Marla’s honeymoon at an Arizona dude ranch turns deadly when murder threatens to unhorse her new happiness in this thrilling cozy mystery. Hoping for a romantic honeymoon at an Arizona dude ranch, hairstylist Marla Vail and her detective husband Dalton arrive to find a series of mishaps plaguing the resort. A nearby ghost town is suffering similar problems. Is it mere coincidence that Dalton’s … mere coincidence that Dalton’s Uncle Raymond owns both properties? When Raymond asks for their help in finding the culprit, Marla and Dalton eagerly accept, but the case quickly escalates into murder.
With sleuthing more natural to Marla than riding a horse, she delves into the investigation and discovers long-buried family secrets. Suspects include environmental activists, saguaro poachers, water rights advocates, and relatives closer to home. Marla has to saddle up, rein in the clues, and find the killer before she’s forced to join the spirits on the haunted hillside.
Third Place Winner in the Arizona Literary Awards!
“Peril by Ponytail ropes in the reader in Nancy J. Cohen’s captivating new tale, which deftly braids together deadly secrets, long hidden resentments, and romance on the range.” Ellen Byerrum, author of the Crime of Fashion Mysteries
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Another winner in the Bad Hair Day Mysteries. Spunky hairstylist Marla Vail is up to her ponytail in mysterious murders, possible ghosts, and family skeletons when she and her sexy police detective husband, Dalton, spend their overdue honeymoon at his brother’s dude ranch in the Arizona mountains. Old feuds and family secrets complicate her search for the truth as Marla and Dalton narrowly escape death several times while the body count rises. Her carefree honeymoon turns out to be more like a vacation in a minefield as she struggles to help Dalton solve the mystery before time runs out for Marla, her husband, and his relatives. A ghost town with strange happenings and creepy old mine shafts that may be filled with ghosts add to the tension in this complex murder mystery. A fun must-read for mystery fans.
Jumping into a series at this late date (book #12) can be difficult as the reader does not have the back story on the main characters. However I must commend Nancy J. Cohen on creating a story and developing these characters in such a manner that I was not at all lost. And as such, I look forward to being able to read the first 11 books of the series in due course.
Marla Vail (hairstylist) and Dalton Vail (a homicide detective) are newlyweds heading off on their honeymoon from their home in Florida. As a favor to Dalton’s family, this overdue honeymoon is taking place on Dalton’s families’ dude ranch in Arizona. One main factor is because a forest ranger has died under suspicious circumstances, and there has been a rash of supposed accidents (or are they ???) at both the ranch and ghost town that Uncle Ray is in the process of constructing. There was depth to both main characters which definitely added to my enjoyment of the story.
I really enjoyed the familial interactions, especially with Annie Campbell. I really felt connected and kept hoping that Marla and Dalton would finally figure out what was going on (and of course…they did ). And Uncle Ray was an interesting character. I really liked that at the beginning of the book there was a “List of Characters” outlining everyone within the context of the series. Even though Marla and Dalton were helping to solve a family mystery, they never lost sight of the fact that it was their honeymoon. I thought this story line was portrayed tastefully, cute and left some things to the imagination of the reader.
There were MANY twists and turns to this tale adding to the enjoyment of this read. One little snafu is that I was able to figure out the ‘whodunit’ before it was revealed…and that left me a bit flummoxed. Luckily, the writing and story was well told so that my interest was held throughout. I have even put other titles by this author on my TBR pile
If you would like to read an enjoyable, entertaining and engaging cozy mystery (though this one did have a bit more gun play than is usual), then Peril by Ponytail is your book!
Loved the book! Marla and Dalton finally go on a delayed honeymoon but as usual, they find murder. this book is different as it is not in Florida but set in Arizona at Dalton’s uncle’s ranch. Uncle Ray is hoping Dalton can help with mysterious accidents and occurrences that are happening on his ranch and in the ghost town he is rebuilding. Lots of new interesting characters, skeletons in the family closet, and intriguing storyline. Lots of twists and turns to the very end of the book. I cannot wait to start the next book in this series!