Killer in Crinolines by Duffy Brown
Series: Consignment Shop Mystery #2
Pages: 321
Edition: Kindle
Publisher: Berkley / May 7, 2013
Price: $7.99 on Amazon
Reading Challenges: Where Are You Reading? (Georgia), Women Authors Challenge
★★★★★★★★★★ (all of 'em)
Okay, maybe that’s not a real club. But it should be.
After clearing the name of her jerk ex-husband in Iced Chiffon, Reagan is put back in the (self-promoted) role of amateur private investigator when her friend and UPS delivery driver, Chantilly, is accused of murdering her shyster ex boyfriend – at his wedding to a wealthy (twerpy) socialite, Waynetta. Chantilly may be guilty of some post-breakup craziness and, yeah, maybe she was found sitting in her UPS truck outside the wedding eating wedding cake and crying that it should have been hers, but Reagan knows she couldn’t have done it.
Just like in Iced Chiffon, Reagan’s investigation leads her to a number of suspects, all of which have a pretty solid motive for wanting him six feet under. As she gets closer to the truth, it’s clear whomever did it will stop at nothing to keep their secret and it goes without saying, Reagan must catch the killer before the killer catches on to her.
Without a doubt, Brown is a talented writer who gracefully balances her stories between the outrageous and the totally believable. Her fearless female lead, Reagan, is smart, funny, down-to-earth and could be anyone’s next door neighbor (if your neighbor happens to have a consignment shop running out of her house and solve crimes in her spare time). The rest of the characters (and there are quite a few of them – only a few reoccurring from the first book – so get ready to memorize some new names), tend to sway more into over-the-top category (especially the self-centered debutante Waynetta), but they are what make the books so freaking entertaining.
And I have to give kudos to Brown’s endings. When I read mysteries, I HAVE TO obsessively guess the “who did it” part and, unfortunately, with a lot of mysteries (especially cozy mysteries), they are written in one of two ways. No. 1: The killer is totally obvious, but the characters are completely nitwits and ignore blatant clues making me, the reader, want to beat them with a logic stick. No 2: It’s a surprise ending that no one saw coming, including the author. You know, those books with endings where it seems they were thrown in there last minute and don’t really reflect any “clues” leading up to them?
I admit, I’ve guessed the killer in both Consignment Shop books (I believe it was about the 30% mark in this book), but it’s not obvious. When it comes to her mystery plots, Brown is like a magician: she keeps you so entertained with all her kooky characters and their humorous-yet-suspenseful antics that you get distracted and can easily miss the subtle clues that lead you to the villain.
There were just so many things about this book I enjoyed, it would take entirely too long to list them. Plus, there are better ways to spend that time. Like going out and buying this book RIGHT NOW.
Oh, and I have to say that I loved the title. If you’ve ever worn a crinoline, you’d know why. It’s hard to pull off a simple thing like going to the bathroom while wearing one, I couldn’t imagine someone pulling off a murder while wearing one – or at least escape without getting stuck in a doorway. (Side note and a bit off topic, but crinolines are a bitch to dye. I got caught up in the whole crinny-dye craze when I got married and wound up – about five washes and 10 bottles of Rite Dye later – with a crinoline the color of dirty dishwater).
Good times.
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