Highlights to Heaven: A Bad Hair Day Mystery (Cohen, Nancy J., Bad Hair Day Mystery.)

Rating:
Summary: Reminiscent of Evanovich... fun read.
Review: If you want a mind-candy read somewhat reminicient of Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, you'll enjoy Highlights To Heaven by Nancy J. Cohen. This is part of her "Bad Hair Day Mystery" series. The main character, Marla Shore, is a south Florida Jewish hair stylist with her own salon, and she finds herself in the middle of crime investigations, much to the dismay of her love interest and police dectective Dalton Vail.

In the latest installment, her strange neighbor (nicknamed "Goat") has gone missing. When she goes over to investigate with Vail, they find a dead body, a stash of cash, and no Goat. Shore recognizes the highlighting style on the dead guy, and asks some questions of the stylist who did the work. Things start happening quickly at that point, and it seems to tie back to her styling school days when a group of her friends played a joke on another stylist who lost his hair in the process. All the friends are being killed off, and Shore narrowly escapes death a couple of time. A few unexpected plot twists brings the story to the typical life or death climax at the end. And as a subplot throughout the story, Shore's relationship with Vail advances forward to the next major stage... moving in.

This isn't deep thought-provoking material. It's a light story with interesting characters, and it's the exact type of recreational read that I often look forward to.

Rating:
Summary: Marla tries to find her neighbor and clear his name.
Review: Once again Nancy has done a terrific job. This is a great book! I highly recommend it. A wonderful addition to a superb series.

Marla Shore's neighbor Goat is missing and a man is found dead in his townhouse. Her boyfriend Detective Dalton Vail asked her to accompany him to Goat's townhouse. But, once the dead man is found, he asks her to let him handle the investigation.

Of course, Marla can' do that. The police think Goat killed him. She just can't believe that. She does some investigation. She goes to see her old teacher Cutter Corrigan at his salon. She recognizes the highlights in the dead man's hair as being Corrigan's signature.

At the same time Louise Cunningham is opening her salon just down the street from Marla's Cut 'N Dye Salon. Marla is having trouble hiring another stylist and receptionist. She feels torn between the investigation and her salon.

Plus Marla's mother Anita keeps setting her up with Barry, the son of her boyfriend Roger. Marla can't stand Roger. Barry is a nice lawyer. She is confused because she can't decide whether she and Dalton have a future. Dalton's daughter Brianna is about to turn 13 and Marla isn't sure she wants a relationship with a child involved. Brianna is becoming attached to Marla. Marla and Dalton don't see eye to eye in the way Brianna should be brought up. This is causing a lot of friction.

Before Marla is done investigating, she will find herself in danger. Eventually Dalton goes along with her to help keep her safe.

Marla is such a great protagonist. She is likeable and strong willed. There are so many things going on in her life that at times she feels overwhelmed and has trouble focusing. I always enjoy this series and look forward to many more!

Rating:
Summary: Flawed but interesting
Review: When her neighbor disappears and a dead body is found in his condo, hair stylist Marla Shore gets involved. She recognizes the highlights on the body and knows the one hairdresser who can produce them. What she doesn't know is that her investigation is going to lead her into serious troubles involving animal research, animal smuggling, a cure for baldness, and a plant disease that threatens the citrus crops of Florida. Along with sometimes boyfriend Police Detective Dalton Vail, Marla rushes from danger to danger--all the while trying to figure out where her relationship with Dalton is headed.

Marla Shore is a mostly likable heroine, interested in others, sympathetic toward Dalton's pre-teen daughter, and caring about her neighbor, 'Goat,' who, Marla is certain, could not be the murderer. Marla's bad judgment when it comes to personal safety weakens the character, however, as does her certainty that she knows what is best for Dalton's daughter. One would think that a few near-death experiences would teach her a bit more caution but, unfortunately, they don't.

Author Nancy J. Cohen slips in an occasional clunker but her writing is mostly professional quality. HIGHLIGHTS TO HEAVEN is a flawed but interesting mystery.