A BAD HAIR DAY is the third title in Sophie Dunbar's Eclaire Mystery Series. In A BAD HAIR DAY Claire agrees to join other New Orleans hairdressers in a special hair day promotion being put on by a good friend. Little does she know that what is to be a fun day for all will be the final day for one. The promotion takes place in October so in the mist of solving two grizzly murders Claire and Dan are invited to a lively Halloween party. Those coming back from the previous mysteries are, Marcel who is putting on the special promotion; his most recent love, detective/model Nectarine and Dan's parents. Ms. Dunbar unique talent really stands out in her writing. In each mystery the first chapter/page sets up the story line, yet does not really give anything away, other than Claire's feelings sometimes. I like the way she sets the reader up for each chapter. And the ideas she has come up with for doing away with her victims, I think I can safely say most if not all of them are original ideas yet to be thought up by others.

It's a funny, entertaining series.

I really do like the Eclaire mystery series. And I'm looking forward to delving into the last, Shiveree and hoping it grabs me like the first two books.

Bad Hair Day...was just too much. Too long, too much going on, too many characters to keep track of, much more 'dark' than previously. Ms. Dunbar's writing is still superb. I just wish Bad Hair Day had been a touch more on the light side.

Despite the overabundance of action and characters, the book is still good, and I'm very glad I read it.

I am now a HUGE fan of the Eclaire mystery series. And that Dan Claiborne, whew! what a hunk! Yet again Sophie Dunbar has charmed me with an infusion of sassy wit, mystery and ribald humor N'awlins style. I have loved every book in the Ecalire series and can't wait for more. Don't miss out on the fun! Buy ALL the Ecalire mysteries!

I agree with the reader who thought the last chapter was missing. Chapters towards the end of the book where the alibis of all the characters are set forth at length could have been sacrificed to find Claire and Dan opening Christmas gifts and/or if the newlyweds enjoyed their honeymoon, etc. The first book of this series was excellent. Love Claire and Dan. Subsequent books seem to be going downhill.

This the fourth title in Sophie Dunbar's Eclaire Mystery Series.

Ho, Ho, Ho, someone has been naughty and I don't mean in the way Claire and Dan perceive naughty. When Dan and Claire's friends Charlotte and Foley decided to marry on Christmas Eve everyone shows up the event, including the ex-wife. Poor Daltons meet up with rich Daltons, artists, who are also guests, put on a show all their own. The brides mother is wants a true-to-form baptist minister for the wedding, but Dan provides one with a little extra spirit in him. I had to laugh at Ms. Dunbar's characterization of Claire's maid, it is hysterical. Oh, did I mention the panty raid lead by Dan?

I found this one to have a strong plot with plenty of suspects and twists and turns - I think it's because of all the strange wedding guests. This has been the most impressive mystery I have read in the Eclaire Mystery Series. Readers can expect this one to be just as titillating, humorous and colorful as Ms. Dunbar's past mysteries.

Knowing I would not get another installment of Claire and Dan's exploits for a while, I savored Shiveree, drawing it out over several nights. Dunbar's trademark prose is still here, her characters as quirky and delectable as ever and Dan and Claire are still steaming up the pages in between hunting for clues in the latest murder investigation.

What kept me from awarding Shiveree 5 stars is the ending. Not that the reader isn't left guessing until the very end, not that Ms. Dunbar hasn't thrown in a slew of red herrings. The book just ---- ends! It's almost as if there is a chapter missing. I was quite let down, expecting a neat wrap-up, some cozying around the Christmas tree with Claire and Dan, maybe getting to find out what was really in the gaily wrapped packages. Maybe learning something more about Charlotte and Foley. But, nothing! I'm not happy.

Ms. Dunbar, you really need to do something to correct this. We need another Eclaire mystery ASAP. Please don't leave us Claiborne groupies behind.

Imagine the humor of Steel Magnolias with a dash of murder, drug use, missing heirs and bad hair. A laugh out loud cozy little mystery with an independent heroine who's in love and lust with her husband. Read one of Dunbar's and you'll look for others. I know I did

You remember Claire and Dan Claiborne in "BEHIND ECLAIRE'S DOORS?" Who could forget them! I think someone compared them to Nick and Nora Charles in the "Thin Man," but, I believe if Nick and Nora were to read the Eclarie series Nora would have a case of vapors and Nick would give us one of his comedic eye rolling, staggering takes.

First time readers will find in the first pages that this is not a typical mystery. Claire and Dan are the ultra perfect southern couple, perfect looks, perfect jobs, perfect sex life, it seems everything around them is perfect, perfect, perfect . . . except those dang, pesky murders that seem to crop up at the most inconvenient times.

When Mrs. Shelby Bell, or Hells Bells as Claire calls her, invites Dan and Claire to the Bell Sands on the shores of the Mississippi, they decide to turn it into a second honeymoon. As we find out, this is one honeymoon they won't forget, since it involves the redneck mafia; a beauty pageant; a contestant who takes her interviewing cues straight out of "Basic Instincts"; a former pageant member bent on revenge and a hurricane named Babe. Dan and Claire already think they are in over their heads, could it get any worse? Of course it can and it does.

I found the mystery aspects in REDNECK RIVIERA interesting. At first when I read the words "Redneck Mafia" I had to laugh, I just didn't know what to expect, maybe a mystery of who killed Bubba with the loaded can of Miller Light, or who stole the concrete brick holding up the abandoned Ford that crushed Melvin while he was napping. I still don't know if they are a real gang, but the author pulls it off, there are enough twists and turns to appease the mystery reader and for those who like the added sexual characteristics to their mysteries, Ms. Dunbar has added plenty of that as well.

Sophie Dunbar never disappoints and this send up of the beauty pageant circuit is as funny as all her other books. After being unavailable for so long it was nice to be able to pick up the second installment of the Eclaire books. The characters are genuine and warm, they'll remind you of your best friends. This is an author who really knows how to write believable female characters. Don't miss this series.

In this, the 2nd of the Eclaire mysteries, Sophie Dunbar continues to leave me in awe of her way with words. Aside from the enjoyable tale of mystery and steamy romance between Claire and her hunky hubby, Dan, Ms. Dunbar's wordsmithing ability leaves me applauding her efforts. Rarely do I read such well-crafted scenes of high indignity and outrage without resorting to profanity.

The story itself is pure camp, whacky, irreverant, sexy and spicy (without being overly graphic). While not set in Claire's hometown of New Orleans, the story nevertheless is entertaining with just the right mix of secondary characters to add flavor but not overwhlem the mystery.

I love New Orleans, spent many a happy hour sitting in Cafe du Monde munching and sipping and watching the styles go by, but....I do not think I ever want to see another recipe or fashion description in a novel again. Kind of how I felt about cotton candy after spending a summer spinning it at a park. This is formula writing at its most predictable. Event, outfit, meal. Outfit, meal, event. You get the picture. This stretches out the murder plot which is cluttered with a romantic plot and cutsey remarks at a level even we male pigs would consider inappropriate in an upscale beauty spa. Where yat? Not here.

This is the first Eclair mystery - recommended and quite good too. Its an easy read, a bit saccharine at times, but in the end I didn't really care whodunnit because it was pretty easy to figure out the 'whydunnit'.

Still there is an element of romance in it for people who like that. This is about Claire Clairmont (nee Jenner) and set in New Orleans against the class structure. Claire comes from the 'swamp rat' side of town, her ex-husband and soon to be husband again, Dan Clairmont, comes from among the wealthy and powerful.

There is an awful lot of set up to the story before the murder even happens. We meet Claire as she meets her husband, goes on honeymoon/work to France where, Quelle Horreur, a formula for a perfume, tres expensive, is stolen. Of course this sticks in the mind so when a French woman turns up in Claire's salon 'Eclaire', you know why she is there and what she is doing.

I know it is a picky thing, but this seemed to be a book about extreme privilege. Claire has everything - rich husband, who handily decks out her salon as a divorce present. She is beautiful, talented and has no weight problems at all despite eating like a horse throughout the book. I have to confess I much prefer the Kinsey Millhone/Stephanie Plum school of flawed detectives/women who also have a great sense of irony and so a good line in self deprecation at the same time.

Claire also has that annoying habit of not doing as she is told and deliberately hiding evidence from the police in order to pursue her own faulty investigation - which could put her in danger. Why do they always do that? It never rings true to me.

Anyway - this was a very easy read, has a nice happy ending -of course the murderer is only one of two people it could be so it isn't that unexpected in the end. An easy read for a wet Sunday really.

Claire and Dan are a couple who will grow on you. Their affection, love and loyalty for each other will be tested more than once in this introductory title of the Eclair mystery series.

Claire knows she loves him and thought he loved her, so why did she find him and a lively large breasted goddess nude under the moonlight? ...It takes humor and intelligence to solve this crime and survive this relationship... so the question is will they?

The first couple of chapters will introduce you to Claire, Dan, their family and friends. Stay with it and you will learn much more about them then you expect. The mystery has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and the backdrop of the beauty shop is unique.

This mystery not only provides us with a mystery, but also with enough sexual tension to make one blush.