Tara just can't seem to stay out of trouble -- it just comes looking for her. ( )

I think this may be my favourite book in this series so far. I thought that the plot was a slightly different spin on the typical mystery - no murders for a start - and the need for Tara to be creative in order to bring down the 'bad guy'. I put this on my shelves as a cozy mystery, but really it's a bit more of a chick-lit mystery - the romance is just a little bit more explicit and the language just a little bit more vulgar than what most would consider "cozy". But the humour is dry and wry and the romantic tension is ratcheted up a notch in this book as Tara tries to decide who is a better fit in her life, Brett or Nick.

An excellent read, I really enjoyed it. ( )

Reviewed by: Stacey
Book provided by: Publisher
Review originally posted at Romancing the Book

To me, the makings of a great book series is when you can read each individual book by itself no matter where it is in the series and understand what is going on and enjoy it. This book, number three in the Tara Holloway series, fits into this category. Death, Taxes and Extra-Hold Hairspray – the title is what grabbed me at first but the characters are what kept me reading. I’m not usually a fan of mysteries no matter how major of a plot point, but with the pace of this book that one aspect of it wasn’t too overwhelming for me. The combination of comedy, action, and romance made it a fun, fast read.

Diane Kelly certainly has a way with her characters. We can all relate to wanting something more from our jobs. Kelly’s main character Tara goes from working in a cubicle in a stable job to being a gun-toting special agent for the IRS and it seems like the craziest of cases end up in her lap. This time she’s got two: a corrupt televangelist and a secessionists group who believe they are exempt from the laws of the US. Neither one promise to be open and shut cases, and while dealing with that, her crazy boss Lulu is undergoing cancer treatment and that has Tara out searching for the perfect wig to replace her strawberry blonde beehive!

All in a days work? Not likely!

From the opening chapter title: “This is What Happens When Rednecks Have Too Much Time on Their Hands”, I was hooked. If you are looking for a funny, fast paced chick-lit book with some sex and a non-murder mystery thrown in, then you’ll definitely enjoy Death, Taxes and Extra-Hold Hairspray. You just may end up appreciating your stable day job by the last chapter!

Just don’t be drinking anything while reading…you may end up making a mess! ( )