Duffy Brown, author of the Consignment Shop and Cycle Path mysteries, is joining us today on the MRM blog to celebrate the release of her latest book, Demise in Denim. We are pleased to be part of the celebration and to share Duffy's view of Savannah, the setting for the five Consignment Shop mysteries, as well as a giveaway from Duffy. Don't forget to comment and enter the giveaway at the end of the post!
Savannah, the Perfect Place to Set a Mystery
by Duffy Brown
New York is the place to
set a book on fashion or finance, LA is the best setting for stories about the
movie industry, Nashville gets the nod for stories about music, New Orleans has
their vampires and Savannah is the perfect setting for a murder mystery series.
Savannah is a city where the
spirits of the long ago departed still linger in sultry streets and
moss-drenched cemeteries. Okay, even if you don’t believe in ghosts the homes,
B&Bs, restaurants, bars, town squares where people met their end are still
there. The city is built upon its dead.
Savannah's Historic District is the largest in the country and you cannot walk more than two feet without
passing over a dead body because Savannah's dead aren't just in the cemeteries.
Hundreds of victims of the
Yellow Fever epidemics of the 19th century lie in mass graves that were never
marked. In 1820 there was a huge fire that burned over four-hundred homes. Many
of the homes were rebuilt and some of the old occupants are still hanging
around trying to get out of that fire. Talk about local color.
The Old Pink House is one
of the city’s best restaurants with shrimp and grits so delish it makes a grown
man cry. But in spite of the incredible food things have not always been
wonderful. James Habersham Jr. built the house in the 1700s and hung himself
there because he was distraught over his wife’s death. That’s terrible for sure
but what is even worse is that he hasn’t left.
Servers say Habersham is a
bit of a neat freak and likes to straighten table settings and put chairs in
their proper place. And he’s not alone, his whole clan still hangs around. His
kids like to lock ladies in the downstairs bathroom. Like I said, you may not
believe in ghosts but I bet if you got locked in the bathroom you’d be a believer.
Then there’s the
17hundred90 Inn, the oldest inn in Savannah. In the 1700s Anna Powers fell in
love with an English sailor while staying at the inn. They married but
something went wrong and Anna jumped to her death from room 204. Couples
staying in that room write down their experiences…and I’m not talking amorous
experiences…in a notebook on the bedside table. If you manage to make it
through the night you celebrate with a peach martini. Personally
I’d be on Prozac.
Then there’s the
Kehoe House that is now a B&B. In the 1800s twins died while playing
in one of the house's massive chimneys and guests who stay in rooms 201 and 203
still hear the kids playing.
I’ve stayed at the Marshall
House. It was used as a Union Hospital during the unfortunate Northern
Aggression. When they were rehabbing the place bones were found in the basement
where they did the amputations. While there our cell phone would go off
in the middle of the night, the keycard worked then didn’t and the clock alarm
sounded and none of us set it.
No one really knows for
sure what’s going on in Savannah but something is afoot. I love the city
and it’s the perfect backdrop for tooling around in a ’57 red Chevy
convertible, walking Bruce Willis…the other Bruce Willis…in the parks, eating
sandwiches at Parkers or Zunzies and having drinks at Abe’s on Lincoln.
So you see, this is why
Savannah is a great city for murder mysteries. It’s has tons of
history and a lot of dead people already there. Hope you get a chance
to visit and check this all out for yourself.
Hugs, Duffy Brown
About the Author
While
others girls dreamed of dating Brad Pitt, Duffy Brown longed to take Sherlock
Holmes to the prom. Today she conjures up who-done-it stories for Berkley Prime
Crime and has two series, the national bestselling Consignment Shop mysteries
set in Savannah and the Cycle Path Mysteries on Mackinac Island. Geared for the
Grave the first book in the Cycle Path series is a December, 2014 release.
Duffy wrote romance as Dianne Castell for Harlequin and Kensington and is a USA
Today Bestselling author.
Find out more about Duffy at www.DuffyBrown.com and on Facebook
Enter to Win!
To celebrate the release of Demise in Denim, Duffy is giving away a Demise in Denim lunch tote to two MRM readers!
Please comment below to enter the giveaway! Share this post on social media for a second entry; just comment and let us know you did so. Please Note: If you are commenting anonymously, please leave your full Facebook name or email address so that we may contact you in case you win! Contest is open to US residents only. Winners will be chosen via random number generator at noon EST on Tuesday, April 14th!
