Lowcountry Boughs of Holly by Susan M. Boyer

The ending of Lowcountry Boneyard was dark and there were some loose threads to tie up there, so it was satisfying to see them tied up by the end of this one. She has lost Colleen, her husband is keeping something from her, and she's thrown back into a pack of murderous people she met on a prior case. Liz has a right to feel stressed in this book. The dead man leads Liz back to a case and a group of people she would have been happy to never run into again, see Lowcountry Boneyard.

Things get put on the back burner though when Liz finds a dead Santa in a boat one morning while running. Liz is worried once again how Nate is able to spend so much with so much ease. He also came up with the money (more than $20,000) to repair their home. She's also stressed out because Nate has planned a vacation for her and her whole family to a place he won't tell them about. Liz is scared she will neve see Colleen again. Colleen interfered with another case of Liz and Nate, saved Nate, and then disappeared. Liz has lost her best friend Colleen (again) after the events in the last book.

'Lowcountry Boughs of Holly' follows Liz Talbot who is feeling a bit blue around Christmas. And I honestly think that based on what is shown, no one learned a blessed thing so who cares. I think she could have waited a bit if that's what the ultimate goal was. But the biggest issue I have is that Boyer undid things that made the series go into a new direction that was interesting. There was a lot wrong in this book and some of it I will get into in the spoiler tags below. If you like one, you’ll probably like them all. Boyer’s latest Southern charmer, Lowcountry Boughs of Holly. Spend Christmas in the Lowcountry with the Talbot family and their friends in Susan M. With no shortage of suspects, Liz and Nate dash to find a killer who may be working his or her way down a naughty list. Bounetheau’s body is found in Stella Maris, and Liz and Nate are the police chief’s on-call detectives, they’re on the case. Liz and Nate already unwrapped quite a few family secrets while searching for the Bounetheau’s missing granddaughter last year-enough to make them swear to steer forever clear of the entire clan. Bounetheau, patriarch of one of Charleston’s wealthiest families.

Did Old Saint Nick have too much eggnog at the boat parade? No indeedy-Santa’s been shot. On a morning beach run, Liz spots a wooden rowboat run aground with Santa inside. Liz’s nerves are shot, and she hasn’t even decked a single hall. Meanwhile Nate, Liz’s husband and partner, is spending money like he prints it in the attic on a mysterious family Christmas celebration. She hasn’t seen her best friend, Colleen, in weeks and fears she may never see her again in this life. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but Private Investigator Liz Talbot is struggling to feel festive.

Lowcountry Boughs of Holly by Susan M. Boyer