Tressed to Kill

Fans of the themed cozy will rejoice as new talent Dare debuts her Southern Beauty Shop series. Fresh from a disastrous divorce, beautician Grace Ann Terhune returns to sleepy, touristy St. Elizabeth, Ga., to work in her mother's salon. Old friendships and rivalries quickly revive, and Grace's horrid ex-husband follows her home. When nasty heiress Constance DuBois turns up dead after a contentious town hall meeting, suspects are plentiful. Chief among them are Grace Ann and her mother, who stumble upon the body and promptly decide to find the killer. Dare turns this off-the-rack concept into a tightly plotted, suspenseful mystery, and readers will love the pretty, plucky, smart, slightly damaged heroine and the rest of the charming cast. (May)