A Dyeing Shame: Death at the Beauty Box

Elizabeth Spann Craig
Palmland Publishing (2006)
ISBN 1933678089
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (10/06)

Just like any other good mystery, this one is a great study of human nature. The characters are believable and if not all of them are endearing, they are all entertaining. One cannot help but wish for a granny as wacko as Myrtle Clover – a gutsy, funny, gossiping octogenarian mother of the local Chief of Police, Red.

When the local beautician is found dead, Myrtle decided to investigate – although her son thinks she should stick to pursuits that are more suitable to a Southern Lady than sleuthing. Well, he would not mind if she does not cook either – and for reasons that lead him to that conclusion you better pick up the book yourself. In any case – Myrtle is a stubborn old bird and she decides that the local police could use some help in discovering the culprit. Playing a feeble old lady at times and just being her true, rather forceful self at other times, she discovers a lot of different, buried secrets about citizens of Bradley, a charming, small Southern town where everything is not quite as it seems. She even finds time to play the matchmaker.

The killer is eventually found, but not before Myrtle nearly loses her life as well. Being a meddlesome woman can be dangerous to one’s health, after all.

“A Dyeing Shame: Death at the Beauty Box” was an amusing, intelligent read. I found the story well-constructed and the characters believable. The dialogue sounds just a bit stiff at times, but that does not hinder the progress of the story itself. I would recommend this book to anybody who needs a good laugh now and then and who enjoys a clever mystery story.

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