in the Liz Talbot series. Liz is intelligent, strong, can take care of herself, loves her husband and family, and even manages to stay sane with Colleen popping up around her at inopportune moments. Nate, her new husband, has recently been introduced to Colleen, and although he's not as indifferent to her comings and goings, is just as smart as Liz and trusts her instincts as much as his own (even if they disagree at times). In turn, this leads to a good pairing of PIs who not only work together, but love each other.
When we finally find out the identity of the true killer (for we know all along with Liz herself, that Clint couldn't have murdered his wife), it all seems such a waste, showing us how irrational even the most sane-appearing person can be; and it all comes together in a nice package, with all the ends tucked together. Once again, Ms. Boyer has given us a good mystery to savor, much like a warm plate of biscuits and gravy, and just like the biscuits, leaves us wanting more when all is said and done. Highly recommended.
More on Susan M. Boyer's books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/susan-m-boyer/
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