By Liz, welcoming Louise-Rose Innes to the blog today, coming to us from the UK to talk about her new installment in her Daisy Thorne series, Death at the Salon! I’m glad I got my hair done before the book came out… Welcome, Louise-Rose!
Many thanks to Liz Mugavero, and the wonderful Wickeds ladies for the invitation to their blog. It’s an honour to talk about my upcoming release as well as my love of cozy mysteries.
I began writing sixteen years ago, when I was pregnant with my son. At that stage I didn’t know what I wanted to write, only that I did. I did a short course and began writing romantic suspense novels. I had some success with these, but then moved into thriller writing, and finally settled on cozies.
So, what do I love so much about cozies?
Maybe it’s the quirky but relatable characters who become so familiar during the series they feel like old friends. Or perhaps it’s the small town feel where everybody knows everybody and community spirit flourishes. Or the fact they’re so varied. You find pets, humour, twists and turns, romance, and hobbies that bring folk together. Then, of course, there’s the amateur sleuth who outwits the murderer every time, with or without the help of the police. The crimes are not gruesome or macabre, but the plot lines are often very clever and at the end you feel like you’ve had a satisfying read.
My protagonist is hairdresser-turned-sleuth Daisy Thorne. As the only hairdresser in the village, Daisy knows everyone, and her Ooh La La salon is a hotspot for village gossip.
The books are set in the fictitious English village of Edgemead, which is based on the village where I live in Surrey. It’s very quaint, there are cobblestone alleyways and old buildings, tea shops and pubs, a village green with a duck pond, and the Thames flows idly past.
After the first book, Death at a Country Mansion, Daisy has got a name for herself as the village sleuth, but in the second book, Death at the Salon (out March 30th), she may have bitten off more than she can chew. When a client is found dead outside her salon with a pair of scissors sticking out of her back, Daisy becomes the prime suspect. Suddenly, she’s got to solve the case to prove her innocence – and find the real culprit before he or she strikes again.
Daisy came to me one day while I was waiting for a hair appointment in my local salon. She’s not based on anyone in particular, but as I watched the goings on in the hairdressers, I began putting together the series premise. And by the end of my appointment, I had all the characters firmly mapped out in my head.
Daisy is bubbly and confident and has more than a passing interest in criminology (she’s studying it in her spare time). Everybody in the village loves her, apart from the person trying to frame her, of course, and her flirtatious relationship with the gruff but handsome detective McGuinness provides a hint of romance. Assisting her in her crime-solving activities are the rather eccentric crew at the salon, as well as her best friend, socialite Floria.
Death at the Salon is the second book in the Daisy Thorne series, but can be read as a standalone. It’s out tomorrow and is available from all major platforms.
Unfortunately, due to Covid, I had to cancel my trip to Malice Domestic and other cozy conferences this year, but I’m looking forward to meeting everyone in 2022!
A question for Wickeds readers… Why do you love cozies so much? Let me know in the comments below.
Here’s a bit about the book:
After hairdresser Daisy Thorne finds her missing scissors in a customer’s back, she becomes the prime suspect in a murder . . .
When Ooh La La regular Mel Haverstock left the hair salon that morning, no one expected it would be her final parting. But when Daisy closes shop Saturday night, she finds her client dead as the mullet cut. Homicide is back in style in the quiet village of Edgemead in Surrey, England. But who would want to harm a hair on poor Mel’s head?
Suspicions higher than a beehive pile on Daisy when it’s revealed that she and Mel had tangled back in high school, and DNA evidence seems to color her guilty. Handsome DCI Paul McGuinness gives the hairstylist new accessories—a lovely pair of silver handcuffs. To clear her name, Daisy must highlight the real backstabber, or she’ll end up shaving heads in the prison barbershop.
Find out more here.