Synopsis (from Amazon)
When hairstylist and savvy sleuth, Marla Vail, gets a frantic call from her mother that there’s a dead body in her shower, Marla realizes this wasn’t part of the home renovation plans. The victim turns out to be the project manager, who had an untrustworthy reputation in town. Disgruntled customers, unpaid suppliers, and the design company’s staff are among the suspects. Which one of them wanted the foreman to pipe down about their shady dealings?
Meanwhile, the lead investigator sets his sights on Marla’s stepfather, Reed, who’s keeping secrets from his family. Reed has a past connection to the victim and won’t come clean about what he knows. As Marla drills deeper, she’s showered with suspicions, but nobody’s willing to leak any information. She needs to hammer down the prospects, or time will drain away and the murderer will strike again.
To flush out the culprit, Marla taps into her pipeline of resources. Can she assemble the clues and demolish the alibis to nail a killer? Or has someone designed the perfect murder?
Recipes Included!
Review
Marla Vail is back, now a new mother in addition to being step-mother to a teen and a business owner. No time for sleuthing - until her mother calls. The renovation of her bathroom is halted by the dead contractor and her mother's new husband, Reed, is hiding something. As much as Marla wants to believe in him, his withdrawal isn't helping the investigation.
As always, Cohen provides a glimpse of the main character in her home, her business, and her community as she sleuths her way to the killer. A fan of this series, I was glad to see Marla manage to play it safe while working and sleuthing. Even Dalton seems to be hiding something, though he is the perfect father.
The pace is steady and the characters interesting. There are multiple suspects aside from Reed and no simple explanation fits the crime. It's not easy to guess at the killer and that kept me engaged. If you're a fan of this series, you will be surprised at Marla's ingenuity in fitting in baby, work, and sleuthing. New to this series? You can enjoy this book without having read the earlier books, though I always recommend you start at the beginning of a series. Regardless, if you enjoy cozy mystery, I'm sure you will like this one. Don't forget the recipes!
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in the hopes that I would post an honest review. This has not affected the content of my review in any way.
About the Author
Her nonfiction titles, Writing the Cozy Mystery and A Bad Hair Day Cookbook, have also garnered numerous awards, including the FAPA President's Book Award and the Royal Palm Literary Award. Active in the writing community, Nancy is a past president of Florida Romance Writers and Mystery Writers of America, Florida Chapter. When not busy writing, she enjoys reading, fine dining, cruising, and visiting Disney World. Visit her at NancyJCohen.com.
Thank you so much for this wonderful review!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure!
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