Death at the Salon – Louise-Rose Innes

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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.

Published by Cate Conte / Liz Mugavero

Cate Conte writes the Cat Cafe Mysteries and the Full Moon Mysteries. As Liz Mugavero, she writes the Pawsitively Organic Mysteries, the first of which was an Agatha Award nominee for Best First Novel. She lives in the Boston area with her rescue pals.

20 Thoughts

  1. I have Death at the Salon on the Paperwhite waiting for me to make time to read it and am really looking forward to it.

  2. They are light reads. They are fun reads. They let me escape to a different place. It’s the relationship one builds with the stories that you eagerly wait to the next book so you can spend time with this cast of characters.

  3. Welcome to the blog, Louise-Rose! A hair salon is a perfect place for an amateur sleuth. Best of luck with the new book, and hope to “see” you at Virtual Malice – and in person next year.

    1. Thank you, Edith. I’m delighted to be here. Yes, I’ll be joining the Virtual Malice, and definitely in person next year. 🙂

  4. Glad to meet you, Louise-Rose! Congrats on the book and yes, I think a lot of people are looking forward to conferences in 2022.

  5. Very happy to be introduced to a new to me author. I’m now following on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Congratulations on the soon to be released “Death at the Salon”. Sounds like a fabulous book and one I would very much love the opportunity to read.

    I love cozies for all the reasons you stated. Most times I find a little bit of myself or someone I know in the characters. The characters are down home and folks you can relate to. Love that even though they deal with a murder that it’s not the blood and guts horror of the crime. It’s more about following the main character as she finds clues and then figuring out if one can find out who the whodunit was before the reveal. Although it’s fun to do that, it’s also tons of fun for the author to weave a tale that completely throws us off track with a surprise ending that makes perfect sense in hindsight. As a foodie, I love that a lot of them also include the recipes talked about in the book. Although I on occasion read other genre, my go to book is always a cozy. It’s a way to unwind, relax and explore other parts of the country, learn about new hobbies and make new fiction friends along the way. Basically it can be summed up in two words – IT”S FUN!
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

    1. I couldn’t agree more, Kay! Fun, and the characters are so relatable. 🙂

  6. Happy day before book birthday! It seems this year of pandemic is made for cozy reading. There’s comfort in the books.

    1. Thank you so much, Sherry. I’m looking forward to meeting you and the other Wickeds too. 🙂

  8. Congrats! Your series sounds charming. I like cozies for the atmosphere and the relationships. They’re comforting. Plus the fun of solving a mystery.

  9. I read an ARC and loved it!

    I love the puzzle of the cozy, and the characters that become friends. Recently, the arm chair traveling has been an added plus, too.

    2. Thanks Mark! I couldn’t agree more. I love the puzzle in cozies too, and the small town feel and the exploring new places from my sofa!

  11. I enjoy getting lost in a cozy. The friendships, the town and of course, solving the mystery.

    Excited to read your books!

  12. Best of luck with your series. It sounds like a good one. I had an aunt who ran her own one woman beauty salon and I loved to go sit in a chair there with a magazine and listen to the women discuss “everything.” Fun memories!

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