WAVE GOOD-BYE by Lila Dare

  

Publisher:    Berkley

Published:   March 5, 2013

ISBN:     978-0425257814

Genre:    Cozy Mystery

Format:  Paperback

Obtained via:  Publisher  

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina Gina@loveromancesandmorereviews.com

THREE-1/2 HEARTS

Life for Grace Terhune has pretty much settled down. She and her beau, Marty have come to something of an understanding even though she’s in St. Elizabeth and he’s in Washington, D.C.  And things at Violetta’s, her mom’s beauty shop are going along okay.  Things look pretty stable. 

Well sort of.  Marty hasn’t been exactly Mr. Devoted.  And lately Violetta’s clients haven’t been showing up.  More like they’ve been calling to cancel because big franchise, Snippets, has been taking all their customers.  As it turns out a former marketing guru took on Violetta’s as a client only so she could steal their client list. When that woman, who is also an old high school classmate of Grace’s turns up dead, all the clues point to Grace as the killer.  After all, she had means and the motive and no real alibi to get herself off the hook.  It’s time for Grace to go into sleuthing mode and quickly before she ends up in the gray bar inn.

Lila Dare’s Southern Beauty Shop Mysteries have been a fun series for me.  I totally enjoyed the first three books and was very much looking forward to book 4, WAVE GOOD-BYE.  WAVE GOOD-BYE wasn’t a bad read.  It was actually pretty good—it was just different from the first three.  The title pretty much sums up the ending of the series.  Word is that the original author had to stop writing for personal reasons and another author stepped in and wrote WAVE GOOD-BYE.  Since another book hasn’t come out in the series in two years it would seem that the title reflects not only what happens to the characters in the story, but a chance for them to “wave good-bye” to their readers.

Grace has always been a wonderfully spunky character and along with the other women who work at Violetta’s provide some good chuckles with their special brand of southern humor.  There wasn’t really a lot of focus on Grace solving the mystery in this one but it was still an interesting read.  Personally I’m hoping that the new author will take up the series for more than what seems to be this final book.  After all, with the changes the characters made she definitely set the stage for to take the series in a really fun direction.

This is an objective review and an endorsement of this book.

DIE JOB by Lila Dare

Publisher:  Berkley

Published:   January 3, 2012

ISBN:  978-0425245880

Genre:   Cozy Mystery

Format:  Paperback
Obtained via:  Publisher  

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina Gina@loveromancesandmorereviews.com

FOUR HEARTS

 

When shampoo girl, Rachel Whitley asks her co-worker, Grace Terhune to step in as a chaperone on a night before Halloween ghost hunting expedition, Grace reluctantly agrees.  It’s not like she has anything else to do—what with her erstwhile, sometimes boyfriend Marty out of town.  The event is taking place at the historical Rothmere mansion and its director, Lucy, in full Amelia Rothmere regalia is there to make sure the kids don’t too anything too outrageous.  Well, she’s prefer nothing outrageous but isn’t one to miss an opportunity to talk about her beloved Rothmere family.  Not that they are her family, although she tends to think she’s either the reincarnation or somehow related.  But teens will be teens, right?

Right.  Until one of them ends up dead. 

When Rachel’s one time boyfriend, Braden, is found lying unconscious at the bottom of the mansion’s stairs a host of suspects appear on the horizon.  Was it a classmate?  A classmate’s parents?  One of the chaperones?  Or was it the ghost of patriarch Cyril Rothmere?  Because Rachel is not only involved as Braden’s friend but as a person of interest Grace cannot help but get herself involved.  And the killer doesn’t like that one bit.  With a major hurricane just off the coast, residents leaving in droves and the threat of closed roads and no power Grace finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation where she might be the killer’s next target.

I’ve enjoyed Lila Dare’s Southern Beauty Shop series from the first book TRESSED TO KILL.  Even though the series has gone through at least two different authors the voice has stayed pretty much on track.  I really like Grace’s character as well as her mother (Violetta) and the women who work inside her beauty shop. New characters are added at a nice pace and are introduced at appropriate times—they aren’t just tossed to create red herrings, but become part of the make-up of each book and the series. Grace’s ex, Hank, bordered on annoying, but not in a bad way – you just want to shake him and tell him to get a life…and then look forward to his next appearance to see if he finally got it.  I like that the author doesn’t have Grace mooning over him or constantly thinking about reuniting with him. 

Her erstwhile boyfriend, Marty, is kind of a non-event to me.  At this point he doesn’t add to the story and his intermittent appearances don’t really serve any purpose.

Now, Dillon…HE adds quite a bit to the story. 

I’m glad Althea is more back on track – I could have done without her Kwasi storyline quite nicely so her presence in this book was well done and welcome.

Dare creates a good mystery within a mystery and I was surprised when the killer was revealed.  The how and why made sense that that was the one who did it—and it was done with a nice surprise twist.  And the ending was also done with a good twist. 

You do not have to have read the entire series to enjoy this one, or to have read it in order, but I do recommend the series.  It’s definitely one of my favorites.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

POLISHED OFF by Lila Dare

Publisher:   Berkley

Date published:   February 1, 2011

ISBN:  978-0425239865

Genre:   cozy mystery

Book format: Paperback

Obtained via:  Publisher

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

 

During an otherwise routine workday at her mother, Violetta’s salon, Grace Terhune doesn’t have much on her mind except the next customer when one Audrey Faye bursts into the salon. Audrey is the head of the Miss Magnolia Blossom pageant and she needs someone to do the contestants’ hair and nails. Always ready to pitch in to help out in their small town, Violetta tells Grace and the shop’s manicurist, Stella, to go on ahead and help out at the pageant. Glad to do her part, Grace goes along with Stella not far behind.

The Miss Magnolia Blossom in the first step to great pageant success and the contestants are all out to prove they are the best choice for the next young woman to be crowned. The contestants range in temperament from sweet and demur southern ladies to outright determined to win. Their talents range as well from routine pageant baton twirling to a unique skill – breaking down an M-16 rifle.

When things start to go wrong…a tumbling mat suddenly falls apart, dresses are cut and Audrey is murdered…did I just say Audrey is murdered?  Well yes, when the pageant coordinator is found dead Grace finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. One that could soon find her in the killer’s sights.

I first “discovered” Lila Dare when my book club read the first book in her Southern Beauty Shop series, TRESSED TO KILL and I was hooked.  Ms. Dare has a fantastic writing voice, her characters are unique and highly individualistic. Their relationships ebb and flow in a natural manner and I just plain liked them. When the opportunity to review POLISHED OFF, book 2 of the series, I was not disappointed.

Each character is highly believable and you can read the books on two levels – simple enjoyment of unravelling the murder along with Grace or looking at the deeper levels such as why women find themselves changing to accommodate the men in their lives.  How many of us had a solid friendship that went out the door the minute a friend met a new beau—finding ourselves by the wayside?

Ms. Dare does a wonderful job showing the ins and outs of the pageant business and reasons why women compete. She also takes us into the motivations of why families get involved and the pressure the contestants face to win.

There are some fun moments where I found myself chuckling out loud and times when I went “hmmm” at the choice Althea was making. In my book club were are chatting about the choice Grace may soon have to make between Georgia Bureau of Investigation investigator John Dillon and news reporter Marty. If you know me at all, you known which gentleman I’m hoping she chooses.

POLISHED OFF is can be a standalone book in this series because of how well Ms. Dare tells the backstory of book 1. With great southern style she eases you into the story and gives the salient points of book 1.  That said, however, you really don’t want to miss book 1 simply because that too is a well told mystery.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.