What do you think?
Rate this book
Dead-End Job Mystery #8
Killer Cuts
Helen Hawthorne's latest gig is working in Miguel Angel's Fort Lauderdale hair salon, where a trim can cost as much as a car payment and a blowout can wipe you out. But when a famous husband of one of the salon's clients is murdered at their wedding reception, things get a little hairy...
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 4, 2009
160 people are currently reading
664 people want to read
About the author
Elaine Viets
82 books571 followersAs a young girl, Elaine Viets was taught the virtues of South St. Louis: the importance of hard work, housecleaning, and paying cash. She managed to forget almost everything she learned, which is why she turned to mystery writing.
Living in South Florida has not improved her character. But it has given her the bestselling Dead-End Job series. Like her amateur detective, Helen Hawthorne, Elaine actually works those rotten jobs. Perhaps her early training has given her a lifelong fascination with jobs. She and Helen both know working for a living can be murder.
To research her novels, Elaine has been everything from a salesclerk to a survey taker. Her first book in the series is SHOP TILL YOU DROP, a novel of sex, murder and plastic surgery. It's set at a fashionable dress shop that caters to kept women. Book two, MURDER BETWEEN THE COVERS, takes place at a bookstore. Elaine worked at a Barnes & Noble in Hollywood, Florida, for a year.
For the third, DYING TO CALL YOU, Helen works as a telemarketer. Elaine sold septic tank cleaner and did telephone surveys. She actually asked women if they shaved their armpits. In the fourth Dead-End Job mystery, JUST MURDERED, Elaine and Helen explore big-money matrimony for better or worse. Elaine did her research in Zola Keller’s posh bridal salon in Fort Lauderdale.
For the fifth novel, Elaine and Helen go to the dogs. MURDER UNLEASHED is set at a high-end dog boutique, where people spend two hundred dollars for canine cuisine, women sneak illegal pets into condos using high-priced designer purses, and the dogs at the store have bigger wardrobes than the salesclerks. MURDER UNLEASHED is Elaine's first hardcover mystery. Publishers Weekly calls it “wry social commentary.”
Although Elaine lives in Fort Lauderdale, her heart – and her viewpoint – remain in the Midwest. Like Helen Hawthorne, another transplanted St. Louisan, she observes the outrageously rich Florida culture (and lack thereof) with wide-eyed fascination.
Elaine’s second series takes her back to work in St. Louis. It features Josie Marcus, a mystery shopper and single mom. The debut novel, DYING IN STYLE, tied with Stephen King on the bestseller list for the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.
Elaine won both the Agatha and the Anthony Awards for her short story, "Wedding Knife," in CHESAPEAKE CRIMES.
Some honors don’t come with plaques and award banquets. Elaine was thrilled when her short story, "After the Fall," was featured on the same cover of the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine as the master, Ed Hoch.
Her short story, "Red Meat," is in BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS, the Mystery Writers of America anthology edited by Lawrence Block. "Blonde Moment" is in the MWA anthology, SHOW BUSINESS IS MURDER, edited by Stuart Kaminsky. "Sex and Bingo" is featured in the HIGH STAKES gambling anthology. And if you've ever wondered about the early life of purple-loving landlady Margery Flax, read "Killer Blonde" in DROP-DEAD BLONDE.
Elaine has served on the national boards of the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with her husband, actor Don Crinklaw, where they collect speeding tickets.
Please buy her novels so she can pay her MasterCard.
Series:
* Dead-End Job Mystery
* Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper
* Francesca Vierling Mystery
Living in South Florida has not improved her character. But it has given her the bestselling Dead-End Job series. Like her amateur detective, Helen Hawthorne, Elaine actually works those rotten jobs. Perhaps her early training has given her a lifelong fascination with jobs. She and Helen both know working for a living can be murder.
To research her novels, Elaine has been everything from a salesclerk to a survey taker. Her first book in the series is SHOP TILL YOU DROP, a novel of sex, murder and plastic surgery. It's set at a fashionable dress shop that caters to kept women. Book two, MURDER BETWEEN THE COVERS, takes place at a bookstore. Elaine worked at a Barnes & Noble in Hollywood, Florida, for a year.
For the third, DYING TO CALL YOU, Helen works as a telemarketer. Elaine sold septic tank cleaner and did telephone surveys. She actually asked women if they shaved their armpits. In the fourth Dead-End Job mystery, JUST MURDERED, Elaine and Helen explore big-money matrimony for better or worse. Elaine did her research in Zola Keller’s posh bridal salon in Fort Lauderdale.
For the fifth novel, Elaine and Helen go to the dogs. MURDER UNLEASHED is set at a high-end dog boutique, where people spend two hundred dollars for canine cuisine, women sneak illegal pets into condos using high-priced designer purses, and the dogs at the store have bigger wardrobes than the salesclerks. MURDER UNLEASHED is Elaine's first hardcover mystery. Publishers Weekly calls it “wry social commentary.”
Although Elaine lives in Fort Lauderdale, her heart – and her viewpoint – remain in the Midwest. Like Helen Hawthorne, another transplanted St. Louisan, she observes the outrageously rich Florida culture (and lack thereof) with wide-eyed fascination.
Elaine’s second series takes her back to work in St. Louis. It features Josie Marcus, a mystery shopper and single mom. The debut novel, DYING IN STYLE, tied with Stephen King on the bestseller list for the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.
Elaine won both the Agatha and the Anthony Awards for her short story, "Wedding Knife," in CHESAPEAKE CRIMES.
Some honors don’t come with plaques and award banquets. Elaine was thrilled when her short story, "After the Fall," was featured on the same cover of the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine as the master, Ed Hoch.
Her short story, "Red Meat," is in BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS, the Mystery Writers of America anthology edited by Lawrence Block. "Blonde Moment" is in the MWA anthology, SHOW BUSINESS IS MURDER, edited by Stuart Kaminsky. "Sex and Bingo" is featured in the HIGH STAKES gambling anthology. And if you've ever wondered about the early life of purple-loving landlady Margery Flax, read "Killer Blonde" in DROP-DEAD BLONDE.
Elaine has served on the national boards of the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with her husband, actor Don Crinklaw, where they collect speeding tickets.
Please buy her novels so she can pay her MasterCard.
Series:
* Dead-End Job Mystery
* Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper
* Francesca Vierling Mystery
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
November 9, 2021
In this 8th book in the 'Dead-End Job Mystery' series, Helen Hawthorne is working in a beauty shop. The book can be read as a standalone.
*****
Helen Hawthorne has to keep a low profile so her grasping ex-husband can't catch up with her and demand half her wages. So Helen changed her name and works at a series of low-key jobs. As the story opens Helen is in Fort Lauderdale, Florida working as a 'gofer' at a beauty salon.
The salon owner is Cuban immigrant Miguel Angel - who styles the local glitterati as well as wealthy women who can afford his fees (which start at $300 for a haircut).
One of Miguel Angel's clients is Honey, who's set to marry Kingman (King) Oden. King is an odious - but rich - slob and womanizer who drinks too much and makes a living by running a strip club and publishing gossip and secrets of high-profile people. Honey purposely got pregnant to get King to marry her without a prenup.
Cut to the wedding day: Helen and Miguel Angel are at King's mansion to do Honey's hair and makeup for the wedding. King wanders in, drunk and nude, and has a kerfuffle with Miguel Angel. The wedding proceeds, and during the reception King is found drowned in the mansion's pool. Miguel Angel becomes a person of interest to the police.
Helen, who is in the midst of planning her own wedding to her fiance Phil, is determined to prove that Miguel Angel is innocent. So Helen gets pictures and videos from the wedding photographers, questions people, looks for clues, and so on. There are plenty of suspects because King never met a person he couldn't insult or anger in some fashion.
The book has a slew of fun/eccentric characters including Helen's landlady Margery - a 76-year-old woman who constantly smokes and drinks and is partial to purple caftans and gladiator sandals; some of Margery's oddball friends. one of whom keeps a parrot on her shoulder; co-workers at Miguel Angel's salon; Helen's family; and others.
This is an entertaining cozy mystery that mixes Helen's murder investigation with her fun preparations for her wedding. Recommended for fans of cozies.
You can follow my reviews at http://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com/
April 2, 2012
Another dead end job. You would think at some point that these mysteries would start to lose their bedazzle and pizazz. But, you'd be sadly mistaken. The life of Helen is a crazy and hectic one. And she never seems to be able to stop herself from being plonked right in the middle of a grisly (or cozy) murder. This time is no different with the groom at a wedding found at the bottom of the pool. Which is really no loss - the groom's a bit of a dick. Who is hated by many. In fact, I think the only one who liked him was his bride. And that's only because she managed to marry him without a prenup and is now an exceedingly wealthy woman.
I like Helen. I could never do half the jobs she has. Except at a call centre. And I'm still at one, just not with a phone attached to my ear. Minimum wage is not pay enough for all the crap she has to put up with. I have to admit though, I'd also not want to live in the Coronado apartments. Even if they are in Florida. I picture one of those seedy places that is two storeys high and surrounds an in-ground pool on three sides. This tale has her working in a very classy salon, fetching drinks and magazines and sweeping the floor hundreds of times a day. Yawn! But, the hours are good and the salary pays the rent. And the job still let's her avoid paying alimony to her dead-beat ex-husband, Rob. And for her, that's a perfect situation.
I never tire of this Dead End series. I've read other reviews where people don't agree, but I'm not sure what they're expecting from cozy mysteries. At least Helen entertains with a different job in each book.
I like Helen. I could never do half the jobs she has. Except at a call centre. And I'm still at one, just not with a phone attached to my ear. Minimum wage is not pay enough for all the crap she has to put up with. I have to admit though, I'd also not want to live in the Coronado apartments. Even if they are in Florida. I picture one of those seedy places that is two storeys high and surrounds an in-ground pool on three sides. This tale has her working in a very classy salon, fetching drinks and magazines and sweeping the floor hundreds of times a day. Yawn! But, the hours are good and the salary pays the rent. And the job still let's her avoid paying alimony to her dead-beat ex-husband, Rob. And for her, that's a perfect situation.
I never tire of this Dead End series. I've read other reviews where people don't agree, but I'm not sure what they're expecting from cozy mysteries. At least Helen entertains with a different job in each book.
June 14, 2019
I LOVE the Dead-End Job Mystery series by Elaine Viets !!! I have been reading them in order and seeing as I just finished the eighth book I am more than a devoted reader....I am Helen's best friend (even though she doesn't know it), I am a resident at the Coronado Tropic Apartments (even though I don't pay rent) and I follow Helen around like a lost puppy dog (except I don't leave my couch)
I think that Killer Cuts is my favorite of this series....so far. I love Helen's latest dead-end job working in a high-end salon where the owner, Miquel Angel, does hair for the rich and famous. Helen's job is to fetch drinks and magazines and clean up after Miquel Angel is done with a client. In this book I think Helen really likes this job and her co-workers unllike the other jobs shes had in the past. I'm going to hate that she leaves this job but I know the next job will be entertaining as well.
In Killer Cuts besides planning her wedding to Phil, her private investigator neighbor, Helen gets caught up in another murder. When Helen, Miquel Angel, and his assistant go to the mansion of one of his clients to fix her hair and make-up, the happily married couple are only married for 90 minutes when the groom is found dead in the pool !! Of course Miquel Angel was recorded argueing and threatening the groom before the ceremony !!!
Of course Helen takes it upon herself to do her own investigating but at least this time she has Phil helping her.....well most of the time anyway !!!
The Dead-End Mystery series by Viets is a great series to get lost in. You will love everything about it.....Helen, her apartment and friends, her fiance, even her crappy jobs are interesting....and let's not forget the murders and Helen's talent of getting in the middle of them...... I encourage you to read this series....you won't regret it !!!!
I think that Killer Cuts is my favorite of this series....so far. I love Helen's latest dead-end job working in a high-end salon where the owner, Miquel Angel, does hair for the rich and famous. Helen's job is to fetch drinks and magazines and clean up after Miquel Angel is done with a client. In this book I think Helen really likes this job and her co-workers unllike the other jobs shes had in the past. I'm going to hate that she leaves this job but I know the next job will be entertaining as well.
In Killer Cuts besides planning her wedding to Phil, her private investigator neighbor, Helen gets caught up in another murder. When Helen, Miquel Angel, and his assistant go to the mansion of one of his clients to fix her hair and make-up, the happily married couple are only married for 90 minutes when the groom is found dead in the pool !! Of course Miquel Angel was recorded argueing and threatening the groom before the ceremony !!!
Of course Helen takes it upon herself to do her own investigating but at least this time she has Phil helping her.....well most of the time anyway !!!
The Dead-End Mystery series by Viets is a great series to get lost in. You will love everything about it.....Helen, her apartment and friends, her fiance, even her crappy jobs are interesting....and let's not forget the murders and Helen's talent of getting in the middle of them...... I encourage you to read this series....you won't regret it !!!!
November 21, 2018
A pleasant read about a woman caught up in a murder while struggling to rebuild her life after a bad marriage and worse divorce. Unfortunately, the book lost a star because of the disappointing endings that were obvious early on. (Yes, endings plural.)
The dead-end job was fun, although Viets could have spent a little less time recounting the particulars of all the salon clients. After the twentieth client is miraculously rejuvenated by hair and makeup stylist Miguel, we get the idea.
Helen, the protagonist, complains and whines a lot. That is sometimes hard to reconcile with the woman who works to solve the mystery. However, the apartment dweller characters were enjoyable and I was glad Viets spent time on them. It was a nice demonstration that a family doesn't have to be comprised of blood relations.
The dead-end job was fun, although Viets could have spent a little less time recounting the particulars of all the salon clients. After the twentieth client is miraculously rejuvenated by hair and makeup stylist Miguel, we get the idea.
Helen, the protagonist, complains and whines a lot. That is sometimes hard to reconcile with the woman who works to solve the mystery. However, the apartment dweller characters were enjoyable and I was glad Viets spent time on them. It was a nice demonstration that a family doesn't have to be comprised of blood relations.
May 28, 2024
Snappy dialog and fun characters.
March 31, 2010
Helen Hawthorne is on the lam from her court-ordered alimoney to her dead-beat philandering husband. She lives in Florida, using an assumed name and working cash-under-the-table jobs to stay off the books. She is working for Miguel Angel, celebrity hair-stylist when he is accused of killing the husband of one of his favorite clients. Helen loves her job with Miguel and figures out he did not kill the victim. Now all she has to do is convince the police. Helen and her intrepid band of sleuths, including her fiancee, Phil, are on the job. Between their investigating clues and planning for their wedding, Helen and Phil are kept busy. And, who could have predicted the ending? It's always enjoyable to read about Helen and her crew and I normally do not care for cozies.
September 11, 2012
A great beach read. I started reading this series a while ago and then forgot about it. A friend gave me this one, and I read it at the beach. Now I have to go back and read the ones I missed before this one.
November 8, 2012
Wow. And not in a good way. This is supposed to be funny? What a simpleton book. Third grade sentences, stupid dialogue, big leaps between scenes. This is a dead-end book which I discarded after about a dozen pages. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ....
July 28, 2009
This book wasn't as good as the last one in the series that I read. The whole premise is getting a little worn and I didn't feel like all of the threads were tied up in the end.
December 6, 2012
Another enjoyable read in the dead end jobs' series. Helen is engaged to her neighbor Phil, with landlady Margery acting as the officiator. Do they get married, or do they not?
September 30, 2021
I absolutely love the 'Dead-End Job Mystery' series by Elaine Viets. I started this series when I stumbled across one at random the decided it was one series worth reading. Even though this series is a murder mystery, it's delivered with a huge side of humer.
Helen's latest dead-end job working in a high-end salon where the owner, Miquel Angel, does hair for the rich and famous. Helen's job is to fetch drinks and magazines and clean up after Miquel Angel is done with a client.
In Killer Cuts besides planning her wedding to Phil, her private investigator neighbor, Helen gets caught up in another murder. When Helen, Miquel Angel, and his assistant go to the mansion of one of his clients to fix her hair and make-up, the couple are only married for 90 minutes when the groom is found dead in the pool. As usual HHelen wants to save her friends and takes it upon herself to do her own investigating. However, this time she has Phil helping her until she opts to confront th he killer.
What on earth was Helen thinking? If you more deets that make the story a whole. Your just going to have give it a read. I promise you will not be disappointed. Especially with the surprise ending
~Laters Peeps
Helen's latest dead-end job working in a high-end salon where the owner, Miquel Angel, does hair for the rich and famous. Helen's job is to fetch drinks and magazines and clean up after Miquel Angel is done with a client.
In Killer Cuts besides planning her wedding to Phil, her private investigator neighbor, Helen gets caught up in another murder. When Helen, Miquel Angel, and his assistant go to the mansion of one of his clients to fix her hair and make-up, the couple are only married for 90 minutes when the groom is found dead in the pool. As usual HHelen wants to save her friends and takes it upon herself to do her own investigating. However, this time she has Phil helping her until she opts to confront th he killer.
What on earth was Helen thinking? If you more deets that make the story a whole. Your just going to have give it a read. I promise you will not be disappointed. Especially with the surprise ending
~Laters Peeps
July 3, 2022
Hair Stylist To The Stars and Murder
This is a great story1 This is the eighth book in a series that is best read in order. Our main character is working at a hair styling salon that has an elite clientele. And then the murders begin! The story has a great deal of humor intermixed with the murder mystery. There is less sex than in previous books and what there is mostly alluded to, and behind closed doors. I am excited to go on binge-reading this series.
This is a great story1 This is the eighth book in a series that is best read in order. Our main character is working at a hair styling salon that has an elite clientele. And then the murders begin! The story has a great deal of humor intermixed with the murder mystery. There is less sex than in previous books and what there is mostly alluded to, and behind closed doors. I am excited to go on binge-reading this series.
January 10, 2024
I have read a few of these. They are fun. The main characters drink much too much on a daily basis but the author imagines a pleasant atmosphere of friends relaxing around a Florida pool in a rental development. You can tell the author has actually worked at dead end jobs. The murders are almost incidental and the murder victim is so despicable that no one is feeling too sorry that he is dead. A light cosy read.
August 22, 2020
Wedding murder
Book eight in the Dead End Job series. Helen is working in a fashionable hair salon and goes to assist at a wedding. She gets involved solving the murder of the groom in order to protect her boss’s business. I’m sure that this can work as a stand alone, but why not read all of these laugh out loud funny south Florida mysteries.
Book eight in the Dead End Job series. Helen is working in a fashionable hair salon and goes to assist at a wedding. She gets involved solving the murder of the groom in order to protect her boss’s business. I’m sure that this can work as a stand alone, but why not read all of these laugh out loud funny south Florida mysteries.
January 5, 2022
This is not my favorite book in the series. How many is working for a high end hair stylist. He does the make up and hair of a customer at her house and a murder takes place. Of course Helen gets into trouble and solves them murder. I did not like the last chapter for her mother shows up as a wedding. It took away from the love story between Helen and Phil. I really found it to be stupid.
February 11, 2024
I really enjoyed this entry to the series. I enjoyed Helen’s work at the salon and the celebrity clients they had. I liked how the clients wedding was the mystery and that Helen’s wedding also happened, although with a bunch of drama of course. This series is a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next. #readforkimberly
February 16, 2019
I love this series. Just when we thought it would end in a wedding (or two)......
This was a brutal murderer, not what I expected at all.
But as usual the main characters are engaging and I love them all.
This was a brutal murderer, not what I expected at all.
But as usual the main characters are engaging and I love them all.
August 30, 2020
Another fun Dead-End job mystery
Poor Helen finally has a good job and a good guy who wants to marry her, in spite of the threatening letters she's been receiving. What could go wrong?
Poor Helen finally has a good job and a good guy who wants to marry her, in spite of the threatening letters she's been receiving. What could go wrong?
Read
May 11, 2025Secrets and gossip galore!
Another hilarious mystery in a high quality series! This varied cast of characters is wildly entertaining, the comedy is witty and fun, and the storytelling is well done.
Another hilarious mystery in a high quality series! This varied cast of characters is wildly entertaining, the comedy is witty and fun, and the storytelling is well done.
May 10, 2017
I enjoyed this book, Helen Hawthorne is a realistic, interesting hero.
August 8, 2017
Terrific as usual.
January 26, 2019
It ain't over until it's over!!!
This series is growing in me. Wasn't as thrilled with the first one, now I can't read them fast enough. Then she makes me cry at the end.
This series is growing in me. Wasn't as thrilled with the first one, now I can't read them fast enough. Then she makes me cry at the end.
August 19, 2020
Engrossing
Very fast paced, humorous characters. Great plot twists. I had a great time following the adventures of the brides & grooms.
Very fast paced, humorous characters. Great plot twists. I had a great time following the adventures of the brides & grooms.
August 21, 2020
Goofy, but...
Viets' books are entertaining, very simple and weakly plotted. However they are eminently readable and, if you're from St. Louis, full of local lore.
Viets' books are entertaining, very simple and weakly plotted. However they are eminently readable and, if you're from St. Louis, full of local lore.
October 8, 2020
What a fun romp!
Wonderful mystery! Funny and humorous characters. Love the St. Louis connections. I have followed Ms. Viets since her days at the Post Dispatch!
Wonderful mystery! Funny and humorous characters. Love the St. Louis connections. I have followed Ms. Viets since her days at the Post Dispatch!
October 13, 2020
Fun Read.
November 16, 2020
Great book. Love the twists and turns. Will be looking to read more from this author.
November 30, 2020
Good read!
I like all the quirky characters and the mean twist at the end. MS. Viets is a wonderful writer. Humorous!
I like all the quirky characters and the mean twist at the end. MS. Viets is a wonderful writer. Humorous!
June 27, 2021
another great read...Helen did it again!
August 12, 2022
This book wasn’t predictable but it was cheesy. A good read for a beach or if you need something light hearted even though it’s about a murder. I did laugh a lot throughout the book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews