Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Novella Review: Dead Man Walker by Duffy Brown

If you're a fan of Duffy Brown's Consignment Shop Mystery series, you'll definitely want to pick up an e-copy of Dead Man Walker, a digital only novella that is considered book 3.5.

Springtime has come to Savannah, bringing with it customers into Reagan Summerside's consignment shop. Maybe now she can pay off some bills and think about getting some wheels.

Mercedes is a mortician beautician and housekeeper, so dead bodies don't scare her; but she doesn't really expect to find one of her clients dead in his bathtub. Having already had some trouble with the law, this sure won't make her any more popular with the police, so she calls on lawyer Walker Boone to help her out.

But Walker has his own connection to the recently deceased, which quickly makes him the number one suspect. Now, he'll need Reagan's help to clear his name.

As you can tell from recent reviews, I'm a fan of Brown's Consignment Shop Mystery series. What the author did with this short addition is keep it fresh while still giving the reader all of what she loves about these books. Though the previous three books are told from Reagan's point of view, this one is from Boone's. Not only is the reader treated to seeing things through his eyes, they learn a bit more about the mysterious gang member turned lawyer. For me, this was a mixed bag. Part of Boone's appeal is his secretive nature and the unknown parts of his past he hasn't shared with Reagan. Though there is still a ton to learn, part of that has been lost and he's not quite so mysterious anymore.

One of the best parts of Dead Man Walker is seeing Boone interact more with people from his former life, like Big Joey.

The cliffhanger ending on this one is superb and the reader gets a short excerpt from the next book in the series, Demise in Denim--which will be waiting for me when I get back home. While I'm not usually a fan of the cliffhanger ending in a series, here it works well because Boone's story naturally flows into Reagan working to clear his name in the next book. I can't wait to get started on it!

File Size: 1036 KB
Print Length: 71 pages
Publisher: Berkley (February 3, 2015)
Publication Date: February 3, 2015
Sold by: Penguin Group (USA) LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B00KGH5GVA

I purchased a copy of this book from Amazon. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

2 comments:

Duffy Brown said...

Hi Cheryl!! Thanks tons for reviewing Dead Man Walker, I truly appreciate it. That you enjoyed Walker Boone, Reagan and all the Savannah gang sure makes my day! The sixth book, Lethal in Old Lace comes out next May. Send me your address DuffyBrown@DuffyBrown.com and I’ll send you a tote. That goes for anyone responding to this blog. Just put tote in the subj line.
Have a wonderful summer.
Hugs, Duffy

Cheryl said...

Thanks for visiting, Duffy. I'll be sure to reach out to you on the tote. Already ordered the next book in the series and it will be waiting for me when I return home from vacation. Keep up the great work.