“I’ve got twenty minutes to put the finishing touches on Miss Henderson’s wig before she comes stomping in here like I owe her money,” I said to Ruby, balancing the telephone receiver between my cheek and shoulder. “If I put this wig down for a minute, I’m going to lose momentum and time.”
Ruby’s disgusted grunt tells me she’s not feeling the way I kowtow to the “expandin’ Spandex woman,” as she calls her. Ruby means well, but when it comes to tolerating foolishness, she’s got a short leash.
“Gurl, that woman bet be glad I ain’t makin’ the wig,” my best friend snorts. “’Cause if I was, she’d be waitin’ on me, not the otha way ‘round.”
To be honest, there’s a reason why I’m running late. My day usually starts at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a sticky note list, but I was up late chatting with my daughter, Pria who’s a world away in Lyon, France.
Godfrey and I have got to get over there and soon.
She and I have such nice talks, and when they end, I find myself sitting up in bed, reminiscing about how nice it was to have her here – helping me sew, teasing me about Godfrey and, of course, giving me her 411 when I end up on a murder case.
“Dee! You listenin’ to me?”
Ruby’s southern-friend fits are starting to take their toll.
“Yes, I’m listening, but like I said, I don’t have much time,” I glance at the wall clock in my wig room. “Look Ruby, I’ve got to go—”
“Whatever. And you tell that heffa what’s comin’ over there today to find her some decent fittin’ clothes. Them black stretchy thangs look like they plum tuckered out from tryin’ to stay up ‘round alla that fat.”
I snicker because I can’t help it. That’s Ruby. Gotta love her.
“And don’t ferget the card game tonight. It’s yo turn to cook—”
I pull the phone away and stare at it, insulted.
“My turn? What about Lena? Isn’t it her turn? Matter of fact, I don’t recall her or Sunserai ever bringing any food. Your sorority sisters need to start showing us some AKA love.”
Ruby releases a long breath into my ear. “I know they ain’t been great at contributin’, but Lena does a betta job a eatin’ than cookin’, and you know Sunserai can’t cook her way outta a paper bag.” She pauses. “Naw, I’ll whip up some wings and why don’t you bring some of them meatballs. That is, if you ain’t too busy ingestin’ all that hot air Miss Henderson’s gonna be blowin’ up your—
“I get it Rube. I’ll be there at 7, with the meatballs.”
I shake my head as I return the receiver to the wall.
I sure will be happy when Lieutenant Croft gets my cell out of the evidence room. This old school communication is for the birds.
LETHAL LACE FRONT
Series: A Wigmaker Mystery, Book 1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: September 2026
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link
Best Friends Drama Slow Burn Romance Southern Charm Wig World Spice Level: Clean Light & Comedic Tone
Dee Alexander left Washington, DC, and a career in television news for the quiet life—making custom wigs, reviewing them on YouTube, and trading barbs with her best friend, Ruby, in their charming 55+ community of Indian Falls, North Carolina. But when Dee’s Hollywood actress/client, Lucretia Lee, turns up dead, quiet is the last thing she gets.
Now the prime suspect, Dee does what any good journalist would: she starts digging. From the small-town film set, searching Ancestry, she uncovers buried secrets and a web of lies that someone will kill to protect. To get her reputation back and win her clients’ trust, Dee will need every ounce of her reporter’s instinct and her wigmaker’s eye for detail to survive.
If you like sassy African American characters, ride-or-die friendships, and an on-again, off-again romance thrown in, Lethal Lace Front is for you!
Meet the author
Tanzy Kohl is a former television journalist whose employers included MSNBC, NBC 4 Washington, and the Discovery Health Channel. For the past eight years, She has run a YouTube channel for wigs called MyMatureStyle with 7,200 subscribers and a TikTok with 5,700 followers.
Though she is writing cozy under the name Tanzy Kohl, she also writes historical fiction under her real name, Faith Knight. Her debut, self-published novel, As Gray As Black & White, was the 2025 runner-up in historical fiction for the Indie Author Project contest and received an Editor’s Pick from Publishers Weekly BookLife.