Star Tangled Murder by Nancy J. Cohen

Item: Star Tangled Murder
Rating: 5
Author: BaronessMom

Posted March 1, 2023 by BaronessMom in #BookishRecipe, #FourthofJuly, Mystery, Review / 2 Comments

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Star Tangled Murder

by Nancy J. Cohen

Series: Bad Hair Day Mysteries #18
Series Rating:

Published by Orange Grove Press on March 14, 2023
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 282
Format: Kindle
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google, Smashwords
Also in this series: Easter Hair Hunt , Styled for Murder

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!

Star Tangled Murder by Nancy J. Cohen is fantastic. I love the interesting hobbies and the whole Pioneer Village setting.

Will Marla figure out who killed the marshal before the murderer gets her?

The Mystery

Marla and Dalton are visiting the local Pioneer Village to get a copy of a cookbook one of Marla’s friends wrote. While there, they meet some of the cast, watch a battle reenactment from the Indian war, run into a cousin, and are nearby when a body is found. Dalton is assigned the case as he is first on the scene. Marla is helping him.

Then a second death of one of the pioneer village cast members reveals that there was more going on at the village than you could see on the surface. But so many things are going on, and most of the cast didn’t have verifiable alibis.

The mystery has many moving parts and trying to decide what is linked and what isn’t is the hard part. At first, I figured out the culprit, but then I talked myself out. I totally fell for a red herring.

Marla Vail

The Vail family has a lot going on. Dalton is retiring from the police force, and Brianna is heading to college in Boston. Marla is feeling the pull of family. While being in harm’s way several times during her sleuthing, she realizes she may not want to sleuth anymore.

This is a significant change for her. Marla wants to be around her family and have a life without threats and dead bodies.

Extras

I feel like Ms. Cohen always gives us a little something extra. During this installment, we learn about the history of buttons, some things about doll collectors, and the whole pioneer village aspect. I genuinely love how Ms. Cohen entertains and teaches us simultaneously.

There are also two menus with the recipes included in the book.

The first is a Fourth of July Menu for Baked Brie and Crackers, Blue Corn Chips, Creole Franks with White Rice, Vegetable of Choice, Fruit Platter with Blueberries, Strawberries, and Mini Marshmallows, and Red Velvet Cake.

The second is Next Day Brunch Menu for Salmon Mini Quiches, Egg Veggie Bake, Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes, Bagels, and Cream Cheese, and Root Beer Cake. I plan to make that Root Beer Cake for my upcoming birthday.

Five Stars

I love hanging out with Marla and her family and friends. Ms. Cohen’s mysteries have so many things happening, and everything is happening quickly. My rating for Star Tangled Murder by Nancy J. Cohen is five stars. I started reading this series late. Now it is on my list to go back and read from the beginning.

I highly recommend Star Tangled Murder to everyone.

Other Books in the Series

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Star Tangled Murder by Nancy J. Cohen.

About Nancy J. Cohen

Nancy J. Cohen writes the Bad Hair Day Mysteries featuring South Florida hairstylist Marla Vail. Titles in this series have been named Best Cozy Mystery by Suspense Magazine, won a Readers’ Favorite gold medal, placed first in the Chanticleer International Book Awards and third in the Arizona Literary Awards. Nancy’s instructional guide, Writing the Cozy Mystery, was nominated for an Agatha Award and won a gold medal at the President’s Book Awards from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association. When not busy writing, Nancy enjoys cooking, fine dining, cruising, visiting Disney World, and shopping.