Marla Shore, owner of Cut 'N Dye Salon, helps her ex-husband Stanley Kauffman find out who killed his third (and current) wife Kimberly. Stan has been charged with the murder but insists he is innocent. Marla is surprised he would ask her to help him. He has never believed in her and controlled her when they were married. One reason Marla agrees to help his is that he is willing to sell his half of their jointly owned property. Stan has been trying to get Marla to sell him her half because Kimberly wanted a bigger house. Marla refused to sell and would love to one this property alone - no more interactions with Stan.

Stan convinces Marla to investigate Kimberly's family. Her grandmother Miriam is in need of a fill-in nurse 1 day a week. Marla interviews and gets the job. Right from the start it becomes apparent Marla isn't qualified. Luckily Miriam likes Marla and keeps her on. Marla gets information through Miriam and the rest of her family. Plus she helps Miriam realize she isn't such an invalid.

Marla and Dalton, her boyfriend and the case Detective, end up investigating Jeremiah Dooley and what role he played in Kimberly's life.

Many funny things happen in this book. I highly recommend it and the whole series. I enjoy Marla. Plus the fact that she is a hairdresser helps her gain information even the police don't know!

Stanley Kauffman comes down to breakfast only to see his trophy wife lying on the floor, bleeding from a wound to her chest. When the police arrive, they declare her dead and arrest him. He calls his ex-wife, hairdresser Marla Shore, to meet him at the jail and asks her help in clearing him of the charges. He promises her that if she will, he will sell his share of the property they jointly own at a decent price.

Marla agrees because she wants the property and because she believes Stanley would never physically harm a woman. Marla goes undercover at the compound of Stanley's in-laws by becoming a nurse's aid to the matriarch of the family. She discovers that almost everyone in the household had a motive to murder Stanley's wife and further investigation with her boyfriend Detective Dalton Vail turns up even-more suspects. If Marla isn't careful, the perpetrator will try to kill her to stop her from revealing what she figured out about her ex-husband's wife's death.

Anyone who reads BODY WAVE will come away thinking it is an upbeat amateur sleuth mystery populated by a host of eccentric characters. The heroine is a bold strong woman who is not afraid to get in a person's face when she thinks she is right. Nancy J. Cohen is a talented writer who is famous for her complex plots and characterizations as this tale substantiates.

Harriet Klausner

Any parent of a child diagnosed with a language disorder who needs to generate or review an IEP for their school program would find this book required reading.
This has been my primary source for information on nonverbal language disorder, NLD.

After having my first child by c-section in 1994, I knew I wanted more from my birth experiences. I got ahold of this excellent book and digested every word. My second child was born in 1997 by VBAC and it was the best, most healing experience I could ever imagine. I reclaimed my life, self-esteem, womanhood as I pushed her out. And the greatest thing was that she was a full pound and a half bigger than my first baby!! I love all of my children no matter how they were born, but I always encourage my friends who've had c-sections to get this book, believe, and give it a try. They owe it to themselves!! It TRULY changed my life as a woman, mother, and wife. My husband even read it and cried tears of joy as I pushed my second daughter out. WONDERFUL!!!

First and foremost I read this book because it was a requirement of a class I'm taking for lactation counselor. Secondly I read it because I had a cesarean section with a very large baby.

The authors views I find too extreme. The medical community is not the devil. Obstetricians are not meddelsome persons in the affairs of women. What, should we now be denying our babies prenatal care?

Not all women who experienced a cesarean section are unhappy, depressed, distraught, and robbed of a birth experience. My child was not ripped from my body as I was tied down and kept from me until I left the hospital. I was exceeding happy with our birth experience. I breastfed on the table while I was being stitched up. My recovery was quick and uncomplicated. The baby and I roomed in together for 4 days until discharge.

One thing I will agree with the authors is that the phrase "once a cesarean, always a cesarean" should be stricken from all doctor's vocabularies. I would go VBAC with a second pregnancy but not because of this book.

An informed consumer is a good consumer. I feel that this book is unfairly portraying the entire medical community as something evil to avoid at all costs and that if you're not utterly devastated by your c-sect delivery that you're abnormal. I would not look forward to full reconstruction after a long labor & 4th degree ripping too lightly ladies. My stepmom conplains 25 years later that she still is in pain from her "natural birth" experience.

I found this book offensive and would recommend instead
"A Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth".

Kim (mom to 11.5 lb baby girl c-sect on her due date)

While one would hope that much has changed since the publication of this book, statistics show that voer 20 of American women give birth by cesearean section. Cohen and Estner write passionately and eloquently about the pain of cesearean section--a pain that, for many women, goes far beyond the physical. Of particualr note are the myriad stories by women who wrote to Cohen fo their experiences. Pay attention! Cohen and Estner write to warn you that it still pays to be an informed consumer. this is, quite literally, the bible of the VBAC movement.

Silent Knife has so much to offer every pregnant woman not only those wanting VBAC. It contains a lot of information that is useful to every pregnant woman especially first time mothers. Reading this book will give you the confidence to insist and instill in your OB that you know what is best and what is not for you and your baby. From conception to birth, it will help you to prioritize what is important to you and your birth experience - from having siblings present at the birth to refusing "routine" procedures such as no food or drink during labor and mandatory IV's. It's a great wake up call to all women that they have the right to choose the birth they want. Don't let the title fool you. It's not for VBACs only.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series (Permed to Death), this one was very disappointing. It was not well written, the villain was too easy to spot, and some of the things that come out of Marla's mouth are totally ridiculous. She acts like everone's psychotherapist, and people just accept it. She throws in yiddish words in ridiculous places, just for effect, and her obsession with pleasing her family after the Tammy episode in the past is sickening. I'm through with this series.

I'll admit that while I did not completely like Permed to Death, Hair Raiser's predecessor, I did not hate it, either. While I found the characterization a bit awkward and certain sub-plots of the story predictable, I thought Cohen had a nice concept with Marla Shore and hope she could pull off an improved sequel. I'm happy to say Hair Raiser is evidence that Cohen is getting better at the mystery game.

The mystery -- where Marla is determined to hunt the killer of a lawyer on the board of an environmental committee which includes her cousin -- is thought out and written well. Plus the relationship between Marla and Detective Vail makes for great page-turning sexual tension -- their relationship does not come off as awkward as it did in the first book. I can genuinely say I'm looking forward to reading more.

Readers of cozy mysteries will enjoy this book. The heroine is cute, sassy, and clever. The plot is intruging with just enough romance from sexy Dalton Vail to keep me turning pages. I didn't know the guilty person until the very end and I was surprised. I can't wait until the next Marla Shore mystery comes out.

The only explanation I can find for the cardboard characters and the awkward writing of this book is that it is surely a first draft that somehow got rushed into print. I haven't read the first two books in this series so I don't know if they are any better, but I wouldn't waste my money on this book. There are way too many good amateur sleuth mystery series out there to bother with this one.

I didn't like this book
it didn't get to the point and never gave clues to whom the murdurer was until the end which was odd

Marla Shore owns Cut 'N Dye Salon. She joins Perfect Fit Sports Club for a 3-month trial membership. She and her friend Tally plan to work out together.

Jolene Myers, a client of Marla's, is found dead in the whirlpool at the gym the first night Marla is there.

Marla Shore dates Detective Dalton Vail. He has a 12 year old daughter Brianna and Marla isn't sure how involved she wants to get with him.

Marla and Dalton do not believe Jolene's death was an accident. She joins forces with him to help find the killer. There's no shortage of suspects. Everyone has a secret and thus a motive. Then there's another murder. Things get very dangerous for Marla and others involved.

This series is hilarious and very enjoyable and contains many hijinks. I always look forward to reading another book in this series to see what Marla will get into and find out the latest in her love life.

I like this series set in a hair salon. People talk to their hairstylist. Marla finds out things most people wouldn't be able to. I also like the growing relationship between Dalton and Marla and Marla and Brianna. I hope things work out for them in the future.

I love mysteries especially those set in quirky situations, so I picked up Permed To Death by Nancy Cohen with much anticipation.

I found this book disappointing from the very beginning. The dialog was simplistic and predictable as was the "whodunit". The characters were underdeveloped and not used to their full potential within the story. A few characters showed up with no introduction or background until later in the book or not at all, leaving me wondering just who they were and what their significance was to the storyline.

I purchased this book and Ms. Cohens next book in the series at the same time but after laboring through this one I think I'll pass on the second and cut my losses.

Marla Shore has everything she wants--almost. She is a successful salon owner who has overcome a shaky start to her adulthood, and is well on her way to a secure future. Until her most difficult client, Mrs. Kravitz drops dead in the middle of a perm. Now Marla, the prime suspect, is desperate to clear herself of the crime and motivated to uncover who the true killer is--while also burying what could be the key to her jail cell if discovered by the irritating yet handsome Detective Dalton Vail.

PERMED TO DEATH is propelled by strong characters set in a plot full of interesting kinks, if you'll pardon the pun. The author kept me guessing until nearly the end. As a stylist with 16 years under her belt, I can fully relate to the salon setting and must say Ms. Cohen has nailed it. (I can't help myself.) Although I have never been to Florida, I can capture the essence of the area through the vivid description of the scenery. Good job, Ms, Cohen, I look forward to your future books in this series, THE BAD HAIR DAY MYSTERIES.

Permed to Death is the first of Nancy Cohen's Bad Hair Day Mystery titles. Marla Shore, owner of the Cut 'N Dye hair salon, leaves difficult client Bertha Kravitz at the shampoo bowl with a cup of coffee as her perm rods set. Suddenly, Bertha is dead, the police are everywhere and Marla is in trouble. Old secrets, new business problems and a vindictive former husband add to Marla's problems as she finds herself the target of a creative killer. Marla is also attracted to the detective assigned to the case, yet another complication in her hectic life. So many people had reason to want Bertha dead and its hard to stop with a single murder. Nancy Cohen is a former nurse and her medial training, along with a great deal of hair salon research, add to the flavor of this first mystery. I'm looking forward to getting to know Marla better!