Duffy Brown – Pearls and Poison

The third book in the Consignment Shop Mystery series, published March 4, 2014.
Genre: cozy mystery
Cover: fun, the dog’s name is Bruce Willis



It's election time in Savannah, Georgia, and Judge Guillotine Gloria—aka Reagan Summerside's mom—is neck and neck in the polls with Kip “Scummy" Seymour. But the already dirty campaign is about to get downright filthy—with one candidate getting buried six feet under…
With her strong opinions and knack for getting into trouble, Reagan is not an ideal volunteer for her mother's alderman campaign. Plus, she'd rather be running her consignment shop, the Prissy Fox, and eating doughnuts with her dog, Bruce Willis. But when her mother's opponent, Kip, is found poisoned and her mother is pegged as a suspect, Reagan nominates herself as lead murder investigator.
Reagan is intent on finding Kip's killer and clearing her mother's good name, but she soon finds herself on the bad side of Kip's enemies-turned-suspects. This time, no amount of costumes and makeup can keep her inconspicuous and out of danger. Because the closer Reagan gets to the truth, the hotter things get…


If you start reading this book, be ready for some crazy Southern ladies, southern charm, foodstuffs, lots of quaint sayings, and typical Southern guilt trips between family members.

Gloria is doing what she can to keep her head above water, working in her consignment shop, wearing clothes and shoes that are falling apart, in the hopes of being able to pay the next water bill, or electricity bill, or whatever. In tourist season she manages some ghost tours, but now that it is getting colder, she really needs to make some serious money. So having to help her mother with her run for Alderman, is not really something she wants to do. But of course, she has no choice in the matter. When her mother’s main competitor comes into their campaign headquarters, boasting about his next sleazy move against her mother, her mother flips. And then she needs to make up for it, and try to get Kip to stop his next campaign advertisement besmirching her good name. But Kip ends up dead, and her mother is the police’s main suspect. Of course, being a judge, means that Gloria has enemies a plenty. The bad guys she sent to prison and their friends and family as well.

The town brings in a police detective from outside, to handle the case fairly, but the man is set against her mother from the start. And so Regan has no choice but to start investigating by herself, and of course with the help of her dear auntie KiKi and some other friends. Her mother doesn’t want her to, she has faith in the system as a judge, and her mother’s lawyer Boone certainly wants her to stay out of things. She only makes people suspicious and clam up, so how can he find the real killer if he has to get her out of trouble time and again?

But Regan does manage to find some leads and suspects, and yes she does get in trouble big time.


I enjoyed this third book in the series a lot; the characters are over the top but still believable and fun to hang out with. The plot was good and I really did not guess who the real killer was before it was almost too late. It was very well done by Duffy Brown to keep me guessing like that. I liked Mercedes, a new friend Regan makes.
I wonder if there will ever be a relationship between Regan and Boone, she certainly is not ready for that yet. Her slimy ex-husband is still trying to sell her beloved Cherry House out from under her, and Regan will do whatever she can to keep it and make it beautiful again.
Regan also helps her friends as much as she can, in finding a job or love or whatever they need. She is a good person, and I like her. She does her best.

This is a fun cozy mystery series, and I hope there will be many more. These books are pure entertainment and it is all written so lively and vivid, I will recognize some things when I will ever be able to visit there.

9 stars.

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian