Sleuthing and the BFF… Guest Post/Review/Contest

Sleuthing and the BFF…
By Duffy Brown

It’s that dark and stormy night we hear so much about, your car just broke down in the middle of nowhere and you forgot to recharge your cell phone. In the moonlight you see an old dilapidated farmhouse off in the distance.

The question is… Who’s walking to that farmhouse with you?

Sherlock has Watson with him, Perot has Captain Hastings, Nancy Drew has boyfriend Ned, Stephanie Plum has Lula. Some sleuths even have a cat or dog. Sometimes they even talk. I wish my cats talked. Actually I wished they did the laundry and vacuumed but I digress.

Every sleuth has a BFF to chat with, get into trouble with, drink with.

On TV Beckett has Rick Castle. The SCI people have each other kicking around and Lizbeth has tea-drinking Patrick Jane in the Mentalist.

It’s not just solving the crimes together that makes them BFFs, but sharing their personal lives. IMO it’s this personal touch that’s the most interesting part of the show or book. Don’t you love when Sherlock does something nice for Watson or Perot and Hastings travel and take on the chase together or when Becket and Castle turn to each other and say I know who the killer is!

That LuLa is a once-upon-a-time hooker makes for a great character, that Patrick Jane is hunting for Red John keeps us riveted, that Rick Castle is has a grown daughter and a boyfriend who is nothing like Rick and has his mother is living with him gives a human touch to finding killers and tripping over dead bodies.

In my book the Consignment Shop Mysteries protagonist Reagan has BFF Auntie KiKi. KiKi was once a roadie for Cher and spouts Cher-isms when giving sage advice like A girl can wait for the right man to come along but in the meantime she can have a darn good time with all the wrong ones. When KiKi was born the angels chanted cha-cha-cha over her crib and turned her into Savannah’s resident dancing teacher, when Reagan’s mom was born she was wrapped in a blanket with pink elephants resulting in Reagan being named Reagan.

In Pearls and Poison, Reagan’s mom is running for city council and her opponent winds up dead…that’s one way to win an election. Daughter Reagan and Auntie KiKi run to the rescue to find the real killer discussing suspects over martinis.

Back to our dark and stormy night. We know who our sleuths have at their sides when going into that creepy old house. So who would you have tagging along. Who is at one person that when you show up at their house with a dead body grabs a shovel and doesn’t ask questions.

When life goes right to hell in a hand-basket, who do you want at your side?

CONTEST:

Answer Duffy's question  (When life goes right to hell in a hand-basket, who do you want at your side?) in the comments section of this post and be entered to win a Pearls and Poison tote bag. Be sure to leave your e-mail address so that I can contact you should you win. Two winners will be chosen by random.org. This is a quick contest-get those comments in by Saturday night (March 8, 2014 by 11:59pm EST) to qualify! Sorry, US mailing addresses only.

Review

Peals and Poison by Duffy Brown
Third in the Consignment Shop Mystery series

Reagan Summerside's mom, the judge, is running for Alderman, but things get sticky when a nasty mudslinging opponent winds up dead, poisoned by some honey bourbon; bourbon the judge said she was bringing him as a good will gesture. Reagan just wants to protect her mom and keep Aunt Kiki out of harms way, but. as usual, she finds lots of trouble.

Duffy Brown gives us another fun romp through Savannah with Reagan, her family, and friends. While trying to clear her mother, Reagan antagonizes several suspects and makes plenty of new enemies, who may want to do her serious harm. Aunt Kiki, afraid of being replaced as a partner in sleuthing, is also determined to help, and thus cause Reagan more worries.While things are heating up between Reagan and Boone (which neither of them can believe) we also learn there's a relationship of another kind between Boone and Guillotine Gloria (AKA Reagan's mamma). With all the stress and downright danger, as well as a surprise new hairstyle, Reagan's biggest shock may be what happens on the final page of the book!

I just love the antics of this Southern crew. Duffy Brown has a great cast of characters who make murder fun! I'm pleased to meet Mercedes, a new character (and what a character she is) and a great addition to the local ensemble. If you like your mysteries on the zany side, as I certainly do, this book and series is for you!  I only wish I could visit and give a hot dog to Bruce Willis while sipping a martini on the porch of the Prissy Fox.


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Duffy Brown loves anything with a mystery. While others girls dreamed of dating Brad Pitt, Duffy longed to take Sherlock Holmes to the prom. She has two cats, Spooky and Dr. Watson, her license plate is Sherlock and she conjures up who-done-it stories of her very own for Berkley Prime Crime. Duffy’s national bestselling Consignment Shop Mystery series is set in Savannah and the Cyclepath Mysteries are set on Mackinac Island. Duffy writes romance as Dianne Castell and is a USA Today bestselling author.

http://www.duffybrown.com