Highlights to heaven

Bad Hair Day Mystery #5"A fast and funny read. Very sharp...A shade of mystery and a tinge of family realities softened by romance create a rich blend for the reader."—Christine A. Jackson, author of Myth and Ritual in Women's Detective FictionFresh, fun and contemporary, Nancy J. Cohen's Bad Hair Day mysteries hold "the ready appeal of an independent female sleuth and colorful Florida settings," says Library Journal. Now, in her fifth outing, she sets stylist Marla Shore on the trail of a killer who may be using the beauty business as a cover for some very ugly crimes.Professional hair stylist and amateur sleuth Marla Shore lands a case close to home when her pet-loving neighbor—a man aptly named goat—disappears, leaving his animals alone and a dead body in the master bedroom. The corpse might be just another anonymous stiff except for the distinctive bronze highlighting his hair. Marla—on the scene and ready for anything—immediately recognizes the signature technique of the Heavenly Hair Salon in Fort Lauderdale and the work of stylist Cutter Corrigan.Curiosity is part of Marla's motive in deciding to help ID the dead man by questioning the proprietor of Heavenly Hair before the police do. But a powerful physical attraction to sexy Detective Dalton Vail is a major factor in her effort to impress him with her sleuthing skills. And before she even leaves the murder scene, Marla makes another that suggests the killing involves the exotic pet trade, where fancy fur coats are illegally made from local Tabbies and Rovers.How could gentle Goat be involved in that? Outraged and upset, Marla vows to use her contacts in the salon biz to find out the truth. Soon her unofficial questioning of other area hairdressers turns up a surprising link between Goat, the victim, and her own past. The long and short of it is danger for Marla, as she gets closer to uncovering a hair-raising secret someone would kill to keep.