Book Review: Died Blonde

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Died Blonde     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Nancy J. Cohen
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Amateur Sleuth   Woman Main Character
Series: Bad Hair Day # 6
Kensington, Dec 2004, $22.00, 256 pp.

When the lights go out during working hours at Marla Shore’s beauty parlor Cut’N'Dye, the owner’s first thought is that Carolyn Sutton of Carolyn’s Hairstyle Heaven is up to one of her tricks. Since Carolyn moved her business into the same shopping center where Marla is located, the newcomer has been playing dirty tricks on her in hopes of stealing or at least reducing her rival’s customer base. When Marla goes to her meter room, she trips over the dead body of her competitor.

Marla’s significant other Detective Vail heads the investigation. This should help Marla who has publicly announced to her customers that she would kill Carolyn if she was responsible for the outage. Vail does not suspect her, but asks her to help him by talking with people who knew the victim especially her employees. Marla learns that Carolyn had a lot of secrets including being a blackmailer, but who had the greatest motive to murder her remains the prevalent secret.

DIED BLONDE is a hair raising amateur sleuth mystery that also contains a fine romantic subplot between Vail and Shore with her having to decide whether she can fully commit to him and his daughter who she also loves. There are more suspects than Marla has customers so readers and the heroine will wonder who the real killer is. Nancy J. Cohen is a terrific writer who always provides her customers with a stylish tale as the author has done with this fine novel.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner