Killer Hair by Ellen Byerrum

Killer Hair by Ellen Byerrum is the first book in the “Crime of Fashion” mystery series.  Signet (Penguin), August 2003

An up-and-coming stylist, Angie Woods had a reputation for rescuing down-and-out looks – and careers – all with a pair of scissors. But when Angie is found with a drastic haircut and a razor in her hand, the police assume she committed suicide over the shear disaster. Lacey knew the stylist and suspects something more sinister – that the story may lie with Angie’s star client, a congressional staffer with a salacious website.  Or with a recent string of thefts at the salon.  Helped by a hunky ex-cop, Lacey must root out the truth – before she becomes the next subject of a hostile makeover.

Read the book after watching the movie and this was enjoyable.  My rating: 3 stars

*new-to-me author

Double Play by Jill Shalvis

Double Play by Jill Shalvis features Pace Martin and Holly Hutchins in this contemporary romance story.  Publisher: Berkley Sensation (Penguin), July 2009

Pace Martin is the ace pitcher for the Pacific Heat. He’s got the arm, the experience and the wins. He’s also got the pain, the pressure and the possible end of his career looming over him. The last thing he needs now is a distraction, even if it comes in the form of a tough, beautiful, tell-it-like-it-is writer who sees past his defenses.

Holly Hutchins knows a good story when she sees one, and the tall, dark and slightly attitude-challenged Pace Martin fits the bill.  But when she realizes there’s more at stake than just a win, she starts to see the handsome, broad-shouldered jock in a different light.

Pace and Holly begin a seductive game, but in the face of unexpected betrayal and challenges, they’ll have to find the courage to swing for the fences.

This was very enjoyable.  My rating: 3.5 stars

What Are You Wearing to Die? by Patricia Sprinkle

What Are You Wearing to Die? by Patricia Sprinkle is the tenth book in the “Thoroughly Southern” Mystery.  Publisher: Signet (Penguin), February 2008

In rural Hopemore, Georgia, troubled Starr Knight was never your average young mom.  Gallivanting around town in skimpy tops and glittery makeup, she brought her widowed taxidermist father a load of heartache. But the worst comes when Starr is found wearing a bland oxford shirt and baggy black pants…and lying murdered in a tangle of kudzu.

Following her own recent brushes with death, magistrate MacLaren Yarbrough’s husband, Joe Riddley, has told her to never play sleuth again.  But then another young mother, the taxidermist’s assistant, who prefers conservative clothes, is found dead – clad in a red cocktail dress and heels.  Mac is no fashionista, but even she knows the facts don’t line up.  And if she doesn’t figure out what connects these women to the killer, she might end up being forced to choose an outfit for her own funeral.

I enjoyed this book in what may be the final book in this series. My rating: 3 stars

*new-to-me author

A Veiled Deception by Annette Blair

A Veiled Deception by Annette Blair is the first book in the new “Vintage Magic” mystery series.  Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime (Penguin), January 2009

With years of experience working for a top New York designer, Madeira Cutler has learned to appreciate the clean line, rich texture and elegant draping of a finely crafted garment.  It’s not until Maddie goes home to Mystick Falls, Connecticut, for her sister’s wedding, however, that she discovers her understanding of fashion goes much deeper.

Before the accessory shopping and fittings can begin, the festivities hit a snag when Maddie finds her sister’s nemesis strangled with the bride-to-be’s veil.  In between opening her own vintage clothing shop and keeping the wedding on track, Maddie’s determined to perform her own investigation to clear her family’s name.  She soon finds that her best witness may be an antique wedding dress that magically unveils to her the scenes of those who have worn it. But if the gown doesn’t talk fast enough, the lives of everyone Maddie loves will surely fall apart at the seams.

I enjoyed this light paranormal mystery.  My rating: 3.5 stars

*new-to-me author

Girls Just Wanna Have Guns by Toni McGee Causey

Girls Just Wanna Have Guns by Toni McGee Causey is the second book in the “Bobbie Faye” mystery series.  Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, July 2009

Bobbie Faye Sumrall just landed in a mess of trouble. It started when she agreed to help her diva cousin, Francesca. Turns out Francesca’s mom, Marie, swiped a fortune in gems from Bobbie Faye’s uncle, who’d swiped them from someone else. Now there’s a hit out on Marie, and Bobbie Faye is racing to find her—and the jewels.

Plenty of people would shoot Bobbie Faye for a stash of diamonds. Hell, some would pay for the privilege. But now Bobbie Faye has other distractions, including: Trevor, the drop-dead-sexy FBI agent who may or may not be the real deal; and Cam, her steamy (and steamed) detective ex-boyfriend who’d do anything to keep Bobbie Faye out of harm’s way…and get her back into his arms.

This series continues to be a laugh a minute. Another fun and quick read.  My rating: 4.5 stars

Charmed and Dangerous by Toni McGee Causey

Charmed and Dangerous by Toni McGee Causey is the first book in the “Bobbie Faye” mystery series.  Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, June 2009

When Bobbie Faye Sumrall wakes up on the morning of the Lake Charles Contraband Days Festival, she’s looking forward to balloons, booze, and babies in pirate costumes. Instead, she discovers that her trailer’s flooded, her no-good brother’s been kidnapped, and the criminals are demanding her mom’s tiara as ransom.

Soon Bobbie Faye is committing (unintentional) bank robbery and (fully intentional) car jacking to retrieve her family heirloom. The one bright spot comes in the hard-muscled, impossibly sexy form of Trevor, the guy whose truck she just took hostage. Luckily, Bobbie Faye knows how to outsmart angry bears, drive a speedboat, and handle a gun. As for handling Trevor? No gun-shyness there. Now, if only that pesky state police detective, who also happens to be a pissed-off ex-boyfriend, would stay out of her way .

Now I know why I loved this book when it was first published in 2007.  This book is hilarious.  I love the antics of Bobby Faye and how she’ll do anything to protect her family.  What a great read.  My rating: 4.5 stars

Mama Rides Shotgun by Deborah Sharp

Mama Rides Shotgun by Deborah Sharp is the second book in the “Mace Bauer” mystery series.  Publisher: Midnight Ink, July 2009 

Trouble on the trail
Mama’s fixin’ to get hitched to Husband #5. But first, she coerces her daughter, Mace (Mason Elizabeth B auer), to saddle up for some country-gal bonding on the Florida Cracker Trail. The trek takes a deadly turn when Lawton Bramble—wealthy rancher and one-time beau of Mama’s—keels over in his Cow Hunter Chili.
 
Lawton had a horde of enemies and a famously bad ticker. Could a grudge-wielding rival have “spiced” the cattleman’s chow? With (or maybe despite) the help of her sisters and her sexy ex-beau, Detective Martinez, Mace sets out to corral a low-down varmint who’s determined to kill again.

What a fun ride this story has become.  It was a joy to see Mace, Mama, Maddie, Marty, Sally and Carlos again and I look forward to the next book in this series.  My rating: 4 stars

One Deadly Sin by Annie Solomon

One Deadly Sin by Annie Solomon features Eden Swanford who goes back home to Redbud, TN, to right a wrong done to her father many years ago.  Publisher: Forever (Grand Central Publishing), May 2009

Revenge. Edie Swann has hungered for it since she fled her hometown as a little girl. Now she’s returned, ready for payback. Armed with a list of names, she leaves each one a chilling sign that they have blood on their hands. Her father’s blood. What happens next turns her own blood cold: one by one, the men she’s targeted start dying.

Sheriff Holt Drennen knows Edie is hiding something. She has a haunted look in her eyes and a defiant spirit, yet he can’t believe she’s a murderer. As the body count rises and all evidence points to Edie, Holt is torn between the town he’s sworn to protect and the woman he’s come to desire. But nothing is what it seems. Long buried secrets begin to surface, and a killer won’t be satisfied until the sins of the past are paid in full–this time with Edie’s blood.

This was a great read.  From the first sentence, I could not put this book down.  The mystery and the romance played well together and the conclusion had me shedding a tear.  My rating: 4 stars

Black Hills by Nora Roberts

Black Hills by Nora Roberts features Lillian Chance and Cooper Sullivan in this romantic suspense tale.  Publisher: Putnam, July 2009

A summer at his grandparents’ South Dakota ranch is not eleven-year-old Cooper Sullivan’s idea of a good time. But things are a bit more bearable now that he’s discovered the neighbor girl, Lil Chance, and her homemade batting cage. Even horseback riding isn’t as awful as Coop thought it would be. Each year, with Coop’s annual summer visit, their friendship deepens from innocent games to stolen kisses, but there is one shared experience that will forever haunt them: the terrifying discovery of a hiker’s body.

As the seasons change and the years roll, Lil stays steadfast to her dreams of becoming a wildlife biologist and protecting her family land, while Coop struggles with his father’s demand that he attend law school and join the family firm. Twelve years after they last walked together hand in hand, fate has brought them back to the Black Hills when the people and things they hold most dear need them most.

An investigator in New York, Coop recently left his fastpaced life to care for his aging grandparents and the ranch he has come to call home. Though the memory of his touch still haunts her, Lil has let nothing stop her dream of opening the Chance Wildlife Refuge, but something . . . or someone . . . has been keeping a close watch. When small pranks and acts of destruction escalate into the heartless killing of Lil’s beloved cougar, recollections of an unsolved murder in these very hills have Coop springing to action to keep Lil safe.

Lil and Coop both know the natural dangers that lurk in the wild landscape of the Black Hills. But now they must work together to unearth a killer of twisted and unnatural instincts who has singled them out as prey.

I read this book within 24 hours. I could not put this down.  I loved seeing the romance between Lil and Coop grow from friendship to love to hurt back to love. My rating: 4 stars

The Diva Takes the Cake by Krista Davis

The Diva Takes the Cake by Krista Davis is the second book in the “Domestic Diva” mystery series.  Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime (Penguin); June 2009

Sophie Winston’s sister, Hannah, is getting married—again! And if you ask Sophie, her future brother-in-law is no prince. But is he a killer? That’s the question on everyone’s mind when his ex-wife is found hanging from a pergola. This is one event Sophie and her sister hadn’t planned on.

As hidden family secrets begin to come to light, Sophie finds the list of suspects is almost as long as the list of wedding guests. Will the real killer be seated on the groom’s side or the bride’s? Or will he be standing at the altar? Either way, Sophie must solve the murder in time to stop her sister from making the biggest—and possibly the last—mistake of her life.

I enjoyed this story.  It was a fun read.  My rating: 3.5 stars

*new-to-me author