Anne George: Murder on a Bad Hair Day

Avon (Paperback), ISBN: 0-380-78087-9

I chuckled, snickered, and grinned my way through this book — which goes to prove that murder, mayhem, and folk art can be fun, even on a bad hair day. Since this marks Murder on a Bad Hair Day‘s tenth reprinting, lots of other folks must feel the same way.

The Southern sisters, Mouse (also known as Patricia Anne) and Sister (also known as Mary Alice) are a real hoot and about as dissimilar as siblings can be. One large and ample bodied, one small and thin. One practical; one given to flights of something beyond fancy. That sister’s tangents invariably prove more than off-the-wall. The sisters do share a love of folk art and local art shows, however. The day after one such show, the sisters discover the gallery owner suffered a truly horrendous hair day — one so bad it kills her. The gallery owner’s dirty, disoriented and disheveled assistant shows up on Mouse’s doorstep, and weeps out a tale of terror and attempted murder.

As soon as Sister hears the news, she wants to start sleuthing. What can Mouse do but follow along (yeah, sure) and try to keep her sister out of trouble, out of the fire, out of the hospital? An impossible task, but…

This book delights with its whimsy, likable characters and brightly painted plot. It informs the reader of folk art and the pitfalls for the unsuspecting artists. Murder on a Bad Hair Day also takes the reader into a sibling relationship of love and disagreement, which shows you the reality of the love and the insignificance of the disagreements.

I enjoyed every word and intend to search out George’s other six Southern Sisters mysteries.

Patricia Lucas White

Patricia Lucas White’s latest historical novel, To Last a Lifetime, was an Eppie finalist for 2003. To Last a Lifetime and two of her fantasy romances, the Sapphire Award-winning A Wizard Scorned and The Godmother Sanction, can be ordered through Hard Shell Word Factory. Her recent contemporary, PS, I’ve Taken a Lover, is available from Lionhearted Books.