Customer Reviews

Killer Hair: A Crime of Fashion (Crime of Fashion Mystery)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Lacey Smithsonian, fashion reporter for the Eye Street Observer has been asked by her hair stylist Stella Lake to investigate the death of another hair stylist, Angie Woods.

Angie was found sitting in the chair at her work station, with her waist length hair hacked off and her wrists cut. The police have already declared it to be a suicide and are no longer interested in investigating.

At first Lacey doesn't want to investigate, but things look suspicious to her and since the police won't investigate, she's going to have to.

Angie Woods had recently become famous for the make over of Marcia Robinson, a woman who was being investigated by a special prosecutor over her involvement with congressmen and a web site she had.

Could this be the reason for the murder? Did Marcia tell her something while getting her make over. Or was it her employers at Styletto's, Boyd Radford, the sexist pig who grants managerial promotions to anyone who sleeps with him, everyone says Angie turned him down. His soon to be ex-wife Josephine, who is anxious to watch out for her share of the business, or his son Beau, (called shampoo boy) by everyone at the salon.

What about Leonardo, another stylist who was furious with Angie because Marcia was supposed to be his client, but in a fit of pique, he had walked out that day and Angie had been the only stylist available when she came in.

Then Lacey gets a call from another stylist, Tammi White at another Syletto's salon who tells her Angie gave her something before she died. But before Lacey can get to the salon, Tammi is found dead in her chair. (Also a suicide).

Lacey can't convince the police, or Victor Donovan, (a former sheriff from Colorado) that Lacey has lusted after for years, that it was murder. After all, what happened to the weapon and why were both Angie's and Tammi's long, long hair missing from the salons.

Things move fast as Lacey tries to solve the crimes, but that doesn't prevent more murders from occurring and now she has to worry that her paper will fire her for investigating a murder when she should be writing her fashion column.

Highlights:

This book is very funny. Lacey and her friends Stella & Brooke are very likeable.

I like her fellow reporters, especially Tony Trujillo

Victor is the guy Lacey has been dreaming about for years, even though all they shared was one kiss at a party. I like the interaction between them.

The mystery is interesting. A lot of suspects, but a logical killer. Lacey does real investigating, not just being there when the killer suddenly decides they want to confess.

Lowlights:

No Low Lights. Should be a good series.

Nobody wants to make an enemy of their hairdresser, so when her stylist Stella Lake asks her friend Lacey Smithsonian to attend a viewing, she goes. The dead woman is a young hairdresser named Angie who has a bald do and cut wrists. The police think she committed suicide especially with the bloody note written on her mirror in the salon. Stella knows that Angie was murdered and she wants her reporter friend Lacey to prove it.

Lacey is a fashion columnist not an investigative reporter and at first rejects the idea out of hand. After thinking about it, she realizes that Angie's hair is missing. She writes a column about Angie and through a combination of circumstances finds herself in the middle of the investigation especially when another hair dresser dies and Lacey is the only one who sees the link. She continues to dig for information and ends up being stalked by a killer who wants to make her his next victim.

The protagonist's running commentary on social mores in Washington D.C. is hilarious and her pithy observations about fashion and its relationship with scandal, the law and murder will have readers in tears of laughter (don't wear fashionable mascara). The who-done-it is intelligently plotted and there is a plethora of suspects who could be the guilty party. The audience will go crazy trying to figure out who the killer is while the heroine goes nuts trying to figure out if a sexy security guard from her past is interested in her or her murder theory.

Harriet Klausner

I loved this book. The characters are slightly quirky and the dialogue is snappy enough to remind me of those wonderful old romantic comedies--and in which Lacey's clothes would fit pefectly.

I have passed this around two writers critique groups, and told total strangers about it in the bookstore.

If you're looking for a light read, not much blood and gore, and characters that make you laugh (one believes Washington DC men are victims of a plot that blocks pheromones, rendering men unattracted to the women in town) you'll appreciate Ellen Byerrum's launch of Lacey Smithsonian. This is a hoot!

My girlfriend was bugging me to read this book cause she loved it, and it's getting great reviews on a bunch of mystery websites, so I did and I actually really liked it. It's really not like a lot of amateur detective-type mysteries where some gourmet chef or something turns out to be this incredible Sherlock Holmes supersleuth. Lacey Smithsonian is a reporter who's gotten sort of suckered into being a fashion reporter (but she sort of hates it), and now she gets herself sucked into investigating this suicide-but-might-be-murder, totally against her better judgment, but she eventually figures out that she's the only one (along with her crazy hairstylist) who clicks on the fashion clues that the DC cops could care less about. And the Washington DC stuff is really sharp and right on (Yikes, I used to live there!). By now she's in too deep anyway, and her main crush is an ex-police type who ought to be pretty helpful in a murder investigation but is mostly cute and clueless. Lacey is kind of a sweet smartass chick who's lots smarter and funnier than most of the guys around her (duh, does that sound like me and my friends' lives or what? Probably yours too). If you like funny mysteries that are more like what life is really like for real women, check this one out.

Don't try to read this book on the subway. You'll either miss your stop while reading, or even start some conversations with the eye-catching cover and title.
Here's a mystery for the intelligent reader with a better-than average vocabulary. Besides having an obvious inside knowledge of the capital city, the author shows an attention to research and detail. ...and nuance, of course. Who doesn't admire that kind of sensitivity? (Not to mention the ability to use and pronounce French words.)

This book is not for the humor-impaired, but it can be enjoyed by the unstylish. I recommend applying a little extra mascara before reading, just to keep from feeling intimidated.

I was impressed by this book and the mystery overall. The character of Lacey Smithsonian was fun and engaging, and the cast of characters - both in the newsroom and in the salons - were great additions. I would have liked a bit more romance, but that's ok.. it's a mystery first and foremost. The location is cool too - Washington DC can keep you interested for some time. It's a very witty book with a nice mystery and I look forward to the next few books.

A premiere success! Ellen Byerrum's characters are colorful, hip, and quirky (in a very good way). She is fabulous at bringing color and detail into this fun mystery read which is true to her personal wit. There are some humorous subtleties directly targeting those who live and work in the DC "world", which caused me at times to break out in delighted bursts of laughter while reading. It was over much too soon. There's something about a mystery novel that manages to fool me at the final conclusion that I just gotta love. I'm nearing the end of Ellen's second book in the Lacey Smithsonian series and finding it just as delightful. Brava Ellen!

This is the first in the series of "Crimes of Fashion", a column written in D.C. by the main character Lacey Smithsonian. The plots are fresh and very interesting. I love the fact that she takes old patterns from her aunt's hope chest and turns them into beautiful, memorable clothes. This is her therapy and her trademark. The writing is very good and the mystery will keep you guessing until the end. I recommend this and the second book in the series as well. The third is due out in August.
Dianne

I couldn't quite put my finger on what bothered me about this book, but I wasn't eager to pick it up in the evenings. The story sort of floated around, and then Byerrum wraps it all up in a neat little package in a few pages. The police were painted to be totally incompetent (I live in D.C. and it's not true), and the fashion reviews seemed tacked on and irrelevant. Lead character Smithsonian's "Crimes of Fashion" articles were sort of cute. But Smithsonian seemed irritated by almost everyone in her life, and the love interest was a non-starter. It wasn't bad, but I wouldn't go out of my way to read this one. Even though I had the second book in the series, I had no desire to read it and moved on to another book instead.

What a breath of fresh air. Set in a world of style and murder this book will entertain, and keep you guessing all the way through. The wit and creativity blended in with realistic life kept me in a state of laughter. I found this book to be very humorous and enjoyed it immensely. I hope you enjoy this book too!