Hot water is nothing new for Stan Kraychik, a smart-mouthed Boston hairdresser who gave up a career in psychology to "shrink 'em at the sink" instead. When a vacationing National Park ranger turns up dead in Boston, Stan is implicated in the murder, and must find the killer to clear his own name. With an eye for detail and a mettlesome spirit, Stan finds plenty of clues, but he also confronts the police lieutenant assigned to the case, a man with little tolerance for the world of fashion and style, or for Stan's cheeky attitude. With a sharp tongue as his best defense, a most unlikely detective uses even more unlikely techniques to close the loop and get the killer.

Der Bostoner Prominenten-Frisör Stan Kraychik will eigentlich abnehmen, doch der Einladung einer exklusiven Schokoladenfirma kann er nicht widerstehen. Während des Empfangs stirbt ein Gast an einer vergifteten Edelpraline.

The founder of a ballet company is discovered murdered and the conductor is the prime suspect. Seduced by the choreographer, a hairdresser sets out to prove the conductor's innocence. Among many suspects, including the lover, the hairdresser discovers life is more complex—and deadly—than art.

Stan Kraychik, Boston hair-dresser extraordinaire, has been hired as the wig master's assistant for the upcoming season of a local opera company. For the main event, Italian opera diva and aging soprano Marcella Ostinata will perform the lead. As the company heads unsteadily towards opening night, murder threatens the entire festival and Stan finds himself playing a crucial role in a deadly grand opera, performed without music, and with real weapons and killers.

First Stan's lover, Rafik, is killed and then, during a trip to Key West, he discovers the murdered body of his houseguest, and Stan sets out to look for information and uncovers a mysterious, secret legal battle for control of a millionaire's vast estate

Newly wealthy ex-hairdresser Stan Kraychik buys the last unrenovated brownstone in Boston's fabulously chic South End only to have the renovations held up by a freak April snowstorm-and the murder of the young, attractive contractor. Because the victim bears some resemblance to Stan himself, the police think he might have been the intended target and want to leave town while they look for the killer. Instead Stan begins to snoop around on his own, discovering a web of secrets and jealousies that someone has killed to protect-and the contractor's murder is only the beginning.