"Death at a salon conference"

As if Marla Shore wasn't busy enough, now she's working for Luxor Products as a styling assistant at a local conference and her fiancé's parents of his dead wife are staying at her house to see whether she'll be a good step mom for Brianna. And her friend Georgia, who helped her get the job with Luxor, will be staying with her through the weekend conference.

She hopes her work with Luxor will bring her salon more business, especially after she moves to her new location. She's also hoping to gain more experience and possibly travel with them in the future to other conferences.

Luxor director Christine Parks isn't well-liked. This is quickly evident to Marla as she gets to know the staff while setting up for the conference. When Christine ends up dead from poison, Marla begins to suspect everyone and works at trying to uncover the truth. Unfortunately there is another death. Can Marla discover the identity of the killer without putting herself and others in danger? Can she get through this week with Dalton's ex-in-laws in her house?

I really enjoy this series. Marla is such a fun character. She just can't keep herself from sleuthing. Dalton isn't the investigator in this mystery, but he still provides some needed data for Marla to unravel the mystery. I also like the Florida setting.

The author has done a great job of creating the characters and plotting the story. And there are plenty of red herrings and twists so that you aren't sure until the killer is revealed who did it. I highly recommend this book and the whole series.

Reviewed by Dawn Dowdle
Courtesy Mystery Lovers Corner
Posted February 21, 2007