Boyer has chosen a great setting for her first Liz Talbot mystery novel, the Island of Stella Maris on the East Coast of the US, in South Carolina. The atmosphere of the place is portrayed vividly, as well as a variety of characters inhabiting the island. It doesn’t sound like a place where a murder could happen, but one does occur – a simple blow to the head. The victim is none other than Liz’s grandmother, and Liz is a private investigator. Following the death of her grandma and after inheriting her estate, Liz moves back to Stella Maris and starts leading her own enquiry, in spite of her elder brother, the local law enforcer. Nearly everyone is family or acquaintance on the island, so it is hard to make sense of why someone would want to kill Liz’s grandmother. Liz will of course uncover what it’s all about, a piece of land with a great potential for development, and it’s something most inhabitants, Liz included, strongly oppose. This was for me the first weak point in the novel: the reason for the murders (there’s going to be several) is not very compelling – not that’s it’s never happened – but it doesn’t get you too excited or put you on edge. The other thing that didn’t gel with me was the high number of characters to remember and differentiate, and they’re almost all introduced at the same time. To be honest, it took me forever to know who was who, and after a while I just stopped bothering; it doesn’t prevent you from enjoying the story but it did annoy me a little. Boyer’s writing is straight to the point. A lot of action and not too much thinking or feeling. I found her style a little too direct and cold; with a little more warmth, it’d be fantastic. The story is good though, well paced and well brought to life. I also loved the role played by Colleen the ghost, one of Liz’s old school friends, who comes and goes in the story as if there was nothing unusual about it. This is a great device and one that gives the story an edge.
