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Pearls and Poison: A Consignment Shop Mystery    by Duffy Brown Amazon.com order for
Pearls and Poison
by Duffy Brown
Order:  USA  Can
Berkley, 2014 (2014)
Paperback, e-Book
* *   Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth

Reagan Summerside runs the Prissy Fox, a consignment shop in Savannah, Georgia, where her mother Gloria is running for alderman. Gloria is known as Judge Guillotine Gloria! She is a tough, but fair, judge. Gloria and Kip Seymour, her opponent, are running neck and neck in the polls. However, Kip doesn't manage his campaign on the up-and-up and runs scurrilous ads demeaning Gloria.

Reagan promised to help her Mama in this election, but her previous history of getting into trouble really doesn't make her the ideal campaign manager. Her known delights are running her shop, eating doughnuts, and sharing them with her dog Bruce Willis. When Kip (aka Scummy) ends up dead and possibly murdered, Gloria is the first and only suspect. Reagan to the rescue.

Reagan, intent on finding Scummy's killer to clear her Mama's name, soon finds herself in danger from Scummy's cohorts as the case against her mother takes an unexpected turn. The mystery in this enjoyable read is well-plotted. I loved the characters. Auntie Kiki alone is worth the read. But I also very much enjoyed walking the streets of Savannah with Reagan and felt so at home with Southern eccentricities. I've never been to Savannah. However, this story made me feel a part of it.

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