Star Tangled Murder

Bad Hair Day Mysteries

By Nancy J. Cohen          

ISBN 978-1-952886-25-6

Author’s Website:  nancyjcohen.com

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra                   

Summary:

Hairstylist Marla Vail and her husband get tangled up in murder when their Fourth of July visit to a living history village ends with a bang—and a body.

Salon owner Marla Vail and her detective husband Dalton are having a blast visiting a Florida living history village over Fourth of July weekend. But when a Seminole battle reenactment turns up a real dead body, it sets off fireworks among the villagers. One of the cast members has gone off script to murder the town marshal with a tomahawk in his head.

As Dalton gets involved in the investigation, Marla determines to help him solve the case. Her flare for uncovering secrets reveals that everyone in the village is a suspect. Instead of celebrating the holiday with red, white, and barbecues, she discovers secrets, lies, and false avenues. Did the marshal’s murder have anything to do with a lost Confederate payroll, or did his plans to renovate the park light a fuse that he couldn’t snuff out?

In a place where history comes alive, the dead bodies are piling up. Marla would rather be chilling and grilling, but somebody’s mind is on killing. If she’s not careful, her sleuthing might blow up in her face like a faulty firecracker and she’ll become the next victim. Recipes Included! (Goodreads)

Review:

Star Tangled Murder is the eighteenth book in the Bad Hair Day Mystery series by Nancy J. Cohen. What a long and interesting journey through this series. While I have yet to read ALL of the books in this series, I am glad I have read this latest installment!  An enjoyable read that was the perfect book to read to distract this reader for awhile.

Marla Vail and her soon-to-be-retired homicide detective of a husband, Dalton, are spending the day at a Pioneer village (with live battle re-enactments) on the fourth of July weekend. Now given this is a cozy mystery and a detective is Marla’s husband – you guessed it. Unfortunately, there is a murder and it is in Dalton’s jurisdiction so he takes the reigns as the lead investigator.  And from previous installments of this series – we know that Marla loves to play amateur sleuth. The journey is filled with Marla being discreet in her sleuthing with various friends to help her husband in his investigation. Good thing this is fiction as I am positive no spouse of a detective would be allowed this much involvement in an investigation. But this does lead to an interesting and fun coy mystery to read.

I like the development as a person as well as a sleuth of Marla over the course of this series. Her skills are certainly getting honed! Of course, with a thirteen-month-old – I wonder how she has the time and energy to actually participate in such endeavors!!! Though in all honesty – she does seem a wee bit more frazzled than usual. I know I certainly did not have ½ of the energy that Marla seems to have.

I like that the reader gets a bit of a history lesson when Marla and Dalton explore the various areas of the pioneer village. It was an enjoyable history lesson for this reader. I did have my suspicions as to who the culprit was, I wasn’t sure until the end, and neither did I know the motives behind the killings.

The inclusion of various friends of Marla was a nice addition to the story-telling. I really enjoyed how Susan (Marla’s writer friend) became involved using the story that she was writing a series of articles on women in that time period. It fit naturally and of course – showcasing women in history is always worthwhile. The storytelling with respect to the various areas of the village they visited were riveting and so detail oriented that I really felt like I was there!

As usual, Ms. Cohen writes a riveting cozy mystery that kept this reader totally engaged until the end. I so look forward to the next chapter in Marla and Dalton’s life. Will it include more sleuthing – time will tell?

If you enjoy a well paced cozy mystery with interesting characters, pick up the latest installment of the Bad Hair Day Mysteries and settle in for an enjoyable whodunit by Nancy J. Cohen.