Title: Murder, Curlers, and Cream
Author: Arlene McFarlane
Series: Valentine Beaumont Mysteries #1
Publisher: ParadiseDeer Publishing
Release Date: November 8, 2016
Pages: 292
Book Source: Trade Paperback
“Valentine Beaumont is desperate to revive her dying business. Trying to recover from an infamous incident where she defended herself with a perm rod to her attacker’s privates, the last thing she needs is another scandal. So when a wealthy socialite is strangled with a steamer cord while awaiting her facial, Valentine has no choice but to start combing through clues.
Battling a sexy, hard-headed detective who can’t tell pigtails from a pompadour, Valentine is convinced he’s pursuing the wrong suspect. And despite his warning not to meddle, the gutsy stylist vows to clear her name before the killer claims another client.
Can Valentine tie up the culprit before more lives are cut short?” – Amazon
Kim’s Review
If you are looking for crazy antics in the style of Stephanie Plum then you’ll want to check out Murder, Curlers, and Cream by Arlene McFarlane. If you are looking for a traditional cozy mystery, this one may not be for you.
I really enjoyed it because I was a fan of Janet Evanovich, but stopped reading her around book 17 because I just couldn’t handle the love triangle anymore, and I’ve been looking for a new series to take its place. A love triangle hasn’t started up yet in the series, but it looks like in book two, Jock deMarco will start working at Valentine’s salon, so we shall see if a love triangle develops between those two and Detective Romero. As long as it’s well written and doesn’t drag on then I’m good.
The crazy antics of her employees and the locals who stop by are what really had me enjoying this book. Max is awesome and I can’t wait to read more of his snark, and I am also looking forward to more of Val’s meddling mom. Phylis was a horrible character, but McFarlane wrote her so well! And what Phylis did to the customers added a cringe worthy level of humor to the book.
If you’re looking for a light mystery with lots of steamy thoughts of sex, snarky employees, buildings on fire, kidnappings, and a lot more crazy shenanigans then you will want to start reading the Valentine Beaumont Mysteries!
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