The cost of writing a really strong series is a bar that has been set high; a book that would be 4.5 or 5 stars in any other series ducks in with 4.
Lowcountry Book Club is a very strong, very solid murder mystery. Boyer does such a good job drawing her characters realistically and she excels at those muddy feelings that take up the majority of life: those moments of moral dilemma, of being caught between a rock and a hard place, of feeling helpless or pressured, without ever stooping to melodrama. I absolutely love her characters.
The murder was well-plotted, although it did rely a little bit on total chance for its solution. Didn't stop it being a good mystery though.
I love the author's stance (or, at least, Liz's) on controlling development and I think she's coming at it from a brilliant angle; Liz's nightmare was vivid and it's only a matter of time before it becomes a reality for some poor island community. I'm really looking forward to seeing where Boyer goes with this.