Book Description
Murder on a Bad Hair Day
It's hard to believe practical, petite ex-schoolteacher Patricia Anne and amiable, ample-bodied, and outrageous Mary Alice are sisters, yet sibling rivalry has survived decades of good-natured disagreement about everything from husbands to hair color. No sooner do the Southern sisters discover a common interest in some local art, when they're arguing the artistic merits of some well-coiffured heads at a gallery opening. A few hours later, one of those pretty ladies ends up dead -- with not a hair out of place. The other shows up on Patricia Anne's doorstep dazed, disheveled, and telling a wild tale of a narrow escape from some deadly cuts. Now the sisters are once again combing for clues to catch a killer with a bizarre style in art -- and murder.
Customer Reviews:
Souther Sister Marvel!.......2007-03-22
This series is a MUST READ! These books are so funny and frantic you can't put them down. Get them all, read and reread till you laugh your socks off!
I Just Love This Series!.......2006-10-16
Patricia Ann (Mouse) and Mary Alice (Sister) are sisters living in Birmingham, Alabama and though they love each other they have very little in common. That disparity in their personalities though is what makes these books so much fun, because their little spats and the tricks that they play on each other tend to drive the plot and are usually hilarious. Understanding the relationship between the two is therefore critical to enjoying this series so I would heartily suggest that you read these books in order since the first book provides a lot of the history necessary for the reader to reach that understanding.
In this entry Sister convinces Mouse to attend an art showing featuring a group of "primitive" artists from the area. Much taken by the beauty of the art they find at the showing the sisters are very surprised the next day when they learn of the death of the young owner of the gallery of an apparent heart attack. Apparent is the key word here and once again the sisters are drawn into the mystery, not by curiosity but by the involvement of one of Mouse's former students who turns to her former teacher for help. Being a retired teacher can apparently be a dangerous thing.
Most of the recurring characters are introduced in the first book but they are filled out a little more in this entry and unlike the characters in some "cozy" mysteries these people are very believable. You may in fact find that you know some of these people, or someone very much like them, they just have different names and don't live in Birmingham. One new character in this book is Sister's overweight and very spoiled cat named Bubba. Bubba has his own heating pad on the kitchen counter where he comfortably lounges away the days. He just sits there and waits to be adored and Mary Alice provides that in plentiful doses. That is, when she isn't busy being a sex slave for Santa at the mall. No, I'm not going to explain that statement, you will just have to read the book.
The most pleasant thing about this book and this series is that you will find yourself laughing out loud but at the same time this author doesn't sink to the slapstick level that many other authors in this genre do. The characters are not only believable but you will learn to care about them and worry when they get hurt. You are also impressed by how caring these people are and it is that caring nature that leads these snooping sisters to the solution of the crimes involved in this book. Murder it seems is not the only game afoot in the iron city.
Easy reading!.......2005-04-15
I bought this book a year ago and just recently picked it up again to read--again! Oh, sure, I knew 'whodunit', but the story and the characters were just fun to revisit. I love the way Anne George portrays the two sisters. Her characters seem like neighbors and her writing is most entertaining. I won't donate this one to library just yet....
Murder By Mousse..........2004-04-01
"Murder on a Bad Hair Day" continues the adventures of siblings Patricia Anne (petite, practical, retired schoolteacher, married for 40 yrs.) and Mary Alice (250+, loud, brassy, has buried 3 husbands and always on the lookout for the 4th).
This series is one of the funniest to come along in years! It is especially great for older individuals who have children and grandchildren (although I have none).
A beautiful former student of Patricia Anne's shows up on her doorstep following the "murder by mousse" of an ill-liked gallery owner. More murders follow and Patricia Anne and Mary Alice along with Detective Bo Peep work to solve the crimes.
The plot is great, but buy this book (buy the whole series!) for the dialogue alone. The sibling bantering is hilarious!
Southern Siblings are Sweet.......2003-12-04
They're like the Patty Duke cousins - 'different in every way'. Anne George's Southern Sisters are opposites, and they're fun to read as Ms. George captures the two sibling personalities superbly. In this book, the sisters (who are 60 and 65 - and it's great to see heroines in this age bracket, instead of the usual 20-30s) get involved in solving two murders of the art crowd in Birmingham. Well written with lots of laughs and nicely crafted, it's time well spent when you're with these fine ladies.
Book Description
Marla was already having a bad hair day, but when one of her clients dies while getting a perm at her salon, her day just can't get any worse... until the smugly competent Detective Vail accuses her of poisoning the wealthy widow's coffee creamer! Granted, Bertha Kravitz was hardly her favorite customer, but Marla could have never murdered the ornery woman. Now it's up to the savvy stylist to find out just who did.
With a dollop of humor and a dab of suspense, Nancy J. Cohen introduces a sassy, stylish sleuth as Marla leads readers on a dizzyingly fast-paced romp in this satisfying first installment of The Bad Hair Day mysteries.
Customer Reviews:
Disappointing Mystery.......2007-07-12
Beauty Salon owner Marla Shore is more than a little upset when one of her customers, Bertha Kravitz, dies after drinking coffee containing poisoned powdered creamer. Not only is she afraid she'll lose her customers, but the police, especially Detective Dalton Vail, seem to think she's the murderer, since she was the only one with Bertha when she died and Marla is the one that gave her the coffee. Marla is afraid that the police will discover that she had more than one reason to kill Bertha and not look for the real murderer, so she begins to investigate the case herself. Marla finds lots of suspects - Bertha wasn't a likeable person and had many enemies - but she needs to convince Detective Vail. In the meantime, as she investigates the murder, she also has to confront a few demons of her own - a tragic death in her past, a foolish mistake when she was young, and a failed marriage.
"Permed to Death" was a disappointing mystery. Marla was an unsympathetic and unlikable character, far too judgmental and abrupt with people. Even the tragic accident failed to make her sympathetic, perhaps because it was mentioned too often in the book. Her dwelling on people's appearances, especially their hair cuts, was mean spirited and got old very quickly. She's also not one of the brightest characters ever written - Bertha dies from poison and yet, when someone anonymously leaves Marla a box of candy, she almost eats it! The other characters don't come off much better and Marla's friend Tally, with her obsession about food, is especially obnoxious. Detective Vail is also poorly written, asking Marla out when she is still the chief suspect and he even takes her along with him to help investigate the murder - truly unbelievable. As for the mystery itself, while there are plenty of suspects in Bertha's death, it's pretty easy for readers to narrow down who the murderer is.
While I liked the beauty salon setting, "Permed to Death" was not a great mystery.
Warning! Perms can lead to permanent brain damage!.......2007-03-12
This is the worst book I have read in decades. In fact, the best part is the title. I had tossed it aside only to pick it up again because I could not believe it was really as bad as it seemed. I was right the first time. The lead character (a hair salon operator named Marla Shore) is a suspect in a murder case that happened in her salon. Naturally, she decides she has to solve the mystery herself for two reasons: 1) since it happened in her shop it is her responsibility to find the killer; and 2) to show the hunk detective she is innocent. The first premise is stupid on it's face, yet upon this fragile hook hangs most the plot. The second premise can work if you are professional burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr in the hands of a master like Lawrence Block. In the present book with the present author a snowball's chance in Hell comes to mind. The book lacks charm, humor, cleverness, credibility, subtlety, cohesiveness, and worst of all - mystery. Marla, the only character of any depth at all (if a combination of extreme guilt pitted against sloganeering qualifies as depth) lurches through the plot in a series of unlikely actions driven by apparent studpidity. If she acted like she had half a brain then the rest of the book wouldn't need writing. If you can get past the contrived situations you then endure the unlikely/never gonna happen quality of the conversations/interrogations. If these fail to turn you to a better use of time the subtle as a brick clue to the murderer near the beginning of the book should. The rest is one long misdirection highlighting choppy writing about Marla's interactions with 2-dimensional, stereotyped characters in unlikely situations, all fleshed out with irritatingly irrelevant details. Thank God I got this out of the library and didn't waste any money on it. Is it possible to give it less than one star?
Good cute Cozy mystery .......2007-01-12
this series is a cute fun read.
Light hearted and good charaters round it out.
BORED to death..........2006-02-21
This book was so bad that I just had to warn others before wasting their brain cells on this junk. (Unfortunately, this was the only thing I had available to read that the time.) This novel is supposed to be a "mystery" but I found the outcome ridiculously predictable. The author probably believes she is dropping "hints" but blatantly casts suspicion on other characters, leading the reader to easily guess her "least obvious" suspect as the actual murderer. Give the reader a little credit! We've all read books before!
The interaction between the main character, Marla, and Detective Vail, is so predictable I almost threw the book away in lieu of staring at a blank wall. This is a plot we've all read before, only it was actually good when Janet Evanovich used it in the Stephanie Plum novels. In reality, this whole novel seemed like a rip-off of Evanovich's books, but without the charm and creativity. Furthermore, the italicizing of anything in Yiddish or trying to make characters seem hip or young by using the phrase "like" is completely ineffective, and becomes extremely annoying. And the wanna-be catch phrase "Bless my bones?" Is Marla 75 years old? There are so many annoying details from this book that Cohen seems to use only to make the text longer, but the reader couldn't care less about. And with such mind-numbing attention to irrelevant details, the wardrobe descriptions for the characters must be picked apart. If this was written in 1999, Cohen must have been using a Sears catalogue from 1983 as a reference, because who the heck wears a "yellow shorts outfit" or a "pearl gray jumpsuit?" (Cohen also later gives a step-by-step description of how Marla prepares dinner. I almost thought I started reading a cookbook!) These drawn out descriptions and details are used in a way that they are unnecessary to the development of the character, except to make me wonder if Marla the hairdresser still gives people mullet haircuts since she's apparently stuck in a time warp.
The novel is dull and any "mystery" is completely obvious. (For example: Marla's secretive past? I had that one figured out the first time it was mentioned.) Save your money and don't buy this book. Instead, spend your cash on Janet Evanovich's "One for the Money." You'll be glad you did.
Blah.......2005-12-28
I saw this mystery in the store and thought: "hey, this looks good". I thought it would be fun and interesting - neither which turned out to be true. The story was dark and depressing and the mystery annoying and convulted. Marla must be the stupidest so-called sleuth in the history of dumb sleuths if she didn't figure out the killer until the end. The clues were so obvious it was painful to watch her stumble around. I had to force myself to complete it.
I had to feel sorry for Marla at one point where the detective ripped her to shreds for her past - I would have slapped him and hard! Too bad she forgave him when he smiled at her.
Bogus! 2 stars is being too fair.
Book Description
The ultra-popular host of QVC shares her fascinating life story!
"I am who I am, and you like it or don't. I'm not changing. Since I made the decision to be myself, I've had more fun and better relationships than ever. No lightning bolt is going to strike this girl twice!"
Kathy Levine is the girl next door who answered an ad in 1986 and became a host for the then-infant cable-TV shopping network, QVC. A few years and over fifty million viewers later, Kathy, "the champion of the middle-aged, not-so-beautiful woman," is a national phenomenon.
In It's Better To Laugh..., Kathy reveals to her fans the most precious jewels of all -- her laughter, her tears, her hard-won triumphs, and what she's learned about life and being good to herself. She also tells all about life at QVC -- off and on camera, her romantic ups and downs, her special bond with her mother, and her ongoing struggles with her weight and hair!
Told with the warmth, honesty and humor that could only come from Kathy herself, It's Better To Laugh... brings us the nicest, funniest, most down to earth woman on television today -- sharing her intimate thoughts and experiences.
Customer Reviews:
good reading.......2007-05-12
i had this book but my fur baby decided to read it and not much left. now was wanting to read it again and found it here. the service was much more than i expected. received it promptly and in great shape. would purchase from here again
A Really Enjoyable Book.......2006-01-17
I loved this book so much that I bought it for a friend as a Christmas gift. Kathy Levine wrote this book with honesty. I admire her for that. I think it took courage to be able to write a tell all book. I watched Kathy for many years as host on QVC. If you are a shopping network buyer, and you knew Kathy, then you would really enjoy this book. Even if you didn't shop the Q, I am sure that you would love reading this funny heartwarming book.
Very Interesting.......2002-11-25
I really enjoyed watching Kathy Levine on QVC. I was interested in what she had to say by reading some of the reviews. I purchased this book and couldn't put it down. She talks about behind the scenes of QVC and the Jeff & Judy Crowell saga. I never knew about those two. I think you will get a good kick out of this book. You can see Kathy on HSN now, but not as a host but a vendor with her own clothing line.
Diva Delight.......1999-02-05
You really have to be a fan of QVC, America's leading retail broadcasting network, to appreciate this book. And if you are, you will! Within these pages, The Diva of Diamonique reveals everything! Secrets, desires, hopes and regrets. It's all here. If you watch QVC, you don't want to miss this book.
How she can keep her hands off that impossibly handsome Dan Huges is simply beyond me! He makes my morning every single day! With his Morning Show, at 7 p.m. EST.
Kathy's book is a real joy to read! Although most of us will ever get the chance to meet Kathy in person, this book offers us a personal look into her life.
As a Proud Gay Man, I am not ashamed to admit that Kathy is a role-model for me. And my dream is to someday meet her. And maybe then she will introduce me to that hunk, Dan Hughes!!!
An Honest view of Life and how to laugh at it........1998-09-11
Kathy tells all from grade school to nose jobs, from failures to success. I've read this book three times and love every minute.
Book Description
A hair-raising journey through the era when big was king.
In the beginning, there was the hair. And some of the hair was bad, but it was small. As men and women everywhere worked to improve and increase their lot, however, they stumbled onto some of humankind's most miraculous innovations: spray, gel, mousse, crimping irons, and of course, the perm. With these new tools, people everywhere suddenly found themselves able to coax their lank, lifeless tresses toward glorious new heights. The age of big hair had begun.
Now, the greatest of these bouffants, afros, rakes, beehives, and Flock-of-Seagulls have been plucked from their spots in hairdressers' windows and given the respect they so clearly demand. Bigger and badder than you ever dreamed possible, Big Hair goes out to all those people of yesteryear who were unafraid to think BIG.
Customer Reviews:
Tiny book will make you chuckle!.......2007-05-28
I bought this book for a low price, which is good since it is so tiny (only about 5 inches). However, even if the book is so small, it is easy to see the photos of the hairstyles we wore back in the 1970's. Funny book!
You'll be speechless..........2006-05-24
...because you'll be laughing too hard. I can't even explain how much fun this book is. Money well spent if you love to poke fun at horrific hairstyles. Many feathered mullets and styled facial hair; need I say more?
You will not stop laughing!.......2005-10-24
It's hard to imagine a more effective humor book. My roommate and I keep this lying around our living room, and occasionally, when one of us is feeling down, the other opens up the book and we start laughing.
I can't get enough of this book -- buy it. It's good for your health.
Oh My!.......2004-05-02
I first saw this book at the hair salon. The red-headed cover model was daring me to pick it and and give it a browse. Oh My! I'm so glad I did! "Bad Hair" is full of some of the most hysterical and, uh, creative hairstyles. This is from the time of the perm and feathering, after all. In addition to wondering of the hair, the fashions represented are a hoot.
This little book is just so much fun!
1 Picture = 1000 Words.......2004-03-28
The fact that there are no words to go with this collection of fashion cul-de-sacs improves the experience. Strictly an impulse purchase, but one to display openly with pride. Guaranteed to crack a smile and jog a memory. Spot your friends - compare to your yearbook. Enjoy!
Average customer rating:
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The Bad Hair Day Book: Pick Me Ups For When Life Gets Tangled
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
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General
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Gifts
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ASIN: 1404103759 |
Book Description
When life deals you split ends, tangles, limp bangs, and the absolute wrong shade of color, one quick spritz of humor and a comb-through of wisdom from The Bad Hair Day Book will have you smiling again!
The wisest man in the world said "a cheerful heart is good medicine," and this book is just what the doctor prescribes. Readers will be encouraged and cheered up with this delightful collection of true life stories, cartoons, poems, Scripture, simple ideas and advice on simplifying and reorganizing life, and other expressions of hope and humor.
Book Description
Nancy J. Cohen's Bad Hair Day mysteries tease with humor and satisfy with style. Nary a touch-up is called for in Marla Shore's seventh outing as sleuth extraordinaire…but she'll need all the snooping skills she can muster when a family reunion on a Florida plantation uncovers shadowy secrets and… Dead Roots Marla's a little nervous about her family reunion at Florida's historic Sugar Crest Plantation Resort. It's the first time her clan will meet her fiancé, Detective Dalton Vail…and vice versa. There's little hope of much privacy. One wing of the hotel is condemned and off-limits while the rest is packed this Thanksgiving weekend with visitors, from city council members debating the feasibility of developing the property into a living history theme park to paranormal experts investigating the site's many ghosts. Not exactly a romantic getaway.
The web of tension connecting Marla's relatives adds a most unwelcome tint of anxiety to the whole affair. Elderly Aunt Polly, whose Russian father, Andrew Marks, once owned Sugar Crest, is desperate to find the treasure in gemstones he hid there before the place is torn down. Meanwhile, Cousin Cynthia piques Marla's interest with talk of a family curse. Apparently the plantation was built on an Indian burial mound, and two eerie Cossacks were somehow involved in Andrew's very premature death. What one thing has to do with the other, no one can say.
But when Aunt Polly is found suffocated in her bed, her nursing aide vanished, there's no excuse for silly speculations. It's time for Marla to unravel the tangle of lies that tie her family to Sugar Crest…a tangle that reaches all the way back to Tzarist Russia. And while she's on the hunt, she might as well consider those with money to lose if the demolition is delayed—like local businessmen…and Cynthia's husband, who is anxious to invest in the theme park.
Things get even more desperate when the body of the resort's groundskeeper is found on the nature trail. Whatever is going on at Sugar Crest, someone is willing to go to great lengths to keep it hidden. But he or she hasn't planned on Marla, who will stop at nothing to learn the truth before the killer strikes even closer to home.
Customer Reviews:
Dead Roots.......2007-06-08
Fast, fun read. Lots of interesting characters and plot twists and turns.
Keeps your interest 'til the last page. Can't wait to read more Nancy J. Cohen.
A Haunting Vacation.......2006-06-11
Marla Shore, hairdresser is going to the family reunion that her Aunt Polly has put together at the historic Sugar Crest Plantation Resort. Marla knew this weekend was going to be bad as this was her first time at introducing her fiancee, Detective Dalton Vail to the family. Worrying that they wouldn't accept him because he wasn't Jewish, wasn't as bad as the worry that she had that he wouldn't accept them because they were nutty.
Things got worse when they arrived at the resort to find out that one wing was condemned and off limits, there was a ghost hunter on site, looking for spirits who seemed to be roaming the old plantation.
Then Marla finds out that her Aunt Polly has a secret. It was Polly's Russian father, Andrew Marks, who had come to America after the Russian Revolution, who had once owned the plantation and he had died after a visit from two eerie Cossacks who had disappeared. It had been her mother who finally sold the plantation, but Polly retained the rights to stay at the resort whenever she wanted.
Polly hinted of lost treasure and secret ownership of the hotel, and when she was found suffocated in her bed, Marla knew she would have to unravel her own family history, as well as, the history of the plantation to find if there was a treasure. If they still had a claim on this resort or if the family ghosts were still haunting the place or was it just a current family member who was responsible for both the killings and the hauntings.
Highlights:
Marla has always been a likable character and her relationship with Dalton Vail and his thirteen year old daughter, Brianna has always been very believable. Marla has had some trauma in her younger days and a bad marriage which made her wary of both men and of having children.
The Mystery. There were actually several going on here. Who killed her Aunt Polly. Who was her grandfather and as an immigrant from Russia just after the revolution, how did he have the money to buy this estate? Who were the mysterious men who showed up a few days before his death? Were there ghosts on the estate and what did they want.
Humor. This series has always been one of the funniest.
Lowlights:
Boring. The worse thing a mystery can be is boring. I liked that there were several different mysteries going on at the same time, but except for finding out her Grandfather and Aunt Polly's history, they weren't very interesting.
Missing characters: In the previous books most of the interesting characters are people who surrounded Marla at her work. Dalton's daughter, Brianna and Marla's wonderful dog Spook. The least interesting people have always been her family. An entire book filled with the least interesting people and none of the ones you love can be tedious.
I think this was a misfire, but Marla is still a great character that I'm sure the next book will be much better.
The plus side of Bad Hair Days!.......2006-05-02
Nancy's Bad Hair Days get better and better. Poor Dalton, stuck into Marla's family reunion. Not only is there a mystery to solve, which Marla does once again, but Nancy's books have that added flavor of family fun and tension, plus a bonus of hair grooming tips and recipes.
Death At A Family Reunion.......2006-02-02
Marla Shore and her fiancé Detective Dalton Vale head off on a much-needed vacation. Marla is excited as she will be introducing Dalton to many of her extended family. They are going to a family reunion at the Sugar Crest Resort. Her Aunt Polly arranged the reunion.
Turns out Marla's relatives once owned the place and it is now supposedly haunted by some of her past relatives. Apparently Polly wanted to right some wrongs and uncover family secrets by having the reunion there. Unfortunately, Aunt Polly is found dead before she can do much more than ask Marla to look for some old letters and gems. Marla is not sure they really exist, but her curiosity gets the best of her.
When a workman falls to his death, Dalton believes the death to be murder. The house doctor lists it as an accident. Unfortunately, the local police believe the house doctor and not Dalton. This just spurs Marla on further in her investigation. Dalton is doing some investigating as well. When they discover that Aunt Polly's death wasn't a natural death, things really heat up.
Can Marla help Dalton uncover the truth without anyone else being hurt, including herself?
I really enjoy this series. Marla is such a likeable character. Most of the books are set in and around her Florida salon. While I enjoy that, this was a nice change. The relationship between Marla and Dalton has really matured and it is fun watching it grow and change through the various books. Marla is a believable sleuth. She does get herself into some scary situations, but she has a level head most of the time.
I highly recommend this book and the whole series.
A mystery with humor!.......2005-12-29
This Bad Hair Day mystery novel has everything! Murder, mystery, family history, ghost busters, greed, evil motives, Russian royalty, psychic predictions, Nazi's, hidden treasure--you name it.
Marla Shore, owner of the Cut 'N Dye hair salon, and part-time sleuth is heading to the Florida coast with her unflappable police detective fiance, Dalton Vail for the first Marks family reunion.
Three generations of Marks from all over the U.S. and Canada are gathering at the haunted luxury resort created by the family patriarch, Andrew Marks, whose ghost is said to inhabit the halls guarding his secrets. This could be the family's last opportunity to connect with their heritage through this resort as it is in jeopardy of being redeveloped into an amusement park.
Marla's Aunt Polly, keeper of the family secrets, alludes to the mystery surrounding Andrew Marks' death, the visitation of mysterious strangers right before his death, the rumors of treasure, and secretive documents.
Aunt Polly publicly opposes Marla's engagement to someone outside the faith, further dividing family loyalties and skewing motives.
Aunt Polly ends up murdered, despite having secretly fought the good fight with cancer. Family secrets are peeled away one member at a time while forecasting the future for Sugar Crest resort.
Armchair Interviews says: If you love a good mystery with humor running throughout, this is for you.
Book Description
When savvy hairstylist Marla Shore volunteers for a fund-raiser, she has to comb through a knot of suspects to determine who's sabotaging the gala event. Participating chefs are dropping off the roster like hot rollers, and it's only through a series of hair-raising exploits that the brazen beautician can tease the truth from them. Too late to stop a murder, Marla must salvage the grand affair before she's moussed into oblivion.
Download Description
Not just your average South Florida beachcomber, Marla's now a volunteer for Ocean Guard, a coastal preservation group. She's even in charge of their upcoming Taste of the World fundraiser. But when chef Pierre Chevalier's flaming Bananas Foster results in a three-alarm fire, she can't help wondering: too much rum in the recipe-or sabotage? Something is beginning to smell fishy in sunny Palm Haven, and it isn't just the polluted shoreline. But even Marla is stunned when Ocean Guard's attorney, Benjamin Kline, is murdered. Not that she was crazy about the guy-in fact, nobody was. The victim had his share of enemies, though Marla's old friend, the irritatingly appealing Detective Dalton Vail, is convinced the culprit was one of Ocean Guard's esteemed board members. Now he's counting on Marla to untangle the clues. The suspects couldn't be more varied-or less likely-from likable businesswoman Babs Winrow to quiet, respectable banker Darren Shapiro. Even Digby Raines, the smarmy mayoral candidate himself, and creepy funeral director Stefano Barletti are on the ever-growing list. One of them snipped Ben Kline's life short, and Marla's determined to get to the root of a case that's anything but cut and dried. And with her own brush with death serving as a blunt reminder that a killer's still on the loose, Marla realizes that if she isn't careful, the next thing to wash up on the sand might not be mere medical waste... With her sassy style and flair for local color, Nancy J. Cohen has created another sleek page-turner that will leave readers eagerly awaiting their next appointment with the pert and plucky Marla.
Customer Reviews:
Great Read.......2007-01-15
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.
eco murder.......2005-02-07
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....
Better than the First.......2004-09-12
This second book in Nancy J. Cohen's 'Bad Hair Day' mystery series is better than the first ('Permed to Death'). Ms. Cohen writes well, as she did in the first. But this one has a more interesting plot. Marla Shore, hair salon owner/main character, is working on a committee to put together a fund raiser, featuring the best chefs around, to save some oceanfront land. I still don't feel there is enough substance to Marla's character. And most attempts at humor fell flat, but the author scored in two or three places, which is better than her batting zero in humor with her first. It doesn't help when someone is dumping medical waste in the preservation area, committing a murder or two, and going after Marla with everything from bullets to coconuts. Good romance reading between Marla and the detective who doesn't want her involved in solving crimes. Its well-done and surprising climactic scenes make this a worthwhile read.
How did this book make it to hard cover?.......2001-11-01
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series (Permed to Death), this one was very disappointing. It was not well written, the villain was too easy to spot, and some of the things that come out of Marla's mouth are totally ridiculous. She acts like everone's psychotherapist, and people just accept it. She throws in yiddish words in ridiculous places, just for effect, and her obsession with pleasing her family after the Tammy episode in the past is sickening. I'm through with this series.
Series is getting better.......2001-02-24
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.
Book Description
Hairstylist Marla Shore stumbles over her rival's body in the meter room behind their competing salons. When her boyfriend, hunky Detective Vail, asks for her help in solving the murder, she jumps on the case. The stakes rise when the victim's trusted psychic warns her that someone she loves is in great danger. Her investigation takes her to a smoky bingo parlor, a spooky town run by spiritualists, and sultry Delray Beach. But what scares Marla the most is her relationship with Vail which takes a surprising turn.
Customer Reviews:
Another hair-raiser from Nancy Cohen!.......2005-04-15
Ya gotta love Marla. She keeps her salon in perfect order, avoids her mother's good intentions, develops her relationship with her boyfriend's daughter, keeps an eye on her auntie and her best friend, survives a hurricane, considers marriage, and helps run her dead rival's shop--all without a hair ever out of place. Well, okay, maybe she needed a little touch up after the hurricane, but all in all, Marla's got it covered.
As usual, the characters are fun, the setting is realistic, and the murder is most foul. And the reader is left wanting more. Can't wait for the next book in this terrific series.
Solving mysteries while staying self-absorbed.......2005-03-02
When the power goes out in her hairdressing salon, Marla Shore instantly suspects her competitor and enemy Carolyn Sutton of sabotage. But when she finds Carolyn's dead body in the electricity room, Marla herself becomes a suspect. Thanks to boyfriend-cop Vail, Marla doesn't have too many problems with the police, but Carolyn's psychic tells Marla that Carolyn is begging her to solve the case--from beyond the grave.
There are plenty of suspects. Carolyn's business hadn't been doing well, but the woman had plenty of money. Could she have made that much playing Indian Bingo, or was there another darker explanation? Marla investigates the local chiropracter, the landlord, Carolyn's sister, and the psychic herself. Meanwhile, Vail is assigned a second murder case--a young girl who had a hunk of hair cut from her head in exactly the same way that Carolyn had.
Marla's busy social life doesn't let up. She has to decide what to do with her relationship to the hunky cop, help her aging aunt deal with bills and taking care of herself, fix her mother up with an upgrade boyfriend, socialize with Vail's teenage daughter, and run her business.
Author Nancy J. Cohen writes convincingly of a self-absorbed sleuth as she deals with her anger over Carolyn's competition even after the woman is dead. Cohen delivers an interesting mystery with a wealth of truly criminal people as suspects--apparently there isn't really anyone honest in Florida these days. The writing is occasionally clunky, especially in the opening, but becomes more smooth as Cohen gets into the story.
Splitting Hairs.......2005-02-19
"Died Blonde" is the 6th in the Bad Hair Day Mysteries. I was too lazy to write individual reviews on each, so this review is of this book and an overall review of the series, which includes:
Permed To Death. Hair Raiser. Murder By Manicure. Body Wave. Highlights To Heaven. Died Blonde.
Died Blonde:
Marla Shore, owner of Cut `N" Dye Salon isn't happy when going out to check why the electricity in her shop has gone off, stumbles over the body or her rival and former employer, Carolyn Sutton.
Who else but Marla, who was angry with Carolyn for moving her new shop into the same mall as she is located and undercutting her prices would want the woman dead.
Marla is determined to find that out. It could be Carolyn's sister, Linda Hall, who was rumored to be jealous of Carolyn, and was angry when she didn't inherit the hair salon. Or maybe Carolyn's psychic, Wilda Cleaver, who did inherit the shop, did she kill Carolyn to get it?
With the help of her boyfriend, Lt. Dalton Vail, Marla is determined to prove she didn't kill her rival, even though she wanted to many times.
Highlights:
The relationship between Marla and Dalton Vail and his daughter Brianna. They met in the first book, "Permed To Death" where Dalton was investigating Marla as a murder suspect. Just because she was locked in the shop alone with the victim, made and served her the cup of coffee with the poison and had been being blackmailed by the victim for years, shouldn't have made Marla a suspect should it?
This has been a very slow going relationship, Marla has a tragedy in her past that is making it difficult for her to bond with any child. This tragedy has been well worked into the storyline and Marla's reactions and choices make her a very realistic character.
The mysteries. Except for this book, all the mysteries have been great. In several of the books, both the victims and the murderer have been characters who have appeared in the series since the first book.
The supporting characters. There is a wide range of returning characters from major ones, such as Dalton and Marla's mother, to minor characters, such as Mr. Thomson the landlord and Carolyn herself, who appeared briefly in each book. Occasionally, a minor character, such as "goat" the free lance dog groomer will become a major character in a book and then go back to a supporting character.
Lowlights:
Not enough use of supporting characters. Except for her mother, and Dalton, many of the supporting characters are underused. Marla does everything by herself. She only rarely will involve anyone with her crime solving, even her best friend Tally is only used as a sounding board.
The mystery in this book. The murderer might as well have had `KILLER' written across their forehead, they were so obvious. The fact that Marla didn't see it made me wonder about her intelligence.
Overall a very satisfying series. Looking forward to the next in the series.
Who killed Marla's rival?.......2005-02-15
Hairstylist Marla Shore finds her rival, Carolyn Sutton, dead in the meter room in back of their strip mall. Her boyfriend, Detective Vail who is a hunk, asks Marla for her help. He feels people will talk to her about this better than they will to him. She is a hairstylist, and they know her. Usually he's telling her to not investigate, so she jumps at the chance to help.
She's also trying to set her mom up with Sam from the hardware store. Marla doesn't like Roger, her mom's boyfriend. Since he's out of town, she works hard to bring her mom and Sam together.
Marla talks to Carolyn's psychic and is told some information about her own family that concerns her. She talks to Carolyn's bingo partner. Marla and her best friend end up visiting a nearby town and meeting with some psychics to gain more information.
Instead of clearing up the details, the waters just get muddier. Plus, a hurricane is bearing down on Florida. Can Marla uncover the truth about Marla's death, as well as some other issues that have come out of her death, as well as keep her own salon working, and keep herself and those important to her safe and healthy?
Things with Vail are heating up, and she has to come to terms with her feelings for him and his daughter. Is she ready to make things more permanent?
I always enjoy books in this series. Marla is a great character. Her salon business brings her in touch with so many people. She is always able to get the dirt that Vail cannot get. The relationship between Marla and Vail is wonderful too. I can't wait to read the next book and see what happens to them.
I highly recommend this book.
Cute, South Florida-based mystery by Cohen.......2005-01-15
I liked the cute story about a Jewish salon owner sleuth, Marla Shore. The book is descriptive of its South Florida locale, so those who live there or have traveled to the area can identify the roads, places, and towns, and maybe with Cohen's cultural view of the area. Boca Raton, etc.
Marla enjoys many adventures and meets many zany people en route to solving the mystery (which the reader should find out, so I won't go on!). Interwoven into the tale is a love story between Marla and the hunky detective, Mr. Dalton Vail. Part of the story tells about how Marla invites Dalton into her Jewish world, including detailed descriptions of Rosh Hoshannh. Ms. Cohen lovingly details how Jewish Marla's family is.
As a mystery, the book contains some villains and other characters that Marla encounters along the way, descriptively described by Cohen. There are the illegal "French" immigrants. An Irish-Italian chain smoking woman at an Indian casino, and a whole host of others. Ms. Cohen mentions and frames the ethnicity of every character in the book, some positive, some negative. But I'm not sure that really adds to the reality of the story, nor is her skewed stereotyping really necessary for a book for this age group.
Book Description
Fire up the flat iron and break out the bullet-proof blow drier, because Marla Shore--the sassy, South Florida beauty salon owner with a knack for fixing hair and finding trouble--is back...
Beauty shows are not usually known for cold-blooded murder, but that's exactly the case when Luxor Products company director Christine Parks is found dead in her hotel room--facedown in a foot bath. Suspect number one is Marla's college roommate, Georgia Rogers, who got Marla the job working behind the scenes at the beauty show.
It doesn't take long into Marla's investigation to discover that everyone who worked with Christine had a reason to hate her. From serial cheating to indulging in blackmail, threats, lawsuits, bad investment advice and worse, she was a walking Bad Hair Day, and the list of possible suspects is longer than a pop diva's hair extensions. And when a model with top-secret information for Marla turns up dead at the Russian baths, things go from bad to worse in a hurry. Behind the thumping house music and dazzling, high-platform hair tricks of Florida's hottest beauty show, something very ugly is going down, something that goes beyond polish and style to the dark heart of corruption, greed, and killer-takes-all ambition of the beauty biz. If Marla isn't careful, she just may end up on the wrong end of a murderer's very skilled hands...
Customer Reviews:
Beyond The Big Hair.......2007-02-23
I am a sucker for trade shows. When people involved in any industry or business gather to discuss their products and work you can learn the most interesting things. In Perish by Pedicure, a murder takes place during a beauty show in which salon owner Marla Shore is participating and Cohen gives us a glimpse behind the big hair of the professional beauty world that is both enlightening and entertaining.
Heroine Marla Shore has agreed to help out at a beauty industry trade show in nearby Fort Lauderdale in exchange for some publicity for her own salon. She is desperately trying to juggle her show responsibilities, her salon commitments, her renewed friendship with an old college roommate, and her widowed fiancé's former in-laws, who are now staying with her and whom she seems unable to please. And then there is a murder. Marla's college roommate (also a houseguest) appears to have been the last person to see the victim alive and is the number one suspect.
While your first inclination might be to dismiss a book with the word pedicure in the title, Cohen has created a good book and series. The setting is interesting, the plot is good and well thought out, and Marla Shore is a character with depth. We learn more about her in this book as her hostile houseguests question her ability to be a good step-mother to their granddaughter due to her involvement with criminals, her professional life, and her Jewish religion and its possible impact on the child's Christian upbringing. This book has some real meat mixed in amongst the lighter moments.
Favorite character? Goat, Marla's neighbor. Did I guess it? No. Will I read another? Yes.
[...]
Death at a salon conference.......2007-02-03
As if Marla Shore wasn't busy enough, now she's working for Luxor Products as a styling assistant at a local conference and her fiancé's parents of his dead wife are staying at her house to see whether she'll be a good step mom for Brianna. And her friend Georgia, who helped her get the job with Luxor, will be staying with her through the weekend conference.
She hopes her work with Luxor will bring her salon more business, especially after she moves to her new location. She's also hoping to gain more experience and possibly travel with them in the future to other conferences.
Luxor director Christine Parks isn't well-liked. This is quickly evident to Marla as she gets to know the staff while setting up for the conference. When Christine ends up dead from poison, Marla begins to suspect everyone and works at trying to uncover the truth. Unfortunately there is another death. Can Marla discover the identity of the killer without putting herself and others in danger? Can she get through this week with Dalton's ex-in-laws in her house?
I really enjoy this series. Marla is such a fun character. She just can't keep herself from sleuthing. Dalton isn't the investigator in this mystery, but he still provides some needed data for Marla to unravel the mystery. I also like the Florida setting.
The author has done a great job of creating the characters and plotting the story. And there are plenty of red herrings and twists so that you aren't sure until the killer is revealed who did it. I highly recommend this book and the whole series.
entertaining murder mystery.......2006-12-09
Hair salon owner and stylist Marla Shore is not having an easy week. Her fiancé's in-laws from his dead wife are coming to town to stay in her home to check her out and insure she is right for being the stepmother of their granddaughter Brianna. She is also working for Luxor Products as an assistant hair stylist t at the Supreme Shows Conference. Marla hopes to gain experience, a better job, and an avenue to visit places she dreams of seeing.
When Marla arrives at the convention center, she meets Luxor director Christine Parker, but notices that all of the employees seem openly to despise the head honcho. When an anonymous person sends Christine a drink, she takes some and soon feels ill. The next day she is dead, a victim of poison. Marla turns sleuth, but fails to uncover the culprit before another homicide occurs.
Nancy J. Cohen has written a cleverly constructed and entertaining murder mystery starring a likable heroine who knows better, but cannot stop herself from sleuthing. In this case, the victim is so vile that a horde seems to have wanted her dead making motivation difficult to use as a means of weeding out the killer. PERISH BY PEDICURE is filled with hair splitting humor, unexpected nail biting twists, and a bad hair week caused by future in-laws while Marla cuts to the roots of the case.
Harriet Klausner
Book Description
In the midst of her illness, Susan Sturges Hyde compiled a book of aphorisms that provide hope, laughter, and relief to any woman suffering the pangs and pains of cancer.
Customer Reviews:
Written by a dear friend.......2006-11-09
This book was written by an old friend of mine; a woman with more grace and love of living than anyone else I have ever known. Reading it always brings a smile.
Oncology nurse perspective.......2006-09-03
I have had a number of people I've cared for over the last few years refer to this book as helpful. I finally decided to buy one and saw for myself why this is true. The book gently covers topics unique to the female experience of cancer care. Often friends and family members will ask how to connect and support the cancer patient. Thankfully, this book offers excellent ideas for conversation starters and perspective by using humor, inspiration and sincerity. In writing this book the author has provided a valuable gift for other female cancer patients walking her shoes.
WONDERFUL.......2003-05-14
My mother wrote this book.I am so glad to see she has helped so many people and still is.A toast to a wonderful woman !(wine of course )
feel good,think,cry,and so much more!.......2003-05-14
My mother wrote this book.She passed away a few years ago,but when i read her book it makes me smile.I am so glad she was able to share this with other people and make them feel good to!A toast to a wonderful woman!(wine of course)
Wonderful!!!!!.......2000-10-12
One of the best books I have ever read. I'm a 34 year old female who just finished treatment for lymphoma. Ms. Hyde captured my feelings and thoughts perfectly. I highly recommend this to anyone going through a battle with cancer or to any caregivers also. I wish I had found this book when I was actually having my chemo and radiation. Some of her pointers would have helped me a lot (ie. always carry a blanket with you to chemo and to hospitals).
Books:
- My Grandfathers Blessings : Stories of Strength, Refuge, and Belonging
- Myth and Metamorphosis: Picasso's Classical Prints of the 1930s
- Nancy Crow
- Nature's Art Box: From t-shirts to twig baskets, 65 cool projects for crafty kids to make with natural materials you can find anywhere
- North American Indian Jewelry and Adornment
- Patterns in Design, Art and Architecture
- Paula Deen: It Ain't All About the Cookin'
- Remote Control: Power, Cultures, and the World of Appearances (Writing Art)
- Scot On The Rocks (Red Dress Ink Novels)
- Shawls and Scarves: The Best of Knitter's Magazine (Best of Knitter's Magazine series, The)
Books Index
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