The Homicidal Hairstyle of the Viral Video Vixen by Phillip Mottaz

Item: The Homicidal Hairstyle of the Viral Video Vixen
Rating: 3
Author: BaronessMom

Posted January 29, 2023 by BaronessMom in Mystery, Paranormal, Review, Series / 0 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.

The Homicidal Hairstyle of the Viral Video Vixen

by Phillip Mottaz

Series: Psychic Barber Mystery #2
Series Rating:

Published by Not as Bad Books on November 1, 2022
Setting: Los Angeles California
Genres: Cozy Paranormal Mystery
Pages: 346
Format: Paperback
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, iBooks, BookShop.org
Also in this series: The Murderous Haircut of the Mayor of Bel Air

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THE HOMICIDAL HAIRSTYLE OF THE VIRAL VIDEO VIXEN is the second PSYCHIC BARBER MYSTERY, the series that's one part "Long Goodbye," a healthy portion of "Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie," with just a dash of the X-Men. If you ever wished one of the messed-up characters from a Lucy Foley novel had psychic abilities, these are the books for you.
"THE HOMICIDAL HAIRSTYLE OF THE VIRAL VIDEO VIXEN finds DANICA LUMAN - professional hairstylist/amateur detective/secret psychic - back in Los Angeles and back in danger. After surviving her first case by the skin of her teeth, she has sworn off adventure to focus on simply earning a living. Her new source of income? Doing hair and makeup for an internet video crew.
But just when Danica sees a distressing vision about viral sensation Sofi Starr, the web celeb goes missing. Danica's only chance to join the search party and secure a substantial reward is to collaborate with her worst enemy: the tarot-card-reading, crystal-ball-gazing 'psychic' Madame Lorena.
With just three days to forage for clues in Sofi Starr's strange house, Danica must navigate bitter in-fighting, fake friendships, over-eager super fans and first-time sleuths with more enthusiasm than brains.
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The Homicidal Hairstyle of the Viral Video Vixen by Phillip Mottaz is a quirky mystery with many turns that keep us guessing.

Will Danica and Madam Lorena find the missing video star?

Danica Luman

Our sleuth is Danica Luman, a hair stylist, makeup artist, detective, and psychic. She really doesn’t excel at any of those things. Hair used to be her go-to, but she seemed tired or not as interested in it as she once was. Danica is a do-gooder; that is how her friend referred to her.

I like Danica. She is nice and different but sometimes can’t get out of her own head. At times, it seems that she wastes opportunities. An example from the book, Danica has a chance to do hair and makeup for a Youtube video shoot. She was even sent a link to see the star’s style. However, Danica is too busy thinking about ways to earn money instead of looking at the Youtube channel sent to her for research. I would call her flakey. She avoids confrontation or talking to the guy she likes because she is afraid. I get the being scared, but avoidance won’t move her life forward.

The Mystery

Our sleuth teams up with Madam Lorena to find a missing Youtube star for a hefty reward. There are a lot of red flags in this whole scenario, but Danica keeps avoiding them. At times, she even reverts to wanting to be part of the IN crowd at the “Find Sofi party.” Danica and Lorena put the clues together and find the culprit, or did they? Were they set up? Was it all a publicity trick?

Three Stars

My rating for The Homicidal Hairstyle of the Viral Video Vixen by Phillip Mottaz is three stars. I felt as though Danica regressed in growth in this installment. Hopefully, in the next book, she will have figured out who she is or at least pick a direction to move in. The mystery is good; however, the sleuth needs some character growth.

I believe this author is a good storyteller, and I look forward to reading his future projects.

1st Book in Series

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The Homicidal Hairstyle of the Viral Video Vixen by Phillip Mottaz.

Until the next time,

About Phillip Mottaz

Phillip Mottaz wrote his first novel when he was a mere 39 years old. After growing up in Illinois’ smallest city, he studied improv and sketch comedy in Chicago. Since moving to Los Angeles, he has written every kind of script imaginable and produced multiple podcasts.

His debut novel “The Murderous Haircut of the Mayor of Bel Air” is a cozy mystery in his Psychic Barber Mysteries series.

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