Recommended by RJ. Skye Summers is a hair stylist, harboring thoughts of killing her annoying clients, who feel compelled to share all of their inner secrets with her. Meanwhile, a serial killer is loose in southern Massachusetts is killing women, who use their wily charms to take advantage of men. Needed to say, the killer ends up as a client and there is a showdown. Helle's writing reminds me of Janet Evanovich's, which is praise indeed. ( )

Skye Summers is a hairstylist living in a small town in Massachusetts. She has the perfect husband and her dogs are her babies. Daughter of aging hippies, she grew up in a commune, a vegetarian who would not even consider eating an animal and she would never even consider killing a spider.

So why does she fantasize about killing her clients? These thoughts cross her mind as she cuts their hair. It is beginning to consume her working thoughts. One of the people on her list to kill is her husband ex. The woman is a parasite in her happy life.

Soon women start dying and it appears to be the work of a serial killer. He even names himself the Mass avenger. Soon this becomes the talk of the town. Skye finds herself learning more about this killer, weather she wants to or not. Another hit by Ms. Helle, a page turning all night read. ( )

A simple story about a girl with a seriously intense imagination that happens to cut the hair of a serial killer.

The story was slightly confusing because there are a lot of characters that get rapid fire introduced throughout the book. You've got the main character, her family, her husband, her husbands family, her friends, her client.......

There was an abundance of build up on the characters stories and personalities which was nice but right when you got everyone situated it just ends. It was a surprise as far as endings go which was nice but very very abrupt.

Over all I enjoyed the book and would probably read it again sometime. ( )

Lilly Skye Destiny Summers is the misplaced child of Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) and Catherine Tramell(Basic Instinct).A vegan,hippie hairstylist persistently fantasizing on mutilating her infuriating clients discovers her wild reveries come true when she faces a bona fide serial killer- the Mass Avenger. Sinister, schizophrenic and devilishly wacky; this transgressional narrative is a rhythmic trance crafting hell a perfect haven to reside in. I certainly perceive Chuck Palahniuk beaming all the way. ( )

I'll admit, I chose to read this book because of an online acquaintance with the author, along with the many rave reviews of her work from other authors in my network. Although I write thrillers myself, I'm not big on gore, guts, and cruelty. So a plot with a serial killer wouldn't normally attract me. [End disclaimer]

I have to say I was pleased with the first half of the book, where protagonist Skye, a hair stylist with murderous thoughts about her overly-demanding clientele, gave voice to some very astute observations about the selfishness that seems rampant in our me-me-me society. What made her rants so enjoyable was the humor with which she infused them. It was easy to relate to her frustrations, and fun to laugh at her characterizations.

A problem, perhaps, is that so much of the book is filled with these humorous characterizations (Skye describes at least 50 of her clients through the first 24 of 36 chapters), that it feels at times more like a stand-up routine than a crime thriller. Now, for me, that wasn't all bad—it spared me having to close my eyes too often (I'll admit to skipping a page or two during the killer's activities, which are meticulously described), but it detracted from the suspense that should have been building as the story interspersed the killer's machinations with Skye's day job and personal life.

But the plot overall was entertaining. I knew that that the two story threads would eventually intersect, but I didn't know just how, and by the time they did I was anxious to find out. The resolution was satisfying; I'm glad I read the book.

The ease with which the author paints her characters made them colorful, relatable, and humorous in their all-too-human foibles. It also made it a joy to read such tight, evocative prose. Knowing that the author was once a stylist leads me to conclude that these portraits of strangle-worthy fussbudgets were drawn from actual clients. After all, what author dreams up fifty or more incidental characters for a novel!

I may still have to skip the most grisly pages, but I'll be reading more of Darcia Helle's books. ( )