Murder, Curlers, and Cruises: A Valentine Beaumont Mystery

Arlene McFarlane

Jun 2018 · The Murder, Curlers Series Book 3 · ParadiseDeer Publishing

About this ebook

“Sharp, sexy, and side-splitting. Everything I love in a good mystery!”– Darynda Jones, New York Times/USA Today Bestselling Author of the Charley Davidson Series

“A fun-filled ride. A zany cast of characters. And a quest to find a killer. Another great book in a wonderful series!”– Wendy Byrne, USA Today Bestselling Author of the Izzy Lewis Mysteries

In her third fast-paced mystery, beautician Valentine Beaumont and her madcap crew sail the high seas on a Caribbean “Beauty Cruise.” When a bizarre murder takes place onboard, Valentine finds herself swept into the middle of the investigation.

If things aren’t bad enough, her mother is playing matchmaker, a loved one is kidnapped, drug smuggling is afoot, a hair contest proves disastrous, and a strange alliance between tough Detective Romero and sexy stylist Jock de Marco rubs Valentine the wrong way.

Will this impulsive beauty sleuth comb through the catastrophes and untangle the mystery, or will this voyage turn into another fatal Titanic? With Jock and Romero onboard, it’s destined to be a hot cruise!

The Murder, Curlers Series:
Book 1: Murder, Curlers, and Cream
Book 2: Murder, Curlers, and Canes
Book 3: Murder, Curlers, and Cruises

Ratings and reviews

Beautician Valentine Beaumont, her parents and her zany crew are sailing on a beauty themed Caribbean cruise. Sounds perfect but when a particularly odd murder takes place on board of the ship, Valentine can’t help herself. She gets into the action. But things are never quite that simple, her mother is matchmaking again, someone is kidnapped, possible drug running organization, jewellery theft, the hair dressing contest is a disaster and what’s up between Jock and Romeo? This is a fun romp of a cozy mystery filled zany characters. The characters are well defined, definitely hold your attention, are hilarious at times and are filled with spunk. The storyline is easy to read but definitely complex as Valentine deals with one catastrophe after another and all the normal types of obstacles found in a cozy mystery. The romantic elements are in play has well. The fantastic narrative and witty and hilarious dialogue elevate this cozy mystery above others. What an adventure, what a story! I am going to read the first two in the series now. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This is my first time reading a book by this author, and I'm not sure if I would give another one a try. I was turned off immediately by a pretty serious info dump right the start of the book. That seems to be a significant failing in many first-person novels and novellas, though authors commit the same crime in stories told in the third person. Much has been ballyhooed in other reviews about the humor in this series and this book in particular. To me, I felt like the author was trying too hard to be funny, which made it unfunny for me.

This book was just so much fun to read. I love the author's writing style. The characters are fabulously wacky and the cruise ship would be a great place to be, minus the murder of course. Even the romance is a mystery since there are two men in line.

About the author

Arlene McFarlane is the USA Today bestselling author of the Murder, Curlers series. Previously an aesthetician, hairstylist, and owner of a full-service salon, Arlene now writes full time. When she's not making up stories, or being a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, cat-mom, or makeover artist, you'll find her making music on the piano.

Arlene is a member of Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Toronto Romance Writers, SOWG, and the Golden Network. She's won and placed in over 30 contests, including twice in the Golden Heart and twice in the Daphne du Maurier.

Arlene lives with her family in Canada.