Marla has operated the Cut ‘N Dye beauty salon located between Fort Lauderdale and the Everglades for eight years. Her business success may be attributed to her flexibility and willingness to accommodate her customers by coming in early or staying late, as she does for the wealthy, selfish and irritating Bertha Kravitz.

Arriving early to give Bertha a perm, Marla first winds her hair onto rods, covers her head in plastic, and then serves her a cup of coffee. Bertha demands Marla search extensively for the artificial creamer Marla keeps on hand for especially for her and creates quite a scene. While waiting for the perm to take effect, Marla escapes to get the neutralizing solution and more towels. Hearing a strangled noise, she rushes back to find Bertha slumped in the shampoo chair -- dead.

As soon as Detective Vail arrives to investigate, he determines Marla’s coffee creamer contains arsenic and is responsible for Bertha’s death. Although there is an immediate attraction between them, any romance is unfeasible because he places Marla at the top of his suspect list. Detective Vail suspects she is hiding something, and Marla is put on the defensive and believes she must begin investigating to save her shop’s reputation and herself from a murder charge.

Suspects crop up everywhere and include Bertha’s son and Marla’s own janitor. Then there is Roy Collins, Bertha’s business partner who quickly threatens to sue Marla for negligence. Even Darlene, one of Marla’s employees is acting out of character, while Marla’s ex-husband and lawyer, Stan, is back on the scene making her life miserable.

Marla is a likeable character working in a realistic field where she meets many people in all walks of life and is able to uncover their secrets. The setting in the small town of Palm Haven is pleasantly cozy and provides the perfect balance of gossip and reserve. The action-packed plot moves quickly and builds to a suspenseful climax.

On the other hand, the nineteen-year-old tragedy that has taken place in Marla’s life that is explained in a few paragraphs is simply not believable. Supposedly, Marla’s feelings of guilt continue to have a great impact on her life, yet she wasn’t responsible for the tragedy in the first place. I felt more irritated than sympathetic with her for her inability to deal with her distant past and move on with her life.

Marla does sometimes move away from the realm of normal human frailties and behave stupidly. It is bad enough that she allows herself to be blackmailed by the murder victim, but when she decides to beat the police to the victim’s home to break in and reclaim the evidence without a plan or gloves, I wondered about her intelligence.

Permed to Death moves quickly, has cute characters, an original plot, and provides a satisfactory mystery. Having set up a new series, it will be interesting to see if Marla grows and develops into a more convincing amateur sleuth.

--Monica Pope