A Dyeing Shame: A Myrtle Clover Mystery, Book 2

By: Elizabeth Spann Craig

Narrated by: Jean Ruda Habrukowich

When Beauty Box beautician Tammy Smith is discovered with a pair of hair shears in her back, there are suspects and secrets aplenty in her small Southern town.

Octogenarian Myrtle Clover, bored by bingo and bridge, is intrigued by the crime...and her neighbors' secrets. But discovering, and blabbing, secrets got Tammy killed and Myrtle soon learns her sleuthing isn't just dangerous...it's deadly.

©2011 Elizabeth Spann Craig (P)2013 Elizabeth Spann Craig

Gossip in the Beauty Box? Dead Salon Owner

Another book in the Myrtle Clover Mysteries Series, and it is just as fun as the first two. I really love this series, and I’m glad there are so many books already written about Myrtle and Miles and Red and Elaine. The great writing and realistic dialogue really draws me in, and I love how many secrets are in this small town.

In this third book, things get interesting for Myrtle during a routine trip to the beauty salon. Owner Tammy has fallen off the wagon, and she is guzzling alcohol even on the job. That’s unfortunate because half the town has disclosed their deepest, darkest secrets to Tammy, and though she has kept them for a long time, the booze is loosening her tongue. After insulting almost everybody in the shop and teasing about secrets from several prominent members of the community, Tammy is found dead the next day. And the police say that the evidence points toward a premeditated crime. But with most of the town of Bradley ready to kill Tammy, how can Myrtle and Miles figure out who is to blame before more bodies pile up? And are they next?

This book was a fun addition to the series. We are introduced to even more interesting characters, and they all have secrets. The mystery was intriguing, and there was no shortage of suspects. Myrtle goes around and tries to find out the secrets that Tammy teased about on that fateful day, and some are truly shocking. But which is the true motive for the murder? The one whose sneaking around behind her husband’s back, or the church lady with some steamy books under a pseudonym?

If you love Myrtle, add this case to your collection. With her usual wit and bite (as well as terrible cooking), Myrtle is just as entertaining as her previous adventures. And there is just something so fascinating about her relationship to her son (and the garden gnomes that usually speak for her). There are decades of knowing each other, and I love learning more about Bradley and the secrets embedded in the fabric of the town’s society. A good mystery with plenty of appeal and no cursing, this is one I loved.

Didn't like the narrator

The performance was halted. You could hear her bump the table. Nothing like the narrator in the other stories which by the way is flawless and has a wonderful grumpy old lady voice. I wish they would contract the performers for the book series so the customer could enjoy consistency. Even if it is bad at least it would be consistent.

Snockered Beautician Meets Sharp Scissors

I enjoyed this cozy murder mystery on a recent road trip . . . just what I needed . . . at a time when a heavy, serious book just wouldn't have done . . . and Myrtle . . . oh, my goodness . . . does she ever make me smile . . . and laugh . . . she's been everyone's school teacher at one time or another in the small town of Bradley, North Carolina . . . where everyone knows everybody else's business . . . or so they thought . . . where the local Beauty Box salon and its owner, Tammy has long been the go to place for young and old alike to get their hair done, where they could get the latest "scoop" on what's going on, yet trust Tammy to keep their deepest secrets . . . until Tammy fell into the bottle . . . then all bets were off . . . and one by one, Tammy begins to spurt out those dirty little secrets . . . not to mention her hair styling skills have gone to h*** in a hand basket . . . seems she's ticked off one too many people . . . until one morning, when her body is found at the bottom of the stairs of her beauty shop with a pair of hair shears in her back . . . the local police know Tammy's been murdered, but aren't close to finding her killer . . . but with Myrtle . . . and sidekick, Miles on the case . . . things soon start to heat up . . . love . . . love . . . love, this feisty almost ninety-year-old crime stopper!

Pleasant Surprise

This was a fun and entertaining cozy mystery. It's well written and flows at a quick pace. The characters are well developed and you feel you know them. I prefer the narrator from the previous book because she sounded more like a cranky old lady, but this narrator is also ok. I would recommend this book.

There's hope for us 'elderlies'!

There's hope for us 'elderlies'!
We can stay at home and puzzle out murders and the likes and solve them really well, especially if society has decided that we aren't employable because of our age. Actually I'm amazed at the number of elderly home-sleuths (for want of a better name) that are being written about in cozies of late. Some of the tales are really good, as was this one.
I know this is the 2nd book in this series and I should probably have started with the first one, but it wasn't a problem. It seems that each story is a stand-alone so that was ok.
Then besides the exciting plot and the way the author has laid everything out for one, the story itself was clever and most enjoyable.
I would happily read or listen to another in this series.