Star Tangled Murder

March 21, 2023

Star Tangled Murder

Star Tangled Murder (Bad Hair Day Mysteries)
by Nancy J Cohen

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!

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 the Readers’ Favorite Book Awards and the RONE Award, placed first in the Chanticleer International Book Awards and third in the Arizona Literary Awards. Her nonfiction titles, Writing the Cozy Mystery and A Bad Hair Day Cookbook, have won the FAPA President’s Book Award, the Royal Palm Literary Award, and IAN Book of the Year. When not busy writing, Nancy enjoys reading, fine dining, cruising, and visiting Disney World.

Q&A With The Author

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

I vastly enjoyed the setting and the research. The story was inspired by a visit to Yesteryear Village, a living history park in West Palm Beach. This site became the model for my setting in the novel. It was perfect for a cozy mystery with a group of people who know each other in a confined location. This gave me a built-in set of suspects. Hairstylist and salon owner Marla Vail is visiting the village with her husband, Dalton, when a murder occurs. With Dalton set to retire from his job as homicide detective in a few months, Marla doesn’t want to leave anything to chance. She gets involved in the investigation.

Once I’d chosen the victim, I had to develop motives for each one of the suspects, who were cast members at the village. Aside from looking into what they did in their roles as blacksmith, schoolteacher, shaman, shopkeeper and so on, I researched eclectic topics that interested me. Among others, these included the history of buttons, the tea production process, and Fourth of July festivals. I always like to learn something new for each story. This makes it special for me and hopefully gives the reader some fresh insights as well. My goal is to entertain with a smidgen of education.

Do you have any other books you are working on that you can tell us about?

I am revising a mystery that takes place in Central Florida. It might be the springboard for a new series or work better as a standalone. Since I live in this area now, it’s helpful to use local sites for my background settings.

Can you tell us about what you have planned for the future?

In the immediate future, I plan to publish paperback editions of my revised earlier romances, which have already been reissued in digital format. Another box set in the Bad Hair Day series and more audiobooks are next on the agenda.

How long have you been writing?

My first published book, Circle of Light, came out in 1994 and won the HOLT Medallion Award. Currently, I have twenty-six full-length novels, two novellas, a short story, and two nonfiction titles. These include A Bad Hair Day Cookbook with all my favorite recipes written from Marla’s viewpoint, and Writing the Cozy Mystery, which is an instructional guide. I started out being traditionally published and eventually switched to being an indie author. I’ve been in this business so long that I remember the days when we had to copy the actual manuscript and mail out the original for a submission. We used a lot of postage back in the day!

Anything more you would like to say to your readers and fans?

Thank you for your support and encouragement. I appreciate all your feedback. It gives me the incentive to keep writing. Please remember to review books that you enjoy reading. Reviews help readers find new authors and they’re critically important to us in attracting new fans. It also helps when you request our books at your local library. I hope you enjoy my series and that the stories make you smile.

Author Links

Website: https://nancyjcohen.com

Blog: https://nancyjcohen.com/blog

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyJCohenAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nancyjcohen

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyjcohen

Instagram: https://instagram.com/nancyjcohen

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/nancy-j-cohen

Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/njcohen/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/nancyjcohen

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@NancyJCohen

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