Died Blonde

Bad Hair Day #6

by Nancy J. Cohen

Join hairstylist sleuth Marla Shore in unraveling a murder case with wacky psychics, bingo mamas, and ghoulish family keepsakes in this clever cozy mystery.

Hair shop rivalry comes to a head when hairstylist Marla Shore finds the body of her competitor behind their South Florida shopping center. Carolyn Sutton may not have been her friend, but Marla takes on the case for the sake of justice. And she’s curious as to why a hank of Carolyn’s hair is missing.

Her quest becomes personal when Wilda Cleaver, Carolyn's trusted psychic, insists that Carolyn's spirit wants Marla to solve her murder. Marla had better find the culprit fast, or someone she loves might get hurt. Carolyn’s resentful sister, her bingo partner, her chiropractor, a mysterious benefactor, and a local lawyer fill the expanding list of suspects. With a hurricane approaching, Marla needs to untangle the snarl of clues before the storm hits and the murderer strikes again.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Fiction, Mystery Thriller

262 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2004

About the author

Nancy J. Cohen writes the Bad Hair Day Mysteries featuring South Florida hairstylist Marla Vail. Titles in this series have been named Best Cozy Mystery by Suspense Magazine, won the Readers’ Favorite Book Awards and the RONE Award, placed first in the Chanticleer International Book Awards and third in the Arizona Literary Awards. Her nonfiction titles, Writing the Cozy Mystery and A Bad Hair Day Cookbook, have won the FAPA President’s Book Award, the Royal Palm Literary Award, and IAN Book of the Year. Nancy’s imaginative romances have proven popular with fans as well. These books have won the HOLT Medallion and Best Book in Romantic SciFi/Fantasy at The Romance Reviews. Active in the writing community, Nancy is a past president of Florida Romance Writers and Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. When not busy writing, she enjoys reading, fine dining, cruising, and visiting Disney World. Visit her at NancyJCohen.com

Reviews

[Dawn Leitheuser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great mystery! What a hoot! So many shady characters.

[Stacey Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the power goes out Marla goes to the shed to see what the problem is and finds her nemesis Carolyn in a horrible position. She's dead. Seems she was murdered. Marla's boyfriend Detective Dalton Vail asks for her help to find the killer. Carolyn and Marla have a history of not getting along. Marla worked for Carolyn then left after Carolyn treated her bad. Starting her own hair salon business and becoming more successful than Carolyn had the woman despising Marla. When the two end up in the same plaza competing against each other the tension rose but Marla did not kill Carolyn. Vail knows this but with her inside info of the business he believes Marla can help with the investigation. She does and as she finds things out she gets threatened to stop snooping. Carolyn left her salon to her psychic Wilda Cleaver who tells Marla that she is communing with Carolyn from beyond the grave. Also that someone in Marla's family, or maybe a friend or even Marla herself could be sick without knowing it. This leads Marla to some spiritual inquiries. And to hurrying to find the killer before someone else dies.
On the family front Marla's mother is trying to push her friend's son on her so Marla pushes back by getting her mother a date with Sam, a friend of Marla's. Meanwhile Dalton is acting like Marla and him are engaged to be married which scares and intrigues Marla. Should she marry Dalton? Can she be a stepmother to Brianna? Is that what she wants to be? Trying to figure out her own feelings while solving Carolyn's murder leaves Marla with no spare time.
There are many people who disliked Carolyn so the murderer could be almost anyone who knew her. Her landlord, the girls who work for her, the strange man who is her benefactor, even her sister are suspects. Marla works to sift through each one and narrow it down.

[Christine P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another win for Nancy J Cohen!! So this might be my favorite yet. It took me a long time to read due to, well, life getting in the way and not wanting the story to end. Again she took me to another interesting place in FL. This time it was Cassadaga. This mystery takes Marla to 'The Phychic Capital of the World' after a spiritualist makes a somber prediction. As a tropical storm bears down on Ft Lauderdale Marla must figure out the mystery to keep herself and her loved ones safe before the storm hits and someone else close to her becomes another victim.

[Julia Lednicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Villain hidden in plain sight

This installment finds Marla in a more active role sleuthing on her own, as detective Dalton Vail is occupied with other cases. Interesting information on Victorian hair jewelry. Enjoyed the Casadega detour!
Marla inches closer to Dalton but has yet to broach the topic of getting rid of his deceased wife’s furnishings and redecorating his house to suit her taste. The relationship between Dalton, Marla, and his teenage daughter Brianna starts to solidify with a happy announcement coming at the end of the book.

[Charlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

lots of twists and turns, quirky new characters, psychics, and of course bodies! This series just keeps getting better and better! More family members and news! I loved this book! cannot wait to read the next one!

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 - Good

[Susan Moxley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read that will keep you on the edge of your seat guessing to the very end of the Book.

[1moongoddess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This little mystery about a hairdresser who obviously read Nancy Drew novels as a kid keeps you guessing. You should be guessing in a mystery, right? It keeps you guessing because there are a lot of characters/ would-be suspects. With so much going on, the reader never can logically piece together the killer's identity. When the killer is revealed in the final few pages of the book, it feels completely out of left field and the author has to rush to provide a quick backstory for the killer and link the killer to the central victim. I liked this book as a get-to-know-the-people-in-the-neighborhood type book but the mystery revealed is a puzzling afterthought. I haven't read the other books in the series but might check them out to find out more of the hairdresser Marla's adventures in life and love. I won't be reading them as great mysteries.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome AwesoW Read

I can't believe how much I have become hooked on these mysteries. I've been reading one after the other since I discovered the Bad Hair Day Mysteries. This one was the best so far. Mystery with some romance thrown in. I would call it enjoyable, intriguing, and definitely keeps my attention. On to the next.

[Ramona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast fun read and I did not figure out the who the murderer was until the very end. LOVE that. I also like the fact that I know the area of South Florida where the story takes place very well so I can actually picture where the characters are! I will be reading the others in this series. :)

[Brenda Kirton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok. Although I did find myself losing interest frequently, I think I read two other books since I started this one. I did guess the murderer early on. But kept reading to see if I was right.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another new and enjoyable cozy series I tried out with a hint of an interfaith romance/relationship, a hurricane and plenty of suspense and danger.

[Diane Dunham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mystery that is light and easy reading.

[April Huck · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought it was obvious who the killer was less than 1/4 of the way through the book. One character makes such an alarming statement, there was no mystery at all. Moving on to another book.

[Ali Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book!