After a dry spell, freelance writer Jaine Austen’s life is suddenly full of romance. For one thing, she’s reconnected with her ex—though her cat, Prozac, isn’t happy about it. And Jaine’s also got a new ghostwriting gig, working on a steamy novel called Fifty Shades of Turquoise . . . Daisy Kincaid is in her sixties and heiress to a fortune. Now she wants to make a name for herself as a romance … a name for herself as a romance author . . . with a little help from Jaine, that is. As Jaine labors away on love scenes, she gets to know the wealthy woman’s gentleman friend, her household staff, and her social circle—every one of whom is horrified when Daisy falls under the spell of a much younger stud named Tommy, a rude, crude lothario who’s made himself a fixture in Daisy’s Bel Air mansion.
After Tommy and Daisy shock everyone by announcing their engagement, it doesn’t take long for someone to stab him in the neck—with the solid gold Swiss Army knife that Daisy gave him as a gift. The challenging part is trying to narrow down the list of suspects. Jaine’s going to have to put a bookmark in that love story and focus all her creative talent into untangling a tale of money and murder . . .
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Freeland writer Jaine Austen has landed a new job, this time for Bel Air heiress Daisy Kincaid. Daisy hires Jaine to write a romance novel entitled Fifty Shades of Turquoise. Jaine is working at Daisy’s house each day, so she is there for the arrival of Tommy, a young man who quickly worms his way into Daisy’s heart while alienating everyone else in Daisy’s life. To everyone’s horror, it isn’t long before the two announce their engagement. But when Tommy is murdered the day before the wedding, Jaine finds herself trying to figure out what really happened. Can she do it?
Yes, there are some strong sub-plots as well. Jaine is back with an ex. Will the romance bloom this time? Or will Jaine’s cat, Prozac, derail everything. Meanwhile, in a series of e-mails, we learn about the latest saga her parents are going through. All I will tell you is it involves a bad haircut and a sculpting class.
Those familiar with the series know what to expect, and they won’t be disappointed. Yes, the murder takes place a little late in the book, but the time isn’t wasted as everything is set up. Once Tommy dies, we are off to the races with plenty of twists and turns. Meanwhile, the two sub-plots weave in and out perfectly. There are tons of laughs along the way as all the stories build to their climaxes. The characters are more caricatures, but they fit this book perfectly. More realistic characters wouldn’t work here. Author Laura Levine used to write sitcoms, and that really is the best way to look at this book – as if your favorite sitcom characters were involved in a murder mystery. The result is light, fun, and delightful. So next time you need to smile, pick up this book.
Entertaining read! Light, humorous, nice mystery and engaging characters. I do love Prozac the cat LOL, little devil that she is! Having Jaine’s parents’ funny escapades coming through in various emails is hilarious. Really looking forward to the next book in the series. Thanks to the author for a refreshing read that left me feeling happy!
Laugh out loud fun as usual! Jaine is back with her ex-husband and gets a job ghostwriting a romance novel for a wealthy woman. When the woman’s young fiance is found murdered, there are plenty of suspects. This was extremely entertaining and I was constantly guessing who the killer was. Prozac the cat and Jaine’s parents were entertaining as well. I can’t wait to see what’s next!!!
I just love this series! Jaine is back with her ex and “in-love” and Prozac is having none of it! Meanwhile, local heiress Daisy asks Jaine to write a romance novel with her – all dining inclusive and a group of misfits to hang out with all day. One day, Daisy has a blast from the past arrive on her doorstep and just as quickly he drops out of their lives and a hunt for the killer begins. Filled with quick and witty dialogue, you may find yourself relating to Jaine when her love tries to place her on a diet and she just can’t hack it. The random email storyline is always a fun addition to the story as you never know what Jaine’s parents are getting themselves into and it’s always a fun interlude to the murder mystery. Yet again, a fun addition to one of my favorite series!
Series: A Jaine Austin Mystery – Book 17
Author: Laura Levine
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Animal/Pet
Publisher: Kensington Books
Page Count: 240
New from Kensington Books comes the 17th addition to the cozy mystery series “A Jaine Austin Mystery” by Laura Levine, Death of a Gigolo.
I have to say right at the start, the basic story is interesting, and at times humorous. This applies to all of the books in this cozy mystery series. New readers and old will love the interaction between Jaine, her friends, and family. The “emails” between her and her parents are one of the best parts of this book and the series at large.
Janie is always getting involved in murder cases and sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. Every suspect is hiding something, and in some cases, their secrets could be a motive for murder. Janie finds out that many of the key players are thieves, liars and worse. All of them with a motive to kill the victim who was not in the least likable. Technically, Janie uncovers the killer by accident.
Unfortunately, I took issue with every suspect having some secret intention and no redeeming value. And the fact that Janie uncovered hidden motives, as well as crimes, and she doesn’t report any of it to the police or anyone else. Which is a bit too farfetched to be credible. Also, Janie falling for her ex knowing full well what type of sleazeball he is, and for which she has done nothing but complain about for 16 books, was so far off the mark as to be ridiculous. Then her being upset about him lying to her when throughout the book she is lying to him about the “diet” she supposedly is on to please him, is hypocritical. Add the childish fixation Janie has with food, junk food, in particular, makes it impossible to overlook the glaring problems with this story. The lack of any real police investigation just makes the entire book rather blah. Any cozy mystery series or book needs believable characters and motives, and this one just doesn’t have either.
I wanted to like this cozy mystery book more than I actually did. Humor was present and the story was easy to read but, in the end,, I couldn’t wrap my head around all the issues that plagued Death of a Gigolo and still enjoy the book. I hope the next addition will be something new and will invigorate the series. Perhaps its time for Janie to grow up.
One of the things I look forward to in a Jaine Austen mystery is the laugh out loud humor. I also know that the mystery will be a good one, full of play fair clues and enough twists, turns and a few red herrings to keep me guessing. In Death of a Gigolo, book #17, I got what I expected – a fun read.
Jaine hasn’t had great luck with her love life as she is divorced from the creep she married. Now it looks like Dickie may be making a return appearance in Jaine’s life. She should listen to her cat, Prozac who thinks it’s a bad idea. On top of that, she has been hired to ghost write a romance for a wealthy 60 something lady named Daisy Kincaid. The book will be titled the 50 Shades of Turquoise. Sounds like a great gig and Jaine dives into her writing while observing all of the goings on in the fancy Bel-Air home. The house is full of the strange and the odd and soon things get really strange when Daisy invites a real sleaze to move in which, rather rapidly, results in the announcement of their engagement. Oh dear. Neither Jaine nor Daisy can see what is in store for them in the romance department. Daisy soon becomes the prime suspect for murdering her boyfriend and Jaine sets out to track down the killer.
This can be read as a stand alone. The humor is on a large scale and is heightened by the missives from Jaine’s parents. They are a real hoot.
When I need a change of pace and pure escapist reading, this is the perfect series to read.
This is the 17 th book in the Jane Austin Series and still going strong. I really got a good laugh while reading this one. Poor jaine has terrible luck with romance. this time she thought she had finally found the right one with Tommy much to the horror of her friends and even her cat Prozac. then he is murdered and the race is on to find out who did it! A fast paced story and a quick read. Loved it.