Hair Raiser

This was a good book. I enjoyed it. I have really enjoyed all of Nancy's books in the Bad Hair Day Mysteries. Stylist or not you will enjoy this book and finding out where Marla and Vail will go in their relationship as well as the trouble Marla gets into.

Marla Shore has been helping her cousin Cynthia organize Taste of the World, a benefit for Ocean Guard. The experience becomes a hair raiser for Marla, when the chefs she's recruited are frightened out of participating. Marla needs to know who is sabotaging the gala event. After the lawyer handling the trust is murdered, Marla and her cousin want to know who is polluting the wetlands that are protected, and soon to be inherited, by Ocean Guard. Could it be the person who benefits if Ocean Guard doesn't inherit? Marla is threatened, and someone leaves a bloody package on her front doorstep, then later breaks into her house and frightens her little dog away. Detective Dalton Vail wants her to stop snooping. Needless to say, Marla doesn't. Later Marla is nearly killed by an unseen assailant. She must get to the bottom of this now! This is a fast-paced, fun story, with an ending that borders on shivery-creepy. Hair Raiser left me wanting to know Marla Shore better. Marla's little dog Spooks-a sassy poodle-seems the perfect pet for a plucky hair stylist. If I ever get to Palm Haven, Florida, I think I'll have my hair done at Cut 'N Dye, and try out some of those restaurants....

I'll admit that while I did not completely like Permed to Death, Hair Raiser's predecessor, I did not hate it, either. While I found the characterization a bit awkward and certain sub-plots of the story predictable, I thought Cohen had a nice concept with Marla Shore and hope she could pull off an improved sequel. I'm happy to say Hair Raiser is evidence that Cohen is getting better at the mystery game.The mystery -- where Marla is determined to hunt the killer of a lawyer on the board of an environmental committee which includes her cousin -- is thought out and written well. Plus the relationship between Marla and Detective Vail makes for great page-turning sexual tension -- their relationship does not come off as awkward as it did in the first book. I can genuinely say I'm looking forward to reading more.

Readers of cozy mysteries will enjoy this book. The heroine is cute, sassy, and clever. The plot is intruging with just enough romance from sexy Dalton Vail to keep me turning pages. I didn't know the guilty person until the very end and I was surprised. I can't wait until the next Marla Shore mystery comes out.

In Southern Florida, Marla Shore owns the Cut 'N Dye Beauty Salon where she also works as a stylist. Currently, Marla is preoccupied with the Taste of the World fundraiser sponsored by Ocean Guard, a preservation group concerned with the coastal environment. She serves as the liaison between the participating chefs in the event and the leaders of the sponsoring group. If this occasion succeeds, Ocean Guard will obtain ownership of the property next door to her friend's property. If the property is to remain a nature preserve, Ocean Guard must also donate $20,000 to a designated political lobby, hence the fundraiser.Obtaining the property appears to be a snap until many of the chefs withdraw from the event. Marla thinks someone is trying to prevent the transfer of the property. Two organization members are murdered and biological waste washes ashore onto the property whose ownership appears in doubt. Marla begins making inquiries that will make her a key target of a determined killer.HAIR RAISER is a delightfully funny yet stylized murder mystery that shows the talent of author Nancy J. Cohen to entertain her audience. The characters are easy to identify with, likable and realistic next-door neighbors. The brilliantly crafted mystery makes it extremely difficult to identify the villain until Ms. Cohen reveals whom the individual is. The second installment in the "Bad Hair Day" series is a near perfect perm.Harriet Klausner