Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I started to get eh about Boyer's other series, so jumped into this one. "Big Trouble on Sullivan's Island" has some of the same beats, but it just does not really work me in the end. Similar to her "Liz Talbot" series, this new series has a main character who is a P.I. [Hadley]. She is also focused on not swearing (it got old) and being a "lady" and some other things. I just think honestly this book was missing a lot of heart with the characters. Too many things were introduced in this one and I think could have been pushed for the second book. I just found the whole thing way too soap operaish to really enjoy.
"Big Trouble on Sullivan's Island" follows 40 year old Hadley. Her age is important since she has a regular tradition before her actual birthday to hang out with two former neighbors, now surrogate fathers and to make sure her biological father knows how much she hates him. When Hadley is first hired to find out whether a client's husband is cheating on her to then investigate the same client's murder, Hadley has to deal with a past love and current problems.
I really wasn't able to turn my brain off while reading. There's a few things that rubbed me the wrong way. We find out why Hadley went into PI work and is not a super fan of cops and prosecutors and then she gets shouted down by someone who was like you need to ignore all of that because they really wanted her with her ex-cop boyfriend. Hadley did not work for me. She had the nerve at one point to get funky with a Black woman and her use of language. I think Boyer was going for cute there, but it didn't work. And Hadley is a plant based eater. It comes up a lot. And that is the only thing I am saying about it. There's a lot of obsessive writing (to me) about food.
Speaking of the ex-cop boyfriend he was bland as anything. There's no there there. I can't see why she was still invested especially there was another love interest in this one that actually did come to life (for me) on the page.
We get a lot of characters to track in this one, and honestly after a while they started to blur for me except for Fish and Eugenia.
I did think it was quite cool that Boyer included some omnipotent narrator passages from a character called One feature I enjoyed is that occasionally the reader hears directly from Mrs. Josephine Huger who is an eye-witness to some of the events in the book. Her chapters were always freaking hilarious to me. If most of the book had been her, I would have loved it.
The plot meanders because of too many things being pushed out in this one and the flow was up and down.
The setting of South Carolina is definitely familiar to Boyer and that was great to read the descriptions of things.
The ending wrapped up things in a tidy bow and a pivot to the next book.
"Big Trouble on Sullivan's Island" follows 40 year old Hadley. Her age is important since she has a regular tradition before her actual birthday to hang out with two former neighbors, now surrogate fathers and to make sure her biological father knows how much she hates him. When Hadley is first hired to find out whether a client's husband is cheating on her to then investigate the same client's murder, Hadley has to deal with a past love and current problems.
I really wasn't able to turn my brain off while reading. There's a few things that rubbed me the wrong way. We find out why Hadley went into PI work and is not a super fan of cops and prosecutors and then she gets shouted down by someone who was like you need to ignore all of that because they really wanted her with her ex-cop boyfriend. Hadley did not work for me. She had the nerve at one point to get funky with a Black woman and her use of language. I think Boyer was going for cute there, but it didn't work. And Hadley is a plant based eater. It comes up a lot. And that is the only thing I am saying about it. There's a lot of obsessive writing (to me) about food.
Speaking of the ex-cop boyfriend he was bland as anything. There's no there there. I can't see why she was still invested especially there was another love interest in this one that actually did come to life (for me) on the page.
We get a lot of characters to track in this one, and honestly after a while they started to blur for me except for Fish and Eugenia.
I did think it was quite cool that Boyer included some omnipotent narrator passages from a character called One feature I enjoyed is that occasionally the reader hears directly from Mrs. Josephine Huger who is an eye-witness to some of the events in the book. Her chapters were always freaking hilarious to me. If most of the book had been her, I would have loved it.
The plot meanders because of too many things being pushed out in this one and the flow was up and down.
The setting of South Carolina is definitely familiar to Boyer and that was great to read the descriptions of things.
The ending wrapped up things in a tidy bow and a pivot to the next book.
I have enjoyed the Liz Talbot series so I was excited to check out this new series. I enjoyed the characters and the setting. I especially enjoyed the random chapters of "gossip" that moved the story along. My one issue that kept me from giving the book 4 stars was that far too much time was spent discussing the main characters whole food plant based diet (not the same thing as vegan). In southern fiction the food often feels like another character, but this didn't feel like that.
medium-paced
It’s exhilarating and totally entertaining.
Hadley is a private investigator. She is walking along the beach of Sullivan’s Island and sees the house she’s always dreamed of owning. Some people will say that this is a case where imagination can bring us what we want if we just believe it.
She gets a call from a Wall Street banker who says he needs her urgent help. They meet at a local coffee shop where he tells her he needs a house sitter indefinitely. The house he’s referring to is the one she has been wishing for since they started to build this beauty not too long ago. It’s on Sullivan’s Island with a breath-taking, oceanfront view. Her answer is: yes. Of course, she wants to live there.
She’s feeling pretty excited about the move from her apartment in Mount Pleasant to the billionaire’s extra home. It’s a home where he spared no expense and now that his new wife loves the mountains, it’s up to Hadley to make herself comfortable.
She’s walking along Beach Inlet (between Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palm) and hears a woman screaming for her dog. He’s gone after a ball and Hadley instantly reacts. She manages to save the dog which is amazing as the deep waters here have a strong undertow.
The dog lives and Hadley is now soaking wet. Eugenia, a good southern lady, invites her to her home just steps away to dry off. After chatting about her work as a PI, she then wants to hire her. Eugenia knows that her husband, Everette, is having an affair and needs proof.
The story is carefully crafted with a lot of twists that keep coming. The characters are believable especially for those that listen to the book on Audible with Courtney Patterson’s narration.
As a resident of Mount Pleasant, it was a plus as I instantly recognized the areas that are mentioned. And for those that are craving the foods: fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits, oysters, warm biscuits and ice tea are all wonderful. But there’s a downside: it’s hard to watch those sneaky calories.
This is the first of the series and I will look forward to whatever comes next.
Hadley is a private investigator. She is walking along the beach of Sullivan’s Island and sees the house she’s always dreamed of owning. Some people will say that this is a case where imagination can bring us what we want if we just believe it.
She gets a call from a Wall Street banker who says he needs her urgent help. They meet at a local coffee shop where he tells her he needs a house sitter indefinitely. The house he’s referring to is the one she has been wishing for since they started to build this beauty not too long ago. It’s on Sullivan’s Island with a breath-taking, oceanfront view. Her answer is: yes. Of course, she wants to live there.
She’s feeling pretty excited about the move from her apartment in Mount Pleasant to the billionaire’s extra home. It’s a home where he spared no expense and now that his new wife loves the mountains, it’s up to Hadley to make herself comfortable.
She’s walking along Beach Inlet (between Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palm) and hears a woman screaming for her dog. He’s gone after a ball and Hadley instantly reacts. She manages to save the dog which is amazing as the deep waters here have a strong undertow.
The dog lives and Hadley is now soaking wet. Eugenia, a good southern lady, invites her to her home just steps away to dry off. After chatting about her work as a PI, she then wants to hire her. Eugenia knows that her husband, Everette, is having an affair and needs proof.
The story is carefully crafted with a lot of twists that keep coming. The characters are believable especially for those that listen to the book on Audible with Courtney Patterson’s narration.
As a resident of Mount Pleasant, it was a plus as I instantly recognized the areas that are mentioned. And for those that are craving the foods: fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits, oysters, warm biscuits and ice tea are all wonderful. But there’s a downside: it’s hard to watch those sneaky calories.
This is the first of the series and I will look forward to whatever comes next.
⭐️3.7⭐️ *audiobook* I think this is one of those that would’ve been better as a book versus audio, there were too many characters and too much going on. I felt like this would be the narration if I were in Clue, so loved that
This book can be summarized as a cozy mystery sprinkled throughout a comprehensive commentary on the history of Charleston, plant-based diets, and interior design. It was way too detailed with not enough storytelling. A cute read, but predictable and more an ode to Charleston than anything else.
DNF
The main character is rather unlikable. The amount of times she has already mentioned her clean eating is astounding. I just couldn’t hear it anymore.
The main character is rather unlikable. The amount of times she has already mentioned her clean eating is astounding. I just couldn’t hear it anymore.
Hadley has a big heart so when she gets a request to stake out her husband’s extramarital activities, she jumps on it. When her client is discovered dead, Hadley is certain the cheater is the culprit, one problem, he has the perfect alibi – Hadley herself.
Hadley searches desperately to track down clues to tie him to the scene. When the police make an arrest, time is running out. Will Hadley be able to figure things out before a miscarriage of justice occurs?
This was such a satisfying cozy mystery set on Sullivans Island South Carolina. This was my first by this author and I was asked if I’d like a copy from a member of the author’s team. After reading the blurb I was hooked. This detective series was fun. Hadley was such a fun female main character and I thought she was very relatable. Her sass and humor were top notch. There was so much drama in this book, but it was so entertaining, there wasn’t a dull moment.
If you are looking for a cozy mystery full of southern charm, then check this one out! I love that this is the first of a new series so there will be more of this one to go around.
Thank you so much to the author, @susanmboyer for my finished copy in exchange for an honest review.
Hadley searches desperately to track down clues to tie him to the scene. When the police make an arrest, time is running out. Will Hadley be able to figure things out before a miscarriage of justice occurs?
This was such a satisfying cozy mystery set on Sullivans Island South Carolina. This was my first by this author and I was asked if I’d like a copy from a member of the author’s team. After reading the blurb I was hooked. This detective series was fun. Hadley was such a fun female main character and I thought she was very relatable. Her sass and humor were top notch. There was so much drama in this book, but it was so entertaining, there wasn’t a dull moment.
If you are looking for a cozy mystery full of southern charm, then check this one out! I love that this is the first of a new series so there will be more of this one to go around.
Thank you so much to the author, @susanmboyer for my finished copy in exchange for an honest review.