When history teacher Bill Ripari offers his property for a school haunted house project, hairstylist Marla Vail volunteers to put the scare factor into the props' hair. She joins her stepdaughter along with other students, parents, and teachers to transform the wooded estate into a creepy attraction. Marla is busy creating decorations when she spies a splash of red on the estate grounds. Curiosity compels her to go outside for a closer look, but the dark stain isn't fake blood meant to be part of fright night. Instead, the trail leads straight to the history teacher's dead body.Worried about the kids, Marla puts on her sleuthing hat to investigate. She discovers every one of the volunteers present that night had a possible motive. Between slacker students, helicopter parents, unexpected heirs, and a stonewalling school administration, Marla has her hands full in solving the murder and keeping her stepdaughter safe.

A reluctant bride… A dispassionate groom… A gallant starship captain. Can they combine forces to save the galaxy? Attorney Sarina Bretton believes in facts, not fantasy, at least until Captain Teir Reylock of the Coalition Defense League kidnaps her from Earth. His mission is to deliver her to the High Council for her marriage to Lord Cam'brii, a member of the ruling council. It is through this union that she will become the legendary Great Healer and save the galaxy from a devastating plague. At the capital city of Bimordus Two, Sarina discovers the wonders of an advanced civilization. She also awakens to her desire for Captain Reylock, who has been assigned as her personal bodyguard. Meanwhile, danger follows the betrothed couple as enemies try to prevent their marriage from taking place. Teir admires the feisty Earth woman, but he is sworn to duty. Not only must he protect Sarina from the Coalition's enemies, but he must guard his heart against her charms. Drawn together by passion but torn apart by destiny, these star-crossed lovers must overcome their obstacles until the final shocking revelations expose the legend's truth. Winner of the 1995 HOLT Medallion Award "Nancy Cohen sparks your imagination and melts your heart with her wonderful tale of galactic adventure and star-crossed lovers." Marilyn Campbell, award-winning author of Lovers in Time and The Innerworld Affairs series Circle of Light was originally published by Dorchester and reprinted by iUniverse under the pseudonym Nancy Cane. It was reissued by Belgrave House under Nancy J. Cohen. This Author's Edition has been updated with added bonus materials.

Hairstylist Marla Vail and her husband get tangled up in murder when their Fourth of July visit to a living history village ends with a bang—and a body. Salon owner Marla Vail and her detective husband Dalton are having a blast visiting a Florida living history village over Fourth of July weekend. But when a Seminole battle reenactment turns up a real dead body, it sets off fireworks among the villagers. One of the cast members has gone off script to murder the town marshal with a tomahawk. As Dalton gets involved in the investigation, Marla determines to help him solve the case. Her flare for uncovering secrets reveals that everyone in the village is a suspect. Instead of celebrating the holiday with red, white, and barbecues, she discovers secrets, lies, and false avenues. Did the marshal's murder have anything to do with a lost Confederate payroll, or did his plans to renovate the park light a fuse that he couldn't snuff...

A dead body in her mother's bathroom during a home remodel leads hairstylist Marla Vail to flush out the clues and nail the killer. When hairstylist and savvy sleuth, Marla Vail, gets a frantic call from her mother that there's a dead body in her shower, Marla realizes this wasn't part of the home renovation plans. The victim turns out to be the project manager, who had an untrustworthy reputation in town. Disgruntled customers, unpaid suppliers, and the design company's staff are among the suspects. Which one of them wanted the foreman to pipe down about their shady dealings? Meanwhile, the lead investigator sets his sights on Marla's stepfather, Reed, who's keeping secrets from his family. Reed has a past connection to the victim and won't come clean about what he knows. As Marla drills deeper, she's showered with suspicions, but nobody's willing to leak any information. She needs to hammer down the prospects, or time will drain...

Personal concierge Keri Armstrong will accept almost any job, but solving murders wasn't on her to-do list—until now. When personal concierge Keri Armstrong swings by her favorite client's mansion to drop off groceries, she expects a heartfelt chat along with a cup of tea—not Fiona Sullivan dead in bed and her room ransacked. Although the police chalk it up to a botched robbery, Keri isn't so sure. Whispers around town suggest Fiona wasn't as adored as Keri had believed, and many of the philanthropist's so-called friends in affluent Sunny Grove, Florida seem glad she's gone. Keri refuses to let Fiona's memory be reduced to malicious gossip. Armed with a keen eye, insider access, and a fully charged tablet, she sets out to uncover the truth. Soon her file of suspects grows faster than her to-do list. Between sneaky neighbors, resentful relatives, and tight-lipped charity board members, Fiona left behind a trail of frenemies who'd...

She seems like everything he despises--until her beauty challenges his warrior's heart. When fashion designer Jennifer Dyhr loses her lead actor for a video-game commercial, a replacement literally drops from the sky. Reluctant to let him leave, she hires him as a model for her studio. But when terrorists attack their flight home, Jen must awaken powers she didn't know she had to protect them both. Now will she be able to keep her heart safe from the sensual man beside her? When space ops warrior Paz Hadar falls through a spatial rift onto Jen's set, he soon realizes she is essential to his mission. Not only must he protect her, his success depends upon her special powers. But as they struggle to stay one step ahead of the enemy, he discovers that fighting his attraction to Jen is as much a challenge as keeping them both alive.

Mystery/Crime. 73569 words long.

Hairstylist Marla Shore volunteers for Taste of the World, a fund-raiser sponsored by Ocean Guard. It's a decision she soon regrets. First Chef Pierre's rum-soaked Bananas Foster goes up in flames, making her wonder if sabotage caused the incident. Her suspicions deepen as more chefs drop off the roster and Ocean Guard's attorney is murdered. Does the lawyer's death relate to an estate being managed by the group? If their gala fails, this property will fall into the hands of a mysterious heir.Marla's friend, dashingly handsome Detective Dalton Vail, believes the culprit might be one of Ocean Guard's esteemed board members. She determines to help him untangle the clues. With a killer on the loose, Marla has a lot more to worry about than which canapés her chefs should serve. She'd better comb through the knot of suspects and catch the saboteur before he strikes again."Hair Raiser kept me guessing until the very end. Hats off to Nancy Cohen and her engaging sleuth, Marla the...