Killer in Crinolines (A Consignment Shop Mystery)
Killer in Crinolines (A Consignment Shop Mystery) book cover

Killer in Crinolines (A Consignment Shop Mystery)

Mass Market Paperback – May 7, 2013

by
Price
$7.99
Publisher
Berkley
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0425252154
Dimensions
4.2 x 0.8 x 6.75 inches
Weight
5.4 ounces

Description

Dreamworld Book Reviews Sarah Annxa0 xa0Its compelling mystery and engaging plot will have you staying up countless hours into the night. It took me only two days to read Killer in Crinolines from cover to cover, which is quite a feat given my busy schedule! David Marshall James Reviews Reviewed by David Marshall James So, click martini glasses or frosty bottles or iced-tea cups, and swig back the high times as Reagan and her Auntie TCB in one of the most fun and Southern-flavorful mystery series on the market. Richmond Times Dispatch Jane Strafford Brown deftly spins the tale of Reagan's many misadventures while sleuthing, fills her story with Southern eccentrics and offers up a magnolia-laced munificence of Savannah color. Rita's Reviews ...I am so in love with this series! Duffy Brown again does a wonderful job with all ofxa0 the characters. Read more at ritareviews.net/2013/05/book-review-killer-in-crinolines-by-duffy-brown/#WELtmg06rOSwpeKd.99 **Facedown in five-tiers of icing and fondant a dead groom leads to wedding chaos for the bride, the bff and the hotshot attorney. I love Southern Weddings with all the lovely dresses, great foodxa0and a few dead bodies to make thingsxa0interesting. From the Inside Flap When Reagan Summerside finds a groom face-down in five-tiers of icing and fondant, a cake knife in his back and her good friend and local UPS driver accused of the murder she must find the real killer without winding up in the local swamp as alligator meat. Will Walker Boone, pain-in-the ass attorney and once-upon-a-time gang member, help her out or will he feed her to the alligators himself? I entered the dining room, quite and still Doreen-the-wedding-planner lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0 "Oh dear Lord!" I starting for Doreen but then stopped in my tracks because Simon was there too face down in the five-tiered wedding cake with a silver cake knife sticking out of his back. xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0 The dining room door opened behind me, letting in the first strands of Pachelbel,xa0 and Auntie KiKi. xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0 "Reagan, thank heavens I found you," KiKi huffed, her dress swishing softly across the ivory carpet as she came my way. "I still can't find Simon or Waynetta anywhere and what in the world are you and Doreen-the-wedding-planner doing down there on the floor like that and-- Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Lord have mercy and saints preserve us!" I figured the last part enlisting the powers above meant Auntie KiKi had found Simon after all. Duffy Brown loves anything with a mystery. While other girls dreamed of dating Brad Pitt, Duffy longed to take Sherlock Holmes to the prom. She has two cats, Spooky and Dr. Watson, and works at a consignment shop when she’s not busy conjuring up whodunit stories. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • 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…

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(193)
★★★★
25%
(81)
★★★
15%
(48)
★★
7%
(23)
★
-7%
(-23)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Loved it!

It's August in Georgia and things are heating up, but not just the weather! Tempers are flaring and the victim is Simon Ambrose who is found with a knife in his back - at his own wedding in his own wedding cake! Who could have done such a thing? Well, most of the town had a reason to want to see this man dead.

Reagan Summerside is desperately trying to make a success out of her consignment shop, The Prissy Fox, but she gets sidetracked when one of her friends, Chantilly Parker is accused of Simon's murder. Not only is Reagan forced to take Chantilly's UPS delivery runs so Chantilly doesn't lose her job, but she throws herself into the investigation.

This is the second book in the "Consignment Shop Mystery" series and it's as much fun as the first book. Reagan and her adorable auntie KiKi make me laugh. There is even some romance thrown in the mystery as Reagan finds herself more and more attracted to attorney Walker Boone. She just needs to find a way to get past the fact that Walker was her ex-husband's attorney and helped him get a huge portion of Reagan's money. Not something that's easily forgivable.

There's a huge cast of quirky and eccentric characters to keep readers laughing for hours on end. Basically, this is a story that gave me many hours of fun away from my real life. A true escapism of the best kind and Southern coziness at its finest! A most enjoyable read - mystery fans will love this one. It's the kind of book that makes a bad day good!

FTC Disclosure: The author provided me with a copy of this book to review. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.
2 people found this helpful
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a mixed bag

Having just been to Savannah Georgia I did enjoy reading the author's descriptions of the 23 squares, the Bonaventure Cemetery and just the charm of the city itself. The mystery in the story was somewhat intriguing, with lots of possible suspects and it more or less kept my interest. What ruined the book for me, however, was just the ludicrous premise that the consignment shop owner, Reagan, was so far superior to any policeman in solving the mystery and totally above the law. She keeps saying that she has to find out who the killer was, so her good friend wouldn't go to jail. She never gives the police any of the information she finds out from at least two illegal break ins and even worse, she just about accuses half the people she talks to of being the actual killer. Who confronts someone, alone, who might be a killer? But in spite of this bravado, she constantly needs to be saved by Boone or his sidekick Pillsbury. Ultimately it was just too unbelievable and somewhat annoying. I was glad when I got to the end.
1 people found this helpful
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Totally Enjoyable Cozy!

I love this series. All the characters in it are interesting. You can really like Reagan and sympathize with her. She isn't too foolish when she is trying to solve her mystery, and the reason for her getting involved in the first place makes sense.

Her Aunt Kiki and Uncle Putter are also interesting characters. The one-day-maybe love interest, the opponent lawyer from her unpleasant divorce, has a hint of danger that makes him more interesting than most.

The dialogue is clever, sometimes humorous. The plot made sense. I can't wait to read the next book in the series, and I hope to see many more.
1 people found this helpful
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Killer in Crinolines and Iced Chiffon a killer read for the mystery buff

Well how can you not love the perfect sleuth who owns a consignment shop in a lovely home and unwanted bodies. Duffy Brown's books are a must read and be sure to keep a space on the shelf for her new one coming out soon "Killer and Pearls". I'll be the first one there when it comes out. Truly engaging characters and a wonderful read.. Couldn't put it down!
1 people found this helpful
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NOT A GOOD BOOK

This is the second in the Consignment Shop mystery series. There were so many spelling errors, incorrect words (probably from spell checker suggestions), and I found very little about a consignment shop in this book. Needless to say, I will not be ordering any more of this series.
1 people found this helpful
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Killer in Crinolines

Killer in Crinolines by Duffy Brown had me laughing and kept me intrigued from the beginning of the book all the way to the end. There were so many possible suspects, Simon Ambrose had ticked off so many people a lot were happy to see him dead. I'm not going to give away the ending but oh my goodness I never guessed who actually did kill him.

Duffy Brown has created a cast of characters that are interesting, humorous, quirky, and just plain a whole lot of fun to read about.

Reagan Summerside kept finding herself in some of the worst situations but oh my, reading about how she got out of those situations was so much fun! I really liked Reagan and I loved Aunt Kiki! Aunt Kiki can get herself into trouble without trying, and Reagan does her best to keep Kiki safe. I loved the relationship between these two. They really are a mischievous dynamic duo.

If you enjoy a fun mystery, you should really check out Duffy Brown's Consignment Shop Mystery series. This is the second book in the series and I can not wait to see what Ms. Brown comes up with next. I know I'll anxiously be awaiting her next release.
1 people found this helpful
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FUN, FUN, FUN AND MURDER !

Duffy Brown has done it again. The first book in the series - Iced Chiffon - was funny and cute and a page turner. This one is like that....and then some.

Reagan is broke after a terrible divorce. She lives in a big Victorian home and runs a consignment clothing store from her home. She lives next door to her Aunt Kiki, a dance instructor who loves to gossip about everyone and investigate with Reagan. And she lives with BW, Bruce Willis, her nondescript dog. He is addicted to hot dogs or any people food.

There is a big society wedding, and the groom is found face down in the lovely wedding cake. There are many possible suspects, but the person arrested is Reagan's best friend, Chantilly.

The dead guy is a sleaze on so many levels. He cheats in business, on women and generally lies to everyone. In other words, he deserves to be killed. And Reagan finds that the number of people who wanted him dead grows every time she turns around. All during the investigation, Reagan keeps running into Boone. He is a hunky lawyer who seems to find her interesting, but whether it is because she is an example of insanity or an interesting woman, has not been determined.

This book takes place in Savannah and Ms Brown has it down pat. The attitudes, the atmosphere and the speech patterns are right there on every page.

The characters are well developed. The plot keeps you guessing. Every time you know there is a definite suspect, something changes. I suggest you get this book and laugh out loud at all the right places. I know you will enjoy it. This is a mystery with humor, and a cast of characters who are the kind of people we all know....just a wee bit crazy.
1 people found this helpful
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Loved it!

Killer in Crinolines, Duffy Brown's second book in the Consignment Shop Mystery series, is even more enjoyable than the first--and since I loved the first book, that's saying a lot!

Reagan Summerside is extremely loyal to her friends, so when her friend, Chantilly, is accused of murder, Reagan steps in to prove her innocence. The fact is a whole lot of people had it in for the deceased, who just happened to be Chantilly's ex. With Auntie Kiki by her side, bad boy attorney Walker Boone dogging her every step, and some questionable help from the Seventeenth St. residents, Reagan does what she does best--stirs up trouble with some very humorous results. And speaking of Boone, there is always `delicious' tension in the air whenever he is anywhere near Reagan.

Ms. Brown has a wonderful voice and is very adept at making dialogue sound natural. The conversations between Reagan and Kiki and Reagan and Boone cracked me up. I found myself chuckling and laughing out loud frequently. Killer in Crinolines has it all--charming characters, a wonderful southern setting, a mystery that stumped me, and of course, Walker Boone. Who could ask for more? If you are a cozy mystery fan, you'll want to give this series a try. Happy Reading!
1 people found this helpful
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Another winner is this series!

I read the first in this series, and was hooked! Duffy's writing skills are as smooth as honey, her words just flow. Hard to put the books down as you want to know what's coming next. The characters are wonderful, very real and so colorful! The humor found in these books is something great to look forward to! It's such a natural humor right from the heart, many LOL moments to be found here. A book either hooks you, or it doesn't-Duffy's books will HOOK you from the first page.
I look forward to many more books in this well written and solid series! A HIT!
1 people found this helpful
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What a friend !

Did you read Iced Chiffon? Well if you did you will be very happy with the second in this series. And if you did not read Iced Chiffon you will be very happy with this cozy. When Reagan's friend is accused of murder, she steps up to help defend her.
All the components of a great cozy are here. All the laughs-excitement and off-beat characters. We see the return of Aunt Kiki- the Abbot sisters- Boone- Bruce Willis and even Old Yeller. And we meet new friends! I could not put this one down. Read it and get a copy of Iced Chiffon also.
1 people found this helpful

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