Susan M. Boyer will be back in Salisbury on Friday to sign her latest Liz Talbot mystery, “Lowcountry Bonfire.”

The series features now-married couple Liz Talbot and Nate Andrews, private investigators based in the small island town of Stella Maris off the South Carolina coast, very close to Charleston.

This is the sixth book in the series, starting with Lowcountry Boil.

The twist, besides the setting in a storied area of the south, is that Liz’s childhood friend, Colleen, helps her out. Never mind the fact that Colleen is dead. She appears when Liz is in danger, or just when she feels like it.

It’s only recently, since Liz and Nate married, that he’s been able to see and hear her. When Liz was the only one, it led to some very strange situations. It still does.

You do not have to read the entire series to enjoy these Southern cozies. They stand alone just fine, but it does help to know Liz’s family — her parents, brother Black, who is the town police chief, and her sister Merry.

Liz is nothing if not determined, so she goes to great lengths to get at the truth, even if that gts her in trouble, as it does nearly every time.

In this book, Liz and Nate are hired to discover if Zeke Lyerly is cheating on his wife, Tammy Sue.

A day after they give Tammy Sue incriminating photos, Tammy Sue burns Zeke’s classic 1969 Mustang in their driveway.

Just one little problem … Zeke has been poisoned.

And sobbing Tammy Sue is the prime suspect. Liz and Nate have to prove she didn’t do it. And she’s staying with Liz’s parents, too boot.

You can bet the plot will thicken. Boyer has fun adding twists and subplots. Zeke, it seems, has been keeping dangerous secrets, all a huge surprise to Tammy Sue.

And why was Zeke having an affair, anyway? What was his ftal mistake — something that just happened, or something from his past?

Boyer grew up in Faith and graduated from East Rowan High School, so visiting Salisbury is a return to familiar stomping grounds.

She will be at South Main Book Co. starting at 6 p.m. Friday.