Customer Reviews

Death by Pantyhose (Jaine Austen Mysteries)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In this installment of the Jaine Austen mystery series, Jaine is hired by a comedienne, Dorcus MacKenzie, as a joke writer. Dorcus used pantyhose to throw at the crowd at the end of her act.
Unfortunately for Dorcus, her rival who is also her ex-husband, is violently murdered with pantyhose.
Jaine comes to the rescue again with lots of humorous scenes before she solves the murder.
You will love Death by Pantyhose.

I was delighted to discover a new entry in the Jaine Austen series. Every book has been fun, full of plot twists and engaging characters. "Death By Pantyhose," a comic parody of Hollywood behavior and mores, provides a wonderful escape from the harsh realities of today's world. It's highly recommended for anyone who wants a good mystery--or simply a good laugh.

And how can you not love a book dedicated to a beloved cat?

After what starts out as a great day turns very sour, Jaine finds herself desperate for a job. Any job. That's why she agrees to write jokes for stand-up comic at much lower then her normal rate.

Dorcas's act is really just a feminist diatribe that ends with her throwing pantyhose into the audience. Needless to say, it needs lots of work, and Jaine is wondering what she got herself into.

While getting to know Dorcas, Jaine observes Vic, another stand-up comic. He's as funny as he is arrogant, and Jaine takes an instant dislike to him. So she's not too sorry when he turns up dead. The problem is, Dorcas is the prime suspect since the murder weapon is one of the pantyhose she uses in her act.

Meanwhile, the love of Jaine's life has just come back into her life. Andrew is only in town for a few weeks. Should Jaine go for it? And her mother has given away her father's lucky shirt. Can she survive the fall out? And can Jaine balance all this and find Vic's killer?

Once again, author Laura Levine has written a funny and puzzling mystery novel. I laughed the entire way through. The pacing was a bit uneven this time as Jaine actually got a love life, but I enjoyed that sub-plot as much as the mystery. And it helped to keep Jaine a real character. And the ending once again was surprising, satisfying, and clever. Even with all the over the top antics, everything still feels real.

This series is still as appealing as ever. If you enjoy the lighter side of mystery, you'll definitely enjoy this book.

This book was great! Prozac and her diet of mackerel guts, Jaine's obsession with food (so funny) and the witty emails from her parents are all back with tons of laughs. I love how the author refers to Jaine's ex in every book as "The Blob". It's such a funny name and description and I love the familiar references in every book of the series. It's like hanging out with your best friend again and again. Levine is such a funny writer. Jaine's thoughts are so hilarious and she reminds me of myself. I'm already looking forward to the next book!!

I won't do a synopsis as the previous reviewers have already done a good job at that. I'll just say how much I enjoyed the latest in the Jaine Austen series by Laura Levine. The characters are all such characters! And I can relate to so much of Jaine's angst I feel like we'd be friends. With all the potential suspects, the mystery keeps you guessing and with out-loud laughs on each and every page it's another winner. I'm looking forward to giving Death by Pantyhose as gifts this summer. Brava!

The sixth in the Jaine Austen series, Death by Pantyhose starts with a bang--and a crime. Copywriter Jaine Austen goes for an interview at a huge ad agency and winds up getting her ten-year-old Corolla stolen, and gets stuck with a huge lunch bill, at the same time as she misses her interview.

Yep, she thinks the man who invites her to lunch and insists on them taking her car to an upscale restaurant is interviewing her over lunch. However, when he goes out to her car to get his briefcase, he drives off in it.

She ends up desperate for income and is hired as a writer by a very unfunny woman comedian named Dorcas. Jaine endures Dorcas' painfully bad act, and watches popular comedian Vic humiliate her at the Laff Palace. Vic introduces his new beautiful blonde agent, then drops the bombshell that they are also engaged and he is leaving because he has a network contract. His girlfriend Allison, his writer, Hank, and his old agent Manny are stunned. Then Dorcas loses it and attempts to strangle Vic.

When Vic is found strangled in his home, with Dorcas standing over him holding the pantyhose (one of the pantyhose she uses in her act), she is arrested. Jaine can't stand it--she is sure she can figure out who among all the many people with motives might have actually done it. There are clues galore, but no real proof. Who is Vic's ex-wife? Who took Dorcas' cloisonne lipstick case? Who has something to hide--like a past career in porn or a tape-recorded infidelity?

And there is a sweet sub-plot. Will Jaine ever get to really know the adorable Andrew, a banker who seems to want to see her, even if he is back in town for a short while? Unfortunately he works at the bank with bitchy ex-girlfriend Samantha, who is determined to keep them apart.

This enjoyable romp around Los Angeles in beat-up, barely working rental cars has whiffs of Sarah Strohmeyer, Janet Evanovich and Jennifer Crusie--but Laura Levine is a truly uniquely funny writer.

Armchair Interview says: Laughs abound, and who doesn't need that?

This book is exactly why I always give an Author two chances to 'hook' me as a reader. This book was way more to my taste than the last one I'd read. In "Death by Pantyhose" there was a balance between the humor (which was more general,) and the actual murder mystery.

I truly enjoyed the e-mails from the parents and the inner 'thoughts' of Jaine as she bumps through her daily life while attempting to help others by solving crimes.

This book had it all, an interesting mode of murder, interesting locations and characters. The humor was bright and not so self-deprecating as in her last novel. Jaine Austen has a good soul and I just don't like her being so hard on herself. I like her.

Now, I am looking forward to reading her other books in the series.

I found this book by chance, I loved it and I am going to read the whole Jaine Austen collection. IT's funny, cute, interesting, mysterious - I really loved it!!! 5 *****

Freelance writer Jaine Austen's finances are looking pretty good until a con man, under the guise of a potential employer, takes her for a free lunch and her Toyota. Now Jaine has to come up with enough funds for a new car. Desperate for money, she reluctantly agrees to become a writer for feminist comedian Dorcas MacKenzie whose signature is cutting up a pair of pantyhose and throwing it at her audience. On and off stage, Dorcas is heckled by Vic, a mean-spirited comedian who can't keep his hands off the ladies. Luck seems to follow Vic around until the night he jeers Dorcas one too many times and Dorcas assaults him in front of a bar filled with people. Later that night, Vic's found strangled to death by a pair of pantyhose, leading to Dorcas's arrest. Jaine's on the case in a heartbeat, conducting her own investigation, trying to figure out who among the many suspects offed Vic.

Jaine Austen is a fun character, a woman who can't resist fattening foods and her moody cat, Prozac. The emails from her parents (this time over a lucky shirt of her dad's) bump the humor bar even higher, and the characters Jaine contends with while doing her amateur sleuthing generate plenty of laughs.

Jaine Austen will never learn, thank goodness! Fun book, I enjoy keeping up with prozac & her quirky parents.