Customer Reviews

Killer Knots (Bad Hair Day Mysteries)

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The Tropical Sun, a cruise ship sailing to the Caribbean, is the latest setting for Nancy Cohen's newest book. Sit back, turn the pages,and you will swear you are on vacation as well. Of course Marla always finds herself in the midst some kind of intrigue, and in no time, Marla is off and running!

At dinner, she discovers that all the people at her table, are employees from an Art Museum that were given free passage on the cruise. Add in mistaken identity, a murder,& the mystery of the islands, and you cannot put this book down...If you,or someone you know is going on a cruise, or an island adventure, you NEED this book. If you are stuck home in the snow, than you REALLY need this book!

Marla Shore is ready for some fun, sun and getting to spend quality time with her fiancé, police detective, Dalton Vail and his fourteen years old daughter, Brianna aboard a cruise ship. What Marla didn't realize was that Dalton had other ideas about how to spend their quality time together and it involved Marla getting to know her soon to be future in-laws! It seems though that Marla won't be spending much time with anyone. She already has a new case just calling her name in the form of a personal note addressed to her...ok so maybe the first name was made out to Martha and not Marla but still...Marla can't stop herself from getting involved.

Marla discovers that art and cruise ships don't mix. Marla meets a group of museum employees that were all invited to have fun on the same cruise liner. While at an art auction, an very valuable art pieces shows up, painted by an artist who's died under mysterious circumstances. Can Marla solve this case before she is all washed up?

Marla is such a fun loving gal. There isn't any case too big or too small that Marla can't solve and you can guarantee that Marla will look good doing it. If you think Marla's one tough cookie when she's on the case you should see her take on every woman's nightmare....the dreaded split ends! I liked this book so much that I read it in one sitting. Killer Knots is the ninth book in this series featuring everyone's favorite hairdresser and sleuth, Marla Shore. It can be read as a stand alone book. I hope to see this series go on for a long time. Nancy Cohen is a new favorite author of mine.

Marla Shore, owner of the Cut 'N Dye Salon, is off on a cruise with her fiancé Detective Dalton Vail. His teenage daughter and parents are joining them. It's her first meeting of the in-laws.

Soon after boarding the cruise ship, a note is found in an envelope addressed to "Martha" Shore stuck in their cabin door reading "I know what you did and I have what you want." Marla figures it was delivered by mistake, or at least she hopes it was and doesn't refer to nudie pictures from her long ago past.

Marla and Dalton get seated with tense employees and associates of a Tampa art museum instead of with Dalton's family. An unknown benefactor paid for all of them to attend the cruise and they each received a note similar to the one Marla received.

The cruise hosts an art auction including the work of Alden Tusk, an artist who died mysteriously from a fall.

Marla decided to investigate. Who is sending the threatening notes? Who is the secret benefactor paying for the museum staff to come on the cruise? Is this the same person? How and why did the artist die? Can she do this and still have a good first visit with Dalton's family?

I love this series. Marla and Dalton are such fun characters. They have really grown through this series as well. I like Marla's interactions with his teenage daughter. They are very believable.

It's fun seeing them in a different setting this time. I enjoyed the cruise setting for this installment in the series. I can't wait to read the next book! I highly recommend this book and series.

When I'm on a cruise, I like to take a mystery with a cruise setting and this one is fun and light-hearted reading!

I was given the first book in this series as a present a couple of years ago. Since I have read all. This latest was enjoyable and I was glad to see the wedding date set. Looking forward to the next book.

I loved it! I couldn't put it down! I loved the character diaglouge. It was fresh, witty and the characters became 3 D for me. When it was over, I actually felt a little sad, as I could have read more. But I am sure I will and hopefully soon!

Barbara Theesfeld

Book number 9 in the series, Killer Knots finds salon owner Marla Shore on a Caribbean cruise with her fiancé Dalton Vail and his teenaged daughter Brianna. Dalton's parents Kate and John paid for the cruise tickets. They are also on board, and they have Brianna stay in their room, so the couple can have more privacy. Marla is a bit nervous, as this is her first meting with her future in-laws.

The ship, Tropical Sun, seems perfect, except for a few small errors. First a note is left for a "Martha Shore," saying "I know what you did and I have what you want," which makes no sense to Marla and Dalton. Then they are seated for dinner with a bunch of strangers--all colleagues from the Camden Palms Museum of Art in Tampa. All these people had received their tickets in the mail--including the gift shop manager Martha Shore, the café manager, the business manager Bob Wolfson, the PR person Betsy, the director, Oliver Smernoff, and a major donor, Thurston Stark, and their spouses.

Things have been tense at the museum ever since the accidental death of a major new artist, Alden Tusk, and the theft of one of his triptych paintings. Eric Rand, the curator of the exhibit, had been fired over the theft. Coincidentally he is on the cruise, and in charge of the nightly art auctions!

Marla cannot resist getting involved. Her talent for ferreting out the truth when faced with mysterious occurrences comes to the forefront, even while she is trying her best to cement a relationship with her stepdaughter and her future in-laws. First, gift shop manager Martha Shore does not return to the ship after the passengers' initial port excursion. Marla's life is endangered when she follows the mysterious "Countess" on shore in Mexico, and she barely makes it back to the ship before it embarks. More threatening events occur before the finale.

This fun cruise ship cozy makes it seem as if you are on the cruise--the food, activities, ports, music, description of the ship--everything is described in luscious detail.

Armchair Interviews says: Set sail for a fun read.

Hairdresser and part-time detective Marla Shore was looking forward to a leisurely Caribbean cruise with her fiancé Dalton Vail and his teenage daughter. It would give the three of them time to bond, form a cohesive family unit. The unexpected arrival of her future in-laws threw a crimp in Marla's plans. The threesome had expanded to include five.

The intent was to relax and get to know her new family, but Marla was never one to ignore an anomaly. Rather than being seated with their family, Marla and Dalton ended up at a table with a group of employees and associates of the Tampa Art Museum. They were all there courtesy of an anonymous benefactor, and they had all received a personal invitation to the art auction scheduled for that evening. The auction included the work of the artist Alden Tusk. Marla knew Alden and was surprised to learn that he was dead.

There were unanswered questions regarding Alden Tusk's death. He had fallen to his death mere hours before a benefit at the Tampa Art Museum. Everyone present at the time of his death was on the cruise. It had to be more than coincidence.

Marla didn't want to start digging into another mystery. Getting to know her new family had to take precedence. She might have been able to resist temptation had it not been for the threatening notes. The notes arrived at their door addressed to Martha Shore. At first Marla thought it was a typo, but later found out that Martha was one of the Tampa Art Museum employees. When Martha disappeared, Marla knew something was afoot.

Nancy J. Cohen pens a delightful story. The Bad Hair Day Mysteries are full of twists and turns, great characters, and snappy repartee. Killer Knots is a cozy worth reading.

As part of meeting her future in-laws for the first time, hairdresser and part-time detective Marla Shore joins her fiancé police detective Dalton Vail, his parents Kate and John and his teenage daughter on a Caribbean cruise. Not long after they go on board the Tropical Sun, a crew member delivers a message to Marla that is a threat, but is actually addressed to Martha Shore.

At dinner, Marla and Dalton sit with tense employees and associates of a Tampa art museum. Apparently an unknown benefactor paid for them to attend the cruise and each of them received a note similar to that "Martha" got. When the cruise hosts an art auction to include the work of an artist Alden Tusk who died mysteriously from a fall, Marla decides enough as she not one to let her hair knot. Instead, she begins to investigate who is behind the threatening notes; who, if a different person, is the secret patron paying for the museum staff to come on the cruise; and how did the artist die and if it was murder who is the killer? She investigates this while trying to get on with her fiancé's family.

This laid-back cruise cozy is a fun Bad Hair Day Mystery as Marla struggles with balancing her investigation with meeting the folks. In many ways her sleuthing takes a back seat to her insecurities as she wonders if the parents and the teen will accept her. Fans who appreciate an amiable often amusing tale will enjoy Marla's seaworthy antics dealing with KILLER KNOTS that rival her previous PERISH BY PEDICURE pedigree.

Harriet Klausner