Bad Hair Day Books In Order

Publication Order of Bad Hair Day Mystery Books

Bad Hair Day is a series of detective mystery novels with a touch of romance from bestselling romance and mystery author Nancy J. Cohen. Nancy is best known for writing the “Bad Hair Day” Mysteries that feature Marla Shore a South Florida hairstylist as an amateur sleuth. Novels in the series have been nominated for several awards including the American Fiction Awards, the Arizona Literary Awards, the Chanticleer International Book Awards, Best Cozy Mystery Awarded by Suspense Magazine and a Readers Favorite Gold Medal. Apart from the Bad Hair Day series, she has also written the “Drift Lords “series, the single standing novel “Silver Serenade” and also contributed to several other series such as the “Wicked Women” series with Jennifer Apodaca, Amy Garvey and MaryJanice Davidson. Cohen is also the author of “Writing the Cozy Mystery.” an instructional guide that won a gold medal from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association President’s Book Awards. Nancy has been a speaker at community events, libraries, and conferences and is on the list of the Who’s Who of US Editors, Poets and Writers.

In her past life, Nancy Cohen worked as a registered nurse for more than a decade before she quit to become a full-time author. She had always loved writing but it was not until she was in grad school getting her masters that she decided to try writing a full-length book. She became a member of the Romance Writers of America and credits the critique groups of her local chapter for molding her into the writer she has become. The first novels she sold were science fiction romances and she has gone on to become very active in the genre. She has once served as the president of the Florida Romance Sisters and the Florida Mystery Writers of America. When she is not writing her novels she loved shopping, cooking, going to Disney World, fine dining and cruising.

The events of “The Bad Hair Day” series by Nancy J. Cohen happen in Florida, where the author has resided with her husband for years. The lead of the series is Marla Shore, a 34-year-old hairstylist that is recently divorced. She never wants to have children given a tragic event in her past. She has had a difficult life but she is a strong woman who has overcome to become a successful owner of a hair salon. She is now a fiercely independent woman that is very proud of what she has achieved. She has a romantic relationship with Detective Dalton Vail, who has a controlling temperament and a 12-year-old daughter. But their relationship has to overcome many hurdles if they are to find happiness. As an amateur sleuth, Marla is a combination of intelligent and tenacious sleuth in the mold of Columbo but with the outgoing and fun personality like that of Jessica Fletcher. Marla is a compassionate, brave and foolhardy woman that cares and listens to her clients. She became a stylist since she loves to help women raise their confidence and look good. Marla is also dedicated to justice and truth and is someone anyone would be grateful to have as a friend. She uses the conversational skills she attained as a hairstylist to investigate and interview suspects and resolve crime mysteries.

In “Permed to Death” the first novel of the Bad Hair Day series, Marla Shore comes into the salon to do the hair of Bertha Kravitz one of her longtime clients. While she waits for Kravitz’s hair to set, she goes to the back to fix the client some coffee alongside her personal can of creamer. She has served the coffee to the client and goes to get some towels when she hears a gasp from the front. Coming back to check on Bertha, she finds her slumped over her seat dead. It has all the hallmarks of murder and Marla goes back years as she recalls when a child she was baby-sitting got out her playpen and drowned in the pool while she was talking to her parents on the phone. She had never gotten over the guilt and the murder Bertha just dredges up even more guilt from her past. What makes it worse is that Bertha had been using that guilt to blackmail her into offering her free styling services for several years. Enter Detective Vail, a smart and handsome man that comes in to solve the crime and unexpectedly steal Marla’s heart. The case is looking ominous for Marla. She is no Jessica Fletcher nor is she Sherlock Holmes bit she needs to find the real murderer and prove her innocence or she may lose her life and the handsome Detective Vail.

“Hair Raiser” the second of the series welcomes back Marla Shore out favorite salon owner. She is still resident in the tranquil seaside town where there has just been another murder. She just joined the Ocean Guard as a volunteer and spends a lot of time as a South Florida beachcomber. The Ocean Guard is a conservation group that works to clean the beaches of Florida that have become very polluted. Shore has been placed in charge of the Taste of the World fundraiser and is having the time of her life. But then Chef Pierre Chevalier’s Bananas Foster causes a huge fire while preparing some delicacies for the group and Marla thinks that it is sabotage. There is something very weird going on in Palm Haven and it is not just about the dirt accumulating on the sunny beaches. Not long after the incident, Marla is shocked to learn that Benjamin Kline the attorney for the Ocean Guard has just been killed. It is not that she liked the man a lot or anything – in fact, he was not a likable man. The victim was an old friend of hers though he had a lot of enemies. Detective Vail believes one of the board members of the Ocean Guard conservation group is responsible for the murder. It is now up to Marla to help resolve the murder mystery.

In “Murder by Manicure” the third novel of the Bad Hair Day series, Marla thinks that she can slim down without going to the gym as she figures that she knows all about beauty. Unfortunately, while she religiously takes her poodle for a walk every day, her waist remains stubbornly too wide for her liking. She throws in the towel and signs up at the Perfect Fit Sports Club. But she never expected that she would find herself in the middle of a murder mystery. Jolene Myers a fellow member of the gym is found drowned in the whirlpool, where she had gone for a soak. But it would seem that Marla is not the only one that believes there is something bizarre in the death of Jolene. She partners with Detective Dalton Vail to try to get to the bottom of the case and they quickly find that they have a very long list of suspects. It is not long before Marla finds herself with a second corpse and she becomes more determined than ever to find the elusive killer. But the cases are much more complicated than anything she ever handled before. If she cannot exercise enough caution she may just end up dead herself.