Star Tangled Murder
By Nancy J. Cohen
Orange Grove Press
March 2023

Review by Cynthia Chow

For the Fourth of July holiday, hair salon owner Marla Vail and her husband Dalton are heading to Florida’s Pioneer Village, which is holding an 1836 battle reenactment as their biggest fundraising event. While the historical fight between soldiers and Seminole warriors that ended tragically is perhaps a little problematic, the Village celebrates its past and makes the point that even – and perhaps especially - the mistakes should not be forgotten. During their tour of Pioneer Village Marla and Dalton meet “Marshal” Phileas Pufferfish, who leading a movement for the Village to buy the fairgrounds on the principle that it will save funds. Somewhat like Disney World (but on a much, much smaller scale), the Village is managed by the appointed administrator Phil but overseen by a property-owning nonprofit organization. When Marla finds Phil’s body whacked with a tomahawk after the battle’s reenactment though, the suspects of those who would have ultimately lost out in the proposal include a shopkeeper, blacksmith, farmer, and minister. A virtual game of Clue in the 1800s, as it were.

By this time in their marriage, Homicide Detective Dalton Vail has become accustomed to his wife’s amateur murder investigations. In fact, Dalton asks for Marla’s help as she has a hairstylist’s gift for encouraging confidences and coaxing out information from suspects once they are comfortably seated in her chair. She does indeed have a gift, as Marla quickly learns that Phil’s plan left a multitude of grumpy shopkeepers, he attempted to abuse his authority over women, and he wasn’t shy about using information as blackmail. Through Marla’s visits to the exhibitions and her salon-induced interrogations, she and her friends winnow down the suspects as they filter through alibis and narrow down motives. Their investigations do not go unnoticed, as a poison-laced gift of chocolates intended for Marla has dire results when ingested by the wrong sweet-tempted taster.

This 18th of the series is sure to please long-time fans as it brings back favorite characters and gives them their appropriate happy endings. Deli store-owner Arnie is over his crush on Marla and now joyfully married with a growing family. Marla’s new employees are settling in nicely, and her best friends Tally and Nicole are busy with their own lives. It’s Marla who is having to make the biggest adjustment in her life as Dalton plans to clock in his twenty years as a police officer and retire, and she is somewhat obsessed with finding him outlets for his upcoming free time to prevent his becoming bored or without a purpose. While Marla still has her hands full with their young son, her stepdaughter Brianna is enthusiastically about to leave for college, leaving them not quite empty nesters but still with a gap in their household. As a murderer and poisoner are captured and Dalton’s retirement party finally held, he and Marla will be ready for the next step in their exciting and entertaining lives. Hopefully readers will be able to again join them along the way.

Star Tangled Murder by Nancy J. Cohen is fantastic. I love the interesting hobbies and the whole Pioneer Village setting.

Will Marla figure out who killed the marshal before the murderer gets her?

The Mystery
Marla and Dalton are visiting the local Pioneer Village to get a copy of a cookbook one of Marla's friends wrote. While there, they meet some of the cast, watch a battle reenactment from the Indian war, run into a cousin, and are nearby when a body is found. Dalton is assigned the case as he is first on the scene. Marla is helping him.

Then a second death of one of the pioneer village cast members reveals that there was more going on at the village than you could see on the surface. But so many things are going on, and most of the cast didn't have verifiable alibis.

The mystery has many moving parts and trying to decide what is linked and what isn't is the hard part. At first, I figured out the culprit, but then I talked myself out. I totally fell for a red herring.

Marla Vail
The Vail family has a lot going on. Dalton is retiring from the police force, and Brianna is heading to college in Boston. Marla is feeling the pull of family. While being in harm's way several times during her sleuthing, she realizes she may not want to sleuth anymore.

This is a significant change for her. Marla wants to be around her family and have a life without threats and dead bodies.

Extras
I feel like Ms. Cohen always gives us a little something extra. During this installment, we learn about the history of buttons, some things about doll collectors, and the whole pioneer village aspect. I genuinely love how Ms. Cohen entertains and teaches us simultaneously.

There are also two menus with the recipes included in the book.

The first is a Fourth of July Menu for Baked Brie and Crackers, Blue Corn Chips, Creole Franks with White Rice, Vegetable of Choice, Fruit Platter with Blueberries, Strawberries, and Mini Marshmallows, and Red Velvet Cake.

The second is Next Day Brunch Menu for Salmon Mini Quiches, Egg Veggie Bake, Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes, Bagels, and Cream Cheese, and Root Beer Cake. I plan to make that Root Beer Cake for my upcoming birthday.

Five Stars
I love hanging out with Marla and her family and friends. Ms. Cohen's mysteries have so many things happening, and everything is happening quickly. My rating for Star Tangled Murder by Nancy J. Cohen is five stars. I started reading this series late. Now it is on my list to go back and read from the beginning.

I highly recommend Star Tangled Murder to everyone.

There is a recipe for Josie's giant chocolate chip cookies at the end of the book. I look forward to trying them.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Star Tangled Murder by Nancy J. Cohen.

Until the next time,
~Jen

If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.

If I had Marla Vail's schedule I would be too exhausted to move! She's a 40 year old taking care of her toddler son, working at her hair salon, taking care of her husband and stepdaughter, and solving mysteries. The story starts a bit slow as Marla and family are getting a history lesson at a living history village and battle reenactment. The pace picks up as a body is found and all of the people working at the history village are suspects. I'm amazed that Marla's police detective husband encourages her investigations and shares information with her. I'm also surprised that the suspects put up with her "grilling" them. But it all seems to work.

Star Tangled Murder is the eighteenth book in the Bad Hair Days Mysteries by Nancy J. Cohen.
I am sorry to see this series end. This book as the others is a standalone story. Marla is a hair stylist and owns her own salon. Her husband, Dalton is approximately 15 years older and a police detective. Together they work well in solving local crimes.

Even though Dalton doesn’t want Marla involved in any case, he knows she is careful and not impulsive. They have a young son that needs both of his parents. Marla is well adept at ferreting out secrets that aren’t available to the police.

This story deals with a death at a local historical village set on town council property. I found the story well-plotted and with plenty of action. I learned a lot about varietal teas and wasn’t aware that black tea grew in the United States.

I recommend the series and this book to those that are looking for a strong female lead who can balance work, home, and a penchant for investigating murders.

I was given an advanced reader’s copy from Netgalley and these are my own opinions.

I like cosy mysteries, and I thought this book looked and sounded like something that I might enjoy.

This was a very light-hearted book to read. I warmed to the characters, and found them fun and entertaining. It was quirky, and it filled my craving for a cosy murder mystery. I found that towards the end, there were some moments that particularly made me smile.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

This is the 18th book of this series by Ms. Cohen. I had only read one other book in the series, but I was able to enjoy this book with no trouble. Marla is a 40-year-old salon owner married to a police detective Dalton who is getting ready to retire. They are parents to a toddler son Ryder and Dalton's teenage daughter Brianna.

They spend their 4th of July going to a pioneer village where there are historical reenactments. While they are there, and after they had just talked to him, the village administrator and town marshal, Phil Pufferfish is murdered.

As Marla starts to look into things to help Dalton, it appears Phil was cooking the town books and blackmailing his fellow villagers over their shady pasts, leaving quite a few suspects. Marla needs to get this murder solved so that she can plan Dalton's retirement party and they can look ahead to their next chapter of life.

This was a fun read and one that I couldn't put down until the end.

Star Tangled Murder is the eighteenth entry in the long-running A Bad Hair Day Mystery series by award-winning author Nancy J. Cohen. Wow, that’s a lot of books. Each book picks up right where the last one left off and builds on it, making you feel like you are meeting a treasured old friend and catching up. If like me you’ve read them all you’ll delight in spotting the references to the past; if you haven’t read them you’ll delight in this book as a standalone.

Marla and Dalton have been married three years now and Ryder is 13 months old. They are comfortable with each other. Comfortable enough to have arguments and get aggravated. Which is exactly how Star Tangled Murder starts. They are on their way to Pioneer Village to observe a recreation of early Florida life, a battle reenactment of the U.S. Army versus the Seminoles in 1836. Dalton will be retiring from his job as homicide detective in a couple months and to say Marla is kind of freaking out would be an understatement. We know how Marla likes her routines. She has the salon and the day spa and Ryder and works hard to juggle it all. The last thing she wants is a retired, stir-crazy, bored Dalton home all day every day upsetting that. Yes, she wants him to be happy and will support him but could he just get on with it and make that decision. To that end, she makes little suggestions: do woodworking, grow corn . . . to the point where it seems everything is a potential job or hobby. It’s almost comical – but only if you’re not Dalton.

Author Cohen quickly sets the scene and the tone for the day and the book, as well as refamiliarizing us with friends and family, Marla’s employees and Dalton’s coworkers. We settle in, this is familiar, these are people we know. But already we are waiting for the other shoe to drop, for that moment when Marla just happens to stumble upon a dead body. Even though she reminds herself frequently to stay away from danger and focus on the home front, she just can’t help trying to protect those she cares about or right a wrong. She starts out methodical and careful and bristling at Dalton’s warnings, but she inevitably unintentionally veers into recklessness. They are strolling along in Pioneer Village and hear a scream, the mystery and the murder to solve are established, and we’re off. The plot is solid, fast-moving, logical and full of surprises. The characters we already know keep us anchored in the familiar, pleasant routine of Marla’s day-to-day life. The new ones are a mix of good and bad: those to trust, those to suspect – and those to fear. Parts of the story are very intense. Marla and her friend Susan are in a lot of danger and have to think and act quickly. Marla was right to be suspicious of some of these folks, but the actions of others come as a shock, with everything leading to a very satisfying conclusion, both for the mystery and Marla’s personal life.

Marla’s life has changed a lot over the course of the series. As a result, she’s matured, and become more confident. In this book she’s even more relaxed, willing to let her often funny side show. She’s always been responsible, dedicated and loyal and now she’s demonstrated she can handle the roles of wife, mother and business owner very, very well. She always wanted to be a hairdresser but sleuthing is like a second calling. She’s good at it: observant, logical, able to get people to open up. So when she declares she’s done with mystery-solving and going to focus solely on the home front I take it with a grain of salt and will believe it when I see it. The inner conflict “to-sleuth-or-not-to-sleuth” is fun to watch.

In addition to the attention to detail and vivid descriptions of hair, clothes, jewelry, food, home and surroundings there is always a bonus to the Bad Hair Day mysteries in the form of learning. Just a little, not too much, fascinating. Cohen enriches these stories with facts you never realized you needed but were happy to get. Marla is curious, inquisitive, and eager to learn new things and Cohen weaves these lessons seamlessly into the narrative of the mystery. Pioneer Village was a treasure trove, starting with marshals vs. sheriffs and touching on muskets and rifles, plants including those that are poisonous, the Seminole Nation flag and Native American food, the history of buttons, buttonholes and fear of buttons, tea history and running an artisan tea plantation, gold coins missing from Civil War days, and last but not least Paleoethnobotany (look it up!) Something for everyone, and don’t forget to check out the author’s notes for more detail and recipes.

I thoroughly enjoyed this latest adventure with Marla. Cohen does an excellent job of making Marla seem like a real person while expertly blending in the mystery, resulting in a fresh yet familiar story that you will love. The wrap up of both the case and the latest family/friends happenings is terrific. Has Dalton selected a job all on his own so that Marla can stop looking? Is she really yearning for a daughter and might there be an addition to their family on the way? Can she do it – stop searching for clues? You’ll just have to read Star Tangled Murder and find out. And then of course you’ll have to read all the previous books. Thanks to the author for providing an advance copy of Star Tangled Murder via NetGalley. I can’t recommend it enough. I am voluntarily leaving this honest review; all opinions are my own.

This was a fun book to read. It’s set in a historical fairground where a death happens when a police officer and his amateur sleuth wife. They investigate this death with the wife doing most of the investigating. Another death occurs and suspects are brought to our attention. This kept me guessing and was well written. Not a dark or heavy read so thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hair salon owner Marla gets involved with the solving of a murder her homicide detective husband is investigating at a living history village. I thought there were way too many suspects (ten?) to keep track of. Two or three suspects would have been much less confusing. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Orange Grove Press for my honest review.

Marla and Dalton attend a reenactment of a Seminole Civil-war era massacre at a local Pioneer village, and of course, a dead body is found nearby. Who could have wanted Phil, the administrator and pseudo-sheriff dead? Suspects include the man who runs the gift shop, the blacksmith, the farmer, the teacher, the minister, the shaman, and the sister and brother duo who are real descendants of the original owners of the land. So many suspects kept me guessing who the killer could be. Meanwhile, Ryder is almost a toddler, Brianna is ready to leave for college, and Dalton is ready to retire. I hope this book is not the last one in the series!

I love how Marla gets her friends interested in the mysteries that she and Dalton solve. Marla and Dalton are just out for a fun day learning about history when a dead body is discovered. Dalton is getting ready to retire and Marla will help as much as she can so his retirement will be easy. She is worried that he will be bored when he isn't working. She will make sure there is plenty for him to do. The historical village they are visiting has plenty of suspects working there. As Marla asks more questions, the more someone tries to stop her. She has her son and other family members to consider so she has to be more careful. Marla just knows that if she helps Dalton marrow down the suspect list, they can get this solved in no time. Can they do it? I liked their surprise at the end.

This is just as fun, easy to read, entertaining and enjoyable book.

Hairstylist Marla Vail and her husband are great characters in this cosy murder mystery and they bring such life to their investigations and to the story in general. It isn't fast paced but it is easy to read as it flows well. Not to long and with a few twists this is a good read for a day when you just feel like relaxing with a good book.

It is great to see this series continue.
Great characters with an interesting premise.
The whodunit was entertaining.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

I was surprised by the style of writing in this book. Marla was portrayed in a different light, and the change wasn't for the better.
I normally enjoy this series, but I didn't even finish the book.
#StarTangledMurder #NetGalley.

Unfortunately this book contains some rather racist points of view. Deeming a plantation owner and Confederate soldier the victim of violence and “losing his plantation because of the Civil War”? Gross. Portraying the American soldiers were killed as they were transporting a cannon to murder and force Indigenous people off of Indigenous land as the real victims? Disgusting.

Also totally didn’t notice the war axe with the Indigenous feathers tied to it on the cover. That should’ve been a red flag if I had seen it before I requested it.

The main character Marla is quite horrible to her husband. Saying “ugh” when he shares a memory of his first wife (who is no longer alive) being just vile. And complaining when he shares his interests with her. She also continually complains about the biscuits throughout the book as if that’s the most important thing happening.

A lesser offense of this book is that it’s way too long with so much filler that had me dozing off.

Well. I have decided to quit this at Chapter 3, due to having just noticed the axe on the cover with Native American feathers, the confederacy sympathy, and sympathy for an owner and downfall of a SLAVE OWNING plantation. Absolutely not.

I have read all the books in this series and I love them and can’t wait for the next book in the series to come out! This book did not disappoint! I loved the adventures that Marla and her husband experience. And how they continued to work as a team to solve the latest murder. This book has me wanting to take a road trip to the fairgrounds to visit the little village. The book left me wanting the next story of the Dalton’s retirement and other surprises at the end. (Don’t want to spoil it).

STAR TANGLED MURDER is the eighteenth book in the Bad Hair Days Mysteries by Nancy J. Cohen. With such a long-running series, I’m always impressed that the author comes up with unique themes and ways to murder the victim. And, in this newest release, she proves once again to know how to entertain her readers. The protagonist, Marla, and her detective husband, Dalton, are visiting a local living history village over the Fourth of July weekend. Ms. Cohen’s descriptive voice captures the awful humidity of the Florida summer heat, the taste of historical dishes prepared by volunteers, hear the cries and screams of the Seminole battle reenactment, and see how long ago settlers tried to eek a new life in the wilderness. Along with the vivid setting, the author always includes several subjects for the reader to learn about, which whets my appetite for diving even deeper into the various matters on my own.

Marla is a full-time working hairstylist and owner of a salon, on top of being a mother to a toddler. She’s portrayed as a bit frazzled and exhausted by all her obligations, which make her relatable. Despite everything going on, she still finds time to assist Dalton in investigating the murder—by tomahawk, no less—that happened during their visit to Pioneer Village. Dalton, getting ready to retire, willingly welcomes her help since most people would rather share secrets by gossiping with someone who is not a police detective. Marla may come across as brash sometimes, but she gets the job done. The pace of the mystery was spot-on, and while there are historical details intertwined with the story, it didn’t slow it down. And while I had my suspicions on who the culprit was, I wasn’t sure, nor did I know, the motives behind the killing. The heartwarming wrap-up of the story left me content and cheering on the upcoming changes in Marla and Dalton’s lives.

Ms. Cohen conveniently provides several recipes at the back of the book featuring a menu for Fourth of July and Next Day Brunch.

This was the charming, familiar cozy I wanted and needed when I picked it up! Loved the setting, the characters, and the mystery kept me entertained. Sometimes nothing compares with an old, familiar favorite!

Star Spangled Murder is #18 in the bad hair mystery series. Salon owner Marla and her detective husband Dalton, visit a living history village over the fourth of July weekend. When someone is murdered during a Seminole battle reenactment, Dalton gets assigned to the case and Marla does her best to help him find clues to solve this last case before he retires from the police department. This was a fun quick read with likeable characters and plenty of red herrings, I can't wait to read the next book in this series!