Duffy Brown – Demise in Denim

The fifth book in the Consignment Shop Mystery series, published April 7, 2015.
Genre: cozy mystery
Cover: fun, beautiful, inviting.



It's springtime in Savannah, Georgia, in the newest Consignment Shop Mystery from the national bestselling author of Pearls and Poison. The azaleas and magnolias are in bloom - and Walker Boone is on the run. . .

When Reagan Summerside turned the first floor of her old Victorian home into a consignment shop, she never imagined she'd be harboring a fugitive in her attic. But after a dead man is found in a bathtub and local lawyer Walker Boone is accused of doing the dirty deed, she suddenly has a new houseguest.
Having the lawyer who took her to the cleaners in her divorce settlement - and who has been getting under her skin ever since - in close proximity is enough to drive Reagan to distraction. For the sake of her sanity - and Walker's freedom - they need to put their heads together to find out who is trying to get the lawyer out of the picture . . .


This book seamlessly goes on where the novella Dead Man Walker ended (it really are the first few chapters of this book).
Walker is hiding from the police and those who want to turn him in, while Reagan is trying to find out who really killed Conway Adkins, Walker’s father. And there are suspects enough. Like Walker’s half brother Tucker, who has resented Walker being hold up against him for years (while Walker did not even know about him, or his father), and the fact that Walker has inherited some sizeable moneyworth old buildings. The police want to arrest Walker as they think it is the perfect motive, killing for money. And of course, there are enough people happy that Walker is out of the picture.
Or is it really because some one wants to obtain Mercedes’ services as a housekeeper and as the lady in the funeral parlor who made you look really good in your last moments, or really bad.

With the help of her crazy aunt Kiki, her mama the judge, and her friends, Reagon is determined to find out the truth, (and get her hands on some of Conway Adkins’ furniture that he promised to consign to her shop). Getting in more scrapes than usual, and doing some serious damage to Walker’s beloved car, and even ending up in jail.


I love this series so much. The Southern setting is gorgeous, the characters are hilarious, and Reagon is just a young woman trying to make a living. With her dog Bruce Willis who loves hot dogs, and her consignment shop in her beloved fixer-upper-house. They seem to be always eating something fried or baked that would kill a westerner in a week, and I can just picture myself living there. Duffy Brown has a vivid writing style, that takes the reader into the page, and makes the characters so very lifelike. I love her sense of humor, and the ridiculous but never too over the top situations she puts Reagan in.

The mystery was a good one, I did not figure it all out before Reagan did, and that is of course a good thing. The end sure has a hint of romance coming, so I can’t wait for the next book! Bless your heart! (I just love that sentence and the real meaning of it).

9 stars.

© 2015 Reviews by Aurian