Behind Eclaire's Doors (Eclaire Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Sophie Dunbar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1993 | Series: Eclaire Mysteries

Claire Claiborne, the sophisticated owner of Eclaire's, a luxurious New Orleans hair salon, is drawn into a mystery involving family secrets, blackmail, counterfeiting, and murder when she investigates the death of her manicurist. A first novel.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With dialogue that suggests outtakes from TV's Designing Women and a vapid, snobbish sleuth/protagonist in high-society hairdresser Claire Claiborne, this first novel aspires to a stylishness it doesn't achieve. Claire's life seems defined by extended bouts between the sheets (and pretty much anywhere else) with hunky patent and trademark lawyer Dan, who is soon found standing over the corpse of Angie, a bitchy nail-buffer from Claire's salon. Angie had also conducted a brisk business selling fake designer clothing, bags and scents to the New Orleans elite and had dated a number of Dan's sleazy lawyer pals. The ludicrous plot, related in bodice-ripper prose, involves a secret formula for a cheap cologne that would sell in tony stores for hundreds of dollars an ounce. The cast, including a bigoted cop, two nasty law partners and a loyal wife, features only three suspects, and the local flavor is limited to carry-out beignets from Cafe Du Monde. Readers seeking the satisfactions of sassy New Orleans crime should stick with Julie Smith ( The Axman's Jazz et al.).
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Murder takes a backseat to fashion, great food, and Negronis in this first novel--even though Danish/Cajun swamprat Claire Claiborne, owner of Eclaire's haircutting salon, finds the first victim, manicurist Angie Labiche, in her own apartment with her once-and- future husband Dan bending over the corpse; and the second victim, New Orleans homicide cop Joe Antoine, was the last man she dated before deciding to go back to frat daddy Dan's overripe bed and board. The subplots--lawyer Dan's investigation of the theft of half a Parisian perfume formula; Angie's dealings in copycat watches and handbags; Joe's search for the father who never acknowledged him--are as tangled and unruly as kudzu, but that won't bother the clientele hanging on Claire's wide-eyed descriptions of her second-time-around march to those August nuptials with Dan or her confession that she didn't know then how long it would take them to get through July. Smirking upscale tumescence barely blunted by homicide. Calling Adrian Lyne. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 213 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (July 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312092806
• ISBN-13: 978-0312092801
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,122,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Late, Great Sophie Dunbar, April 3, 2005

By 

Margo Carmichael (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Behind Eclaire's Doors: An Eclaire Mystery (Eclaire Mysteries) (Paperback)

I love Sophie's books and I was excited about each one as she wrote them.

This, her first one, is fun, and _Bad Hair Day_ is probably my favorite. Her characters are witty and well-developed, and so in love.

I went to elementary, junior high and high school with Sophie Dunbar, aka Gwen Belk of Florida. It was a shock when her husband called me on Mother's Day, 2001, saying Gwen had died. I think about her every day and miss her, loads.

I'm glad she had the fun and satisfaction of a job well done in these charming mysteries.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A quick easy read, easy mystery - no surprises, September 7, 2001

By 

A. Woodley "Patroness, Janeites, the Austen list" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Behind Eclaire's Doors: An Eclaire Mystery (Eclaire Mysteries) (Paperback)

This is the first Eclair mystery - recommended and quite good too. Its an easy read, a bit saccharine at times, but in the end I didn't really care whodunnit because it was pretty easy to figure out the 'whydunnit'.

Still there is an element of romance in it for people who like that. This is about Claire Clairmont (nee Jenner) and set in New Orleans against the class structure. Claire comes from the 'swamp rat' side of town, her ex-husband and soon to be husband again, Dan Clairmont, comes from among the wealthy and powerful.

There is an awful lot of set up to the story before the murder even happens. We meet Claire as she meets her husband, goes on honeymoon/work to France where, Quelle Horreur, a formula for a perfume, tres expensive, is stolen. Of course this sticks in the mind so when a French woman turns up in Claire's salon 'Eclaire', you know why she is there and what she is doing.

I know it is a picky thing, but this seemed to be a book about extreme privilege. Claire has everything - rich husband, who handily decks out her salon as a divorce present. She is beautiful, talented and has no weight problems at all despite eating like a horse throughout the book. I have to confess I much prefer the Kinsey Millhone/Stephanie Plum school of flawed detectives/women who also have a great sense of irony and so a good line in self deprecation at the same time.

Claire also has that annoying habit of not doing as she is told and deliberately hiding evidence from the police in order to pursue her own faulty investigation - which could put her in danger. Why do they always do that? It never rings true to me.

Anyway - this was a very easy read, has a nice happy ending -of course the murderer is only one of two people it could be so it isn't that unexpected in the end. An easy read for a wet Sunday really.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This sexy mystery does it for me!, March 23, 2000

By 

"reading1" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Behind Eclaire's Doors: An Eclaire Mystery (Eclaire Mysteries) (Paperback)

This book is quite a genre straddler. It is a satisfying read for romance lovers and mystery lovers alike. It is a sexy, sassy southern romp with great characters and attitude. I found myself laughing out loud at the slightly ribald one-liners which REALLY worked in this book. This is a fabulous book with a dynamite combination of charm and laughs, an engaging mystery and sexy romance. Dan and Claire Claiborne are my heroes! I can't wait to read the next installment.