by Cynthia Chow

Details at the end of this post on how to win a copy of Lowcountry Bordello, and a link to purchase it.

With Christmas fast approaching and her wedding to Nate Andrews only five days away, the last thing South Carolina private investigator Liz Talbot needs is a case investigating her best friend. But that’s just what Robert Pearson asks Liz to take on, as he fears that Olivia Tess Beauthorpe Pearson has been lying about her strange absences and is up to no good. Betraying her bridesmaid and getting in the middle of her friends’ marriage is not something that Liz feels she can morally do, though, and for once she takes the wise path and refuses to help. It’s a decision that comes back to bite her in the butt when Olivia calls Liz in a frantic state, begging for help. Olivia has just discovered Robert’s body and is unable to call the police. The reason for the latter is less of a mystery for Liz than the body itself, which not only is not Robert, but also which completely disappears from the floor of Olivia’s Aunt Willowdean’s home.

It seems that Olivia has been keeping a secret from both her husband and Liz. Aunt Dean’s boarding house is actually an upscale bordello for the mistresses of some of Charleston’s most socially prominent men. While the male heirs of the families have passed on their guest rooms through generations, the boarding house is a secret that Olivia fears would ruin her family, so she has allowed herself to be blackmailed over it. That the blackmailer is her cousin is a bitter pill to swallow, but that becomes overshadowed by the body of a Republican congressional candidate—who happens to resemble Robert—is discovered on a park bench.

As evidence mounts against Olivia, Liz once again is visited by the ghostly presence of her late best friend Coleen, a guardian spirit dedicated to protecting the island Stella Maris. She’s a ghost seen and heard only by Liz, and keeping this a secret from Nate is tearing at Liz’s heart.

Families have always been important to Liz, but here they take the forefront as she finally walks down the aisle with her investigative partner, the Andrews brother she should have married the first time around. Dodging the wedding planner will be easy compared to dealing with her second-time-mother-in-law, but fortunately Liz has her own parents and superbly organized sister by her side. Her police chief brother has become resigned to the Talbot and Andrews’ investigators, but even he will be unable to follow where evidence seems to be leading. Southern family eccentricities and manners, a very strongly plotted mystery, and a heroine who must balance her nuptials with a murder investigation ensure that readers will be vastly entertained by this funny and compelling mystery.

This book is published by Henery Press, if you would like to know more about their books you can visit their website: henerypress.com

To enter to win a copy of Lowcountry Bordello, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “Bordello,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen December 12, 2015. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

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Cynthia Chow is the branch manager of Kaneohe Public Library on the island of Oahu. She balances a librarian lifestyle of cardigans and hair buns with a passion for motorcycle riding and regrettable tattoos (sorry, Mom).