Body Wave (A Bad Hair Day Mystery) [Paperback]

Nancy J. Cohen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2003

Beauty salon owner Marla Shore is stunned when her former husband is arrested for the murder of his third wife, and he wants her to find the real killer. To do so, Marla goes undercover at an exclusive compound of one of South Florida's wealthiest families. Original.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Series sleuth Marla Shore assists her ex-husband, who's been accused of murdering his third wife. Marla's work involves disguising herself as a nurse's aide to investigate the dead woman's wealthy family in East Ft. Lauderdale, where someone will get the victim's share of grandpa's estate. Standard complications arise: fear of commitment to love interest Lieutenant Vail, her ex-husband's half interest in her rental property, finding enough time for her job as a beautician, and the financial and family secrets hidden beneath the not-so-refined curtain of money. This follow-up to Murder by Manicure moves right along and will make good reading for the holidays.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Nancy J. Cohen is an award-winning author who writes romance and mysteries. Her humorous Bad Hair Day mystery series features hairdresser Marla Shore, who solves crimes with wit and style under the sultry Florida sun. Several of these titles have made the IMBA bestseller list. Shear Murder is the tenth book in this series and Nancy's sixteenth title. Nancy's imaginative science fiction romances have also proven popular with fans. Silver Serenade recently won Best Book in Romantic Science Fiction/Fantasy at The Romance Reviews. Coming next is Warrior Prince, a Drift Lords novel and book one in a new paranormal romance series from The Wild Rose Press. Active in the writing community and a featured speaker at libraries and conferences, she is listed in Contemporary Authors, Poets & Writers, and Who's Who in U.S. Writers, Editors, & Poets. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Books (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758200692
• ISBN-13: 978-0758200693
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,011,289 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marla's ex-husband is accused and she needs to clear him, February 10, 2003

By 

Dawn Dowdle "Mystery Lovers Corner reviewer" (Lynchburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Body Wave: A Bad Hair Day Mystery (Hardcover)

Marla Shore, owner of Cut `N Dye Salon, helps her ex-husband Stanley Kauffman find out who killed his third (and current) wife Kimberly. Stan has been charged with the murder but insists he is innocent. Marla is surprised he would ask her to help him. He has never believed in her and controlled her when they were married. One reason Marla agrees to help his is that he is willing to sell his half of their jointly owned property. Stan has been trying to get Marla to sell him her half because Kimberly wanted a bigger house. Marla refused to sell and would love to one this property alone - no more interactions with Stan.

Stan convinces Marla to investigate Kimberly's family. Her grandmother Miriam is in need of a fill-in nurse 1 day a week. Marla interviews and gets the job. Right from the start it becomes apparent Marla isn't qualified. Luckily Miriam likes Marla and keeps her on. Marla gets information through Miriam and the rest of her family. Plus she helps Miriam realize she isn't such an invalid.

Marla and Dalton, her boyfriend and the case Detective, end up investigating Jeremiah Dooley and what role he played in Kimberly's life.

Many funny things happen in this book. I highly recommend it and the whole series. I enjoy Marla. Plus the fact that she is a hairdresser helps her gain information even the police don't know!

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars upbeat amateur sleuth mystery, December 19, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Body Wave: A Bad Hair Day Mystery (Hardcover)

Stanley Kauffman comes down to breakfast only to see his trophy wife lying on the floor, bleeding from a wound to her chest. When the police arrive, they declare her dead and arrest him. He calls his ex-wife, hairdresser Marla Shore, to meet him at the jail and asks her help in clearing him of the charges. He promises her that if she will, he will sell his share of the property they jointly own at a decent price.

Marla agrees because she wants the property and because she believes Stanley would never physically harm a woman. Marla goes undercover at the compound of Stanley's in-laws by becoming a nurse's aid to the matriarch of the family. She discovers that almost everyone in the household had a motive to murder Stanley's wife and further investigation with her boyfriend Detective Dalton Vail turns up even-more suspects. If Marla isn't careful, the perpetrator will try to kill her to stop her from revealing what she figured out about her ex-husband's wife's death.

Anyone who reads BODY WAVE will come away thinking it is an upbeat amateur sleuth mystery populated by a host of eccentric characters. The heroine is a bold strong woman who is not afraid to get in a person's face when she thinks she is right. Nancy J. Cohen is a talented writer who is famous for her complex plots and characterizations as this tale substantiates.

Harriet Klausner

6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible, January 10, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Body Wave (A Bad Hair Day Mystery) (Paperback)

One would think this author could only improve as time goes on. Sadly, the opposite seems to be true.

Ms. Cohen still hasn't learned how to write a lick since she began the series. Page after page is taken up with filler that lends nothing to the story. The dialogue between characters is inane, and it's so stilted and unnatural that you can't even stretch your imagination to pretend that people actually talk this way. People discuss things that both parties already know as a means of conveying it to the reader. The language used is unrealistic ("my salon is situated in that shopping center"), the haphazard Yiddish phrases are annoying and the stupidity of just about everyone in the book leaves you shaking your head (a woman is shot in the middle of a crowded circus and no one notices anything as a dead body sits among them?). Any South Floridian can easily figure out that the story is set in the Plantation/Davie area, so why would Marla act shocked that her brother and sister-in-law "came all the way from Boca Raton!" to attend her birthday party? Boca is only 1/2 hour away -- it's not like these people travelled from Siberia. Three times we were forced to read detailed descriptions of the feelings in Marla's mouth after taking a bite of food. And there's still no blue, green, yellow or red in Marla's world -- it's all sapphire, jade, sunflower and crimson.

As far as the relationship with Vail, it seems the author is shooting for sexual tension and ending up with oversexed, hormonal high school juniors. There's nothing sexy about this relationship, and there's nothing likeable about either character or Vail's daughter.

The murderer's identity was easy to figure out -- if you care enough to even try after wading through all the extraneous garbage. After four installments, all this series has proved is that anyone can get published if they have the right connections, whether they have talent or not. With all the good, and even half-good, amateur sleuth series that are out there, save your time and money for one of them. This one's not worth it, and I'm through giving it chances.