|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
Marla Shore has her hands full. Her hair salon is doing so well that she is thinking of moving to a larger place and making it more upscale. In order to do that she is developing contacts in the industry by joining successful beauty business Luxor as an assistant hair stylist in their show at this year's beauty convention in Fort Lauderdale. Her old friend Georgia Rogers got her the job and is staying with Marla for the duration of the show. Also staying with Marla in her home are the grandparents of her soon to be stepdaughter, Brianna. Her fiancé, Detective Dalton Vail had invited his late wife's parents to Florida to see Brianna, but his home is a mess because he's packing to move in with Marla and so he asked Marla to permit his ex in-laws to stay with her. Marla isn't thrilled with the arrangement but couldn't refuse. So her house is filled with people and Marla is overworked as she goes from running her salon to participating at the beauty show to entertaining her guests. Luxor has brought in its usual staff for the convention and Marla sees that they are a strange bunch, but talented when it comes to the beauty business. The products director of the group is Christine Parker who has no fans amongst her staff; each person isn't shy about saying how they all dislike her. But Marla makes an effort to be nice to her hoping Chris will recommend Marla for a permanent position with Luxor. At a cocktail party put together for the beauty show participants, Marla notices that Chris is running around bullying some and charming others while drinking and eating the cheese and cracker canapés. After complaining that she doesn't feel well, Chris finally leaves to go to her hotel room, and the next day she is discovered dead, murdered by someone who had substituted her usual tranquilizer prescription for an old medication that reacts dangerously with wine and cheese – the foods that were served at the party. Marla is surprised to see that hardly a tear is shed for Chris amongst her co-workers and wonders if the murderer is one of the staff. As for her own feelings, Marla can't imagine working for Luxor unless the guilty party to the murder is found. Though the police are called in, Marla is unhappy that they seem to like her friend Georgia for the crime. Georgia had been the last one to see Chris alive and a year earlier, Chris had stolen Georgia's boyfriend. But Marla learns that others had more of a reason to want Chris dead, including the people who were promoted by Chris's death and the other members of the staff Chris was blackmailing. Because of her of history solving crimes with Val, her detective fiancé, Marla sees that it's up to her to get to the truth, even when the killer makes an attempt in her life! This is the eighth in the Bad Hair Day Mysteries with Marla Shore. Once again, Marla is drawn into a murder that has to do with her beauty salon and, as usual, Marla takes no guff as she goes about investigating. Not always the most likable of woman, Marla, has a tendency to base her opinion about people on the style of their clothing and their use of the right hair products. She is also extremely sure of what she wants and will do whatever it takes to make sure that she gets it, and if she has to step on some toes to get her way, then so be it. Marla calls upon everyone she knows to help her get to the bottom of the murder, and the use of her long list of likable secondary characters, like her mother and her gruff boyfriend, always helps make these cozies enjoyable. I rather like it that Marla was pulled to her work and then pulled to entertain in-laws who were looking her over to decide if she was going to be a good mother. Marla has never wanted children, and that she is beginning to warm to Brianna is a nice touch. The sections on her personal life were nicely done, and it made Marla into a realistic and well-rounded person. As for the mystery sections in the story, they were handled well, but for some reason there were a few sections that were supposed to be filled with danger, but they somehow just lacked excitement. Then we were told that some time had passed and that completely took me out of the book. Because of this, I got the feeling that writer Nancy Cohen lost some interest in the story at that point. PERISH BY PEDICURE is definitely a story that fans of the series will enjoy, but if you are new to Marla and her friends, you would do better to get a book from earlier in the series.
Reviewed by Sharon Katz, February 2007
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
| 
