Customer Reviews

Permed To Death (Bad Hair Day Mysteries)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

Every six weeks, publishing maven Bertha Kravitz comes to the Cut'N Dye Beauty Salon to receive a permanent from the shop's owner Marla Shore. The cantankerous Berthe is a demanding individual who black mails the beautician into providing anything she wants. Bertha makes Marla open the shop two hours early. Marla severs her client a cup of coffee with her special cream before going into the backroom for a moment.

When Marla hears a noise out front, she races to the shop area only to find her nemesis dead. When cyanide is found in the coffee, the police turn to Marla as the prime suspect. The beauty parlor operator had the means, and opportunity, but the law enforcement officials have not yet discovered Marla's motive. The detective heading up the investigation wants to date Marla even as he expects to arrest the woman. To clear her name and to help him decide on the social side of his dilemma, Marla begins her own investigation to uncover a killer that will gladly add her to the count.

In her debut mystery, Nancy Cohen leaves the impression that she is a veteran writer. The heroine is an everywoman that enables most readers to easily identify with her. The law enforcement official is a huggable hunk that much of the audience will want to adopt as their own. The sexual sparks between them add to the overall complexity of the characters as well as balancing the who-done-it aspects of the story line with a human element. PERMED TO DEATH is an entertaining amateur sleuth tale that sub-genre fans will fully enjoy.

Harriet Klausner

Marla Shore's day is off to a bad start. She's had to come in early to accommodate her most demanding customer. But when Bertha Kravitz falls over poisoned, Marla's day just gets worse. Naturally, since Marla was alone with the victim, she's the prime suspect. Little do the police know that Marla had a very good motive. Now she must find the real killer and keep her past a secret from the very attractive Detective Vail.

This book was a mixed bag. I found Marla full of spunk and really enjoyed her. The plot twisted very nicely and I couldn't figure out who done it until the very end. However, the book also had some serious flaws. Detective Vail kept behaving in an unrealistic manner. I doubt any police detective would treat their prime suspect the way he did Marla without being fired. While I liked the fact that Marla had a past, I felt beat over the head with it since it seemed to be mentioned every few pages. Finally, the book felt overwritten, with too much description at times slowing down certain scenes.

Part of my problem might have been my gender; women might enjoy it more then I did. It wasn't a bad book; a good edit could have fixed most of the problems. Hopefully the series gets better as the author learns her craft.

I love mysteries especially those set in quirky situations, so I picked up Permed To Death by Nancy Cohen with much anticipation.

I found this book disappointing from the very beginning. The dialog was simplistic and predictable as was the "whodunit". The characters were underdeveloped and not used to their full potential within the story. A few characters showed up with no introduction or background until later in the book or not at all, leaving me wondering just who they were and what their significance was to the storyline.

I purchased this book and Ms. Cohens next book in the series at the same time but after laboring through this one I think I'll pass on the second and cut my losses.

This book sounded absolutely adorable with its murder occurring in the beauty shop. Some days when our hair doesn't come out looking so hot, I'm sure murder is on the mind of some of the patrons. Marla (the principal character) sounded like someone we'd want to know. I know South Florida as my folks have lived there for quite some time. All the elements of a book I should like were in place.

Let's start with the writing. The author describes a lot of stuff that doesn't move along the action at all. She hints at back stories for some of the characters but, doesn't give us the details then, plops them in at inappropriate spots. Why not tell us about the girls at the salon? The mystery is weak, too. It doesn't take much to figure this one out at all. Let's hope that Ms. Cohen either improves her writing skills or gets a better editor, please.

I saw this mystery in the store and thought: "hey, this looks good". I thought it would be fun and interesting - neither which turned out to be true. The story was dark and depressing and the mystery annoying and convulted. Marla must be the stupidest so-called sleuth in the history of dumb sleuths if she didn't figure out the killer until the end. The clues were so obvious it was painful to watch her stumble around. I had to force myself to complete it.

I had to feel sorry for Marla at one point where the detective ripped her to shreds for her past - I would have slapped him and hard! Too bad she forgave him when he smiled at her.

Bogus! 2 stars is being too fair.

I found this book to be very entertaining and a fast read. "Marla Shore", Nancy Cohen's heroine is absolutely delightful and I can't wait until her next adventure begins.

The title and the artwork suckered me in. I'm always on the lookout for a new series with female leads in amateur roles. But this book was a bitter disappointment and I continued reading only it in hopes it would improve. It didn't. The mystery is badly constructed with the guilty party almost standing up and self-identifying in the earliest chapters. The characters all sound alike with awkwardly constructed and generally inane dialogue. The lead character has few redeeming features. I don't expect flawless people, but the lead isn't even likeable which is pretty much a necessity in cozies. If you're looking for a well-written beauty-parlour based mystery wait until mid March when "Bubbles Unbound" by Sarah Strohmeyer is released. I read the ARC and it's hysterical in a Janet Evanovich sort of way with full-bodied characters and a solid mystery. It's what PERMED TO DEATH ought to have been...