Review: Killer in Crinolines by Duffy Brown

Killer in Crinolines by Duffy Brown

Berkley

May 2013

Format: Paperback

Source: Publisher via the author

It’s August in Savannah, Georgia – hardly the season for a
traditional Southern wedding with hoopskirts and crinolines. One could
die from the heat – or from a cake knife in the back…

Reagan
Summerside should be devoting all her energy to her consignment shop
the Prissy Fox. But when her dear friend Chantilly Parker is arrested
for murder, Reagan vows to clear her name. The victim is Simon Ambrose,
who’s found lying in his own wedding cake with a knife in his back.

Chantilly
has motive (Simon broke her heart to marry wealthy Waynetta Waverly)
and opportunity (crashing the wedding in her UPS delivery truck). And
she has cake on her face, and the stolen bridesmaid dress the killer
wore is in her truck. But Chantilly would never wear crinoline to kill a
man!

With the help of her flamboyant auntie, KiKi, and
vexing but attractive attorney Walker Boone, Reagan is determined to
save her friend – before she’s forced to turn in her brown uniform for
an orange jumpsuit…

My thoughts: This is the 2nd in Duffy Brown’s Consignment Shop Mystery series and it was as good as the first one, Iced Chiffon. There is humor, mystery, and fun characters that just keep you glued to the pages.

This time around, Reagan needs to prove that her friend, Chantilly, did not kill her ex-fiance. In doing so, she finds herself in some pretty serious predicaments as well as some pretty humorous ones. And, to top it off, Walker Boone, her ex-husband’s lawyer, just happens to catch her and/or show up just when she needs him, despite the fact that he gets on her last nerve. There’s definitely something between Reagan and Walker – there’s a sizzle in the air whenever they are near each other – but nothing substantial has happened yet…perhaps in the next book???

Along with these two, Aunt KiKi is also back, still spouting her Cher-isms from her time on tour with Cher. It seems things are going well with Reagan’s consignment shop The Prissy Fox – though she should probably be spending more time building her business. Luckily she has the Abbott sisters to help out, not only minding the store while she’s out sleuthing, but also sending tweets to bring customers in – not bad for two retired school teachers.

I really enjoy cozy mysteries and every once in a while I am able to figure out who-done-it. Unfortunately that didn’t happen this time, but watching Reagan try to figure everything out still kept me hooked. I am really looking forward to continuing this series.

If you read cozy mysteries, what’s your favorite series?

Books in this series:

1. Iced Chiffon
2. Killer in Crinoline