The Kari AnnAlysis

Posts Tagged ‘nancy mehl’

Hilde Higgins, hairstylist to the dead, is getting used to a lot of things: the fact that she was a murder suspect then cleared, a new man in her life and the fact that this man is part of a clown ministry and she hates clowns. She can deal with the first two, the last one, it’s not as easy, but she’s working on it. And low and behold two more people in Hilde’s life die, both clowns. There’s no way getting around it.

Luckily for Hilde, she’s not a suspect in this murder. Unluckily for Hilde, her new bf is the prime suspect, accused of killing a clown buddy. And was it really an electrical accident or was the death of clown #1 a murder too? So, no clowning around for Hilde as she figures out if she can trust the man she’s starting to love and help him out of this pickle… or should I say water spraying rose? Too much? Yep, even for me.

I absolutely love this series! The first book, Missing Mable, was one of the first I read through NetGalley and as soon as I saw this one, I requested it.

It’s no secret one of my favorite characters in fiction, if not my favorite, is Stephanie Plum. Well, Hilde Higgins reminds me of Stephanie. She doesn’t beat people up like Stephanie does, but she makes up for it with her love for books.

These books are quick, fun mystery reads. Mehl does a great job of getting the mystery out there and hooking you from the beginning then adding shenanigans throughout the rest of the book that keep you wanting more.

Now there is a little religion mixed in. I know that some readers don’t like that and like to know beforehand so they don’t get to it and immediately stop. I have never been one to enjoy religion weaved into books just because religion is interpreted in so many different ways and everyone has different beliefs. It’s not very likely that a random book with religion in it will have the same beliefs and values that you do. Religion isn’t a big part of this series, but it’s no secret that Hilde is a Christian and in this book she helps bring a friend out of a not-so-happy place with God. I fortunately think Hilde and I are on the same page (or I guess it would be Nancy Mehl, and not the character she is writing about) so I find myself nodding a lot and agreeing.

I really hope Nancy Keeps up with this series. I am really starting to love Hilde and her cooky neighbors and her mysterious, but uber smart neighbor across the street. I give Blown Away 5 bookmarks.

ISBN: 978-1602605701
Published: February 1, 2011
Author Website
Kari got this book from NetGalley

Hilde is a hairdresser who is about to get a huge case dumped in her lap. Now she’s not just any hairdresser, she’s hairdresser extraordinaire to the dead. That’s right, she is the one who fixes the hair before the funerals. But when she mistakenly gets a sneak peek at Mabel, when it’s time to really get Mabel purdied up, something isn’t right. This isn’t the same Mabel as before and then things really start to get weird.

I got this book throughNetGalley. I am loving how many options of reading genres I am able to get through by using this website.

There were things about this book that I loved, like Hilde. She is great. She doesn’t be who people want her to be. She loves her job, who wouldn’t love not being talked back to? Dead people don’t care what their hair looks like. And she’s a reader. I can’t believe how many characters I’ve met recently that are readers. That makes me immediately love them.

I loved Hilde’s personality and her friendships. She is nice to everyone, except her mom. But Hilde has some problems that she can’t quite pinpoint and once she is able to, her mom will be all but forgiven.

Now I know that there has to be other little plots throughout the story, but the ones in this book almost made me forget that Mabel was missing. Although Hilde didn’t spend a lot of time across the street with her neighbor, or out with her new boyfriend, I felt extremely connected to those scenes and those are the ones that I remember the most.

I do give Mehl props because I had no idea who the killer was. But I wasn’t a big fan of the reveal. Hilde has photographic memory, it comes to her and next thing we know, they’re talking about it at dinner and everyone is explaining how it all went down. This was a creative way to get the story told, so I kudos Mehl for that, but it kind of took the blow out of the killer being caught. It was quiet like Mabel, so it fits the book, it just wasn’t what I expected and I had to go back and read it a couple of times because I kept feeling like I was missing something.

I give Missing Mabel 3 bookmarks. Now, there is a second book in this series coming out in February. Since I liked Hilde so much, I will most likely give this series another chance!

This book was released August 1. Order a copy here!

This week, I have not one, but two Teaser Tuesdays! I am reading two really good books right now and want to share a tease from both.

The first comes from Running Dark by Jamie Freveletti:

Pg1: ”

The second tease comes from Missing Mabel by Nancy Mehl.

Pg10: “My mother still couldn’t understand why I’d left college to go to beauty school and ended up working on “dead people’s hair, for crying out loud.” Mom is a successful neurosurgeon who is absolutely horrified by my career choice.”

I am loving both of these books right now! What are you reading?