I so hope you enjoy these glimpses into Liz Talbot’s formative years, her unfortunate first marriage, and her life between major cases. If by chance you’ve stumbled on this collection of stories, but you’ve never read a Liz Talbot mystery, I would encourage you to start with Lowcountry Boil (A Liz Talbot Mystery, Book 1) and come back to these stories later. A few of Mamma’s recipes are included at the end. “Everything is Relative” is a peek inside a Talbot family Thanksgiving. This is a Stella Maris slice of life story featuring Shannelle Johnson, a local judge’s wife, and it takes place entirely at Phoebe’s Day Spa. “Highlights and Hot Lead” originally appeared in The Petigru Review. This is a fun little case which introduces the character of Zeke Lyerly, who appears in Lowcountry Bonfire. Her debut novel, Lowcountry Boil, won the 2012 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense, and garnered several other award nominations, including the Macavity. “Hogwash” originally appeared in Spinetingler Magazine. Boyer is the author of the USA TODAY bestselling Liz Talbot mystery series. This story is also not lighthearted, and it likewise has never been published before. “Eviction” is the story of how Liz first met Rhett, her golden retriever, back when she was married to Scott the Scoundrel. This story has never been published anywhere before.

As you might imagine, it’s not as light as the series in general. I wrote the short story “Common Knowledge” for myself years ago, as a way to explore what happened to Colleen. Postcards From Stella Maris is a collection of five short stories for fans of the series who might be interested, for example, in Colleen’s backstory.

Lowcountry boil susan m boyer