Lowcountry Bombshell is the second Liz Talbot mystery by Susan M. Boyer. Originally releeased in 2013, this reformat and re-release in Oct 2023 is 278 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
This is an interesting and well written PI cozy(ish) mystery with a southern flair. This installment has a definite Marilyn Monroe slant with Liz investigating a client and her background with lots of creepy parallels to the tragic life and death of Marilyn Monroe. The writing is solid but there are lots and lots of side trips along the way. It's a fair bit more graphic than the usual for a cozy, both in the discussion of mental health issues and substance abuse, as well as much spicier love scenes than usual for the genre.
There are some fairly major ethics issues and boundary crosses for a private investigator (indeed any professional), and they detracted from the overall flow of the book. There's also a very oddly inserted paranormal angle with the ghost of protagonist Liz's deceased best friend showing up to give cryptic advice before disappearing again into the ether.
The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 8 hours 39 minutes and is narrated by Tiffany Morgan. She has a husky well modulated alto and in this read, a distinct southern USA (presumably lowcountry) accent with a definite twang. It's not offputting, but it is, and remains, noticeable. There are some minor difficulties differentiating between the female characters and there it's not possible to judge character age based on the narration; the author's fairly adept at specifying details in the text. The sound and production quality are high throughout the read.
With 11 books extant in the series, it would potentially be a good bet for a long binge or buddy read, however, readers should be firm fans of women's fiction and not mind some mildly spicy love scenes, or the occasional ghost thrown into the mix.
Three and a half stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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