Book Review: Death at the Salon by Louise R. Innes (Daisy Thorne #2)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong plot and characters

Cons: Pacing a bit near the beginning, but might just be me

The Bottom Line:

Death of customer

Puts Daisy in the spotlight

In great second book

Murder Hits too Close to Home

Thanks to the buzz that the first Daisy Thorne Mystery received, I read and enjoyed it a few months ago.  I was happy to revisit the characters with Death at the Salon, and it was just as strong as the first one.

The book opens on a dark and stormy night.  Daisy Thorne is closing up her hair salon in the small British village of Edgemead when she finds the dead body of one of her clients in the alley behind the shop.  Worse yet, Daisy’s scissors are sticking out of the victim’s back.  Naturally, suspicion falls on her, so Daisy has to figure out what really happened so she can clear her name.  The big question comes down to who had access to steal Daisy’s scissors.  Can she figure out who did it?

After the initial set up, I did feel like this book’s pace lagged a little bit.  Or maybe I’m just too impatient.  However, it wasn’t long because the pace picked up again, and there were plenty of twists, turns, red herrings, and clues to keep me engaged.  The climax was wonderful and kept the twists coming until the end.

The first book in the series involved one of Daisy’s good friends, and I felt that her employees at the salon hadn’t gotten that much page time.  At the time, I said we’d probably get to know them more as the series progressed, and that’s what happens here.  Yes, we do see Daisy’s friends again, but with the action centered on the salon this time, we get to really know the employees.  I enjoyed that.  The suspects were also wonderful.

Some time has passed for the characters between books one and two, and I was surprised at some of the changes for the supporting characters.  So often, characters seem to only have things happen in their lives when a book is taking place, it was nice to see this for a change.

If you enjoyed the first book in the series, you’ll be thrilled with Death at the Salon.  If you enjoy a British set cozy, you really need to check out this series today.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.