Permed To Death (Bad Hair Day Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Nancy J. Cohen (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bad Hair Day Mysteries | Publication Date: December 1, 2000

Bad Hair Day Mystery #1

Meet Marla Shore, a Florida beauty salon owner with a knack for creating dazzling 'dos—and solving mysteries...

Marla was already having a bad day, but when one of her clients dies while getting a perm in her salon, her day just can't get any worse…until the smugly competent Detective Vail accuses her of poisoning the wealthy widow's coffee creamer! Granted, Bertha Kravitz was hardly her favorite customer, but Marla could never have murdered the ornery woman. Now it's up to the savvy stylist to find out just who did.

Combing the woman's privileged world for clues, Marla soon discovers that the town is crawling with potential suspects. As the case grows more snarled, Marla becomes determined to unmask a cunning killer before she's outwitted—and dead.

"A terrific mystery debut for Nancy Cohen. Marla the beautician is a delight."
--Tamar Myers, author of Baroque and Desperate

"A keeper...I plan to reserve a permanent place on my bookshelf for this action-packed, character-driven series."
--Denis Dietz, author of Footprints In the Butter and Throw Darts At A Cheesecake

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

When a rather nasty woman dies of poisoning in Marla Shore's Palm Harbor beauty shop, police suspect Marla, the only other person in the shop. Marla, who doesn't want the authorities to find out that the victim was blackmailing her, takes a defensive stance and falls for the attractive detective in charge. She conducts her own investigation, questioning the dead woman's estranged son, niece/heir, greedy business partner, and others. While not without redeeming qualities, this first effort suffers from inconsistent characterization and a few frayed story lines. An optional purchase for larger collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A terrific mystery debut for Nancy Cohen. Marla the beautician is a delight." -- Tamar Myers, author of Baroque and Desperate

"I plan to reserve a permanent place on my bookshelf for this action-packed, character-driven series. Permed to Death is a Keeper!" -- Denise Dietz, author of Footprints in the Butter and Throw Darts At A Cheesecake

Permed to Death is propelled by strong characters set in a plot full of interesting kinks, if you'll pardon the pun. The author kept me guessing until nearly the end. As a stylist with 16 years under her belt, I can fully relate to the salon setting and must say Ms. Cohen has nailed it. I can't help myself. Although I have never been to Florida, I can capture the essence of the area through the vivid description of the scenery. Good job, Ms. Cohen, I look forward to your future books in this series, The Bad Hair Day Mysteries. -- Reviewed by April Redmon; Copyright by Under the Covers 1999 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 293 pages
• Publisher: Kensington; Reprint edition (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575666243
• ISBN-13: 978-1575666242
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,490,389 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Author Needs Work, January 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Permed To Death (Bad Hair Day Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

While this story (and the series) has potential, the murder's identity was apparent almost from the start...as were the "secrets" Marla was hiding.

As a writer though, it's obvious to me that the author has read one too many "How To Sell Your Novel" books and went to great pains to follow some of those rules, almost to distraction. There was way too much space wasted on every minute detail of what the characters were doing or wearing, their gestures and movements. Colors were listed by shade rather than name (she wore a daffodil sweater, crimson shorts and applied putty eye shadow to her lids), awkward wording was used to "punch up" what was being expressed ("The woman expired in my salon!" when most people would say "The woman died in my salon!"). I also didn't need to have what Marla was feeling in her mouth and throat described to me each time she took a bite of food (the yogurt slid down her throat, cool and slick). While I'm sure the author did these things to give the story a more visual feel, I only found it so distracting that at times I could barely concentrate on the story itself.

I'll read the next book in the series...but I certainly hope it's written better than this one.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting..., May 23, 2000

By 

Crazy for Words - See all my reviews

This review is from: Permed To Death (Bad Hair Day Mystery) (Hardcover)

Marla Shore has everything she wants--almost. She is a successful salon owner who has overcome a shaky start to her adulthood, and is well on her way to a secure future. Until her most difficult client, Mrs. Kravitz drops dead in the middle of a perm. Now Marla, the prime suspect, is desperate to clear herself of the crime and motivated to uncover who the true killer is--while also burying what could be the key to her jail cell if discovered by the irritating yet handsome Detective Dalton Vail.

PERMED TO DEATH is propelled by strong characters set in a plot full of interesting kinks, if you'll pardon the pun. The author kept me guessing until nearly the end. As a stylist with 16 years under her belt, I can fully relate to the salon setting and must say Ms. Cohen has nailed it. (I can't help myself.) Although I have never been to Florida, I can capture the essence of the area through the vivid description of the scenery. Good job, Ms, Cohen, I look forward to your future books in this series, THE BAD HAIR DAY MYSTERIES.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Promising Debut!, May 11, 2000

By 

Judy J. Cater (San Diego, Califormia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Permed To Death (Bad Hair Day Mystery) (Hardcover)

Permed to Death is the first of Nancy Cohen's Bad Hair Day Mystery titles. Marla Shore, owner of the Cut 'N Dye hair salon, leaves difficult client Bertha Kravitz at the shampoo bowl with a cup of coffee as her perm rods set. Suddenly, Bertha is dead, the police are everywhere and Marla is in trouble. Old secrets, new business problems and a vindictive former husband add to Marla's problems as she finds herself the target of a creative killer. Marla is also attracted to the detective assigned to the case, yet another complication in her hectic life. So many people had reason to want Bertha dead and its hard to stop with a single murder. Nancy Cohen is a former nurse and her medial training, along with a great deal of hair salon research, add to the flavor of this first mystery. I'm looking forward to getting to know Marla better!