Killer Blonde (Jaine Austen Mysteries) [Paperback]

Laura Levine (Author)

Book Description

Series: Jaine Austen Mysteries | Publication Date: May 3, 2005

A gal with a serious Ben & Jerry's habit can't afford to be too picky about employment opportunities. So when Beverly Hills socialite SueEllen Kingsley offers freelance writer Jaine Austen megabucks to ghost write a book of hostess tips, it's time to sharpen the No. 2s. But everything short circuits when Jaine finds SueEllen floating face down in her tub, fried by her own blow dryer. The primary suspect: Heidi, SueEllen's stepdaughter, whose account of a mysterious blonde fleeing the scene is greeted with scepticism by Beverly Hills' finest. Peroxide suspects abound, including a very private masseuse, a jealous nurse, a former game show hostess...even a closet blonde with a surprising secret. One of them is hiding a murderous heart behind pricey highlights, and Jaine's out to expose the killer's dark roots. Because blondes have enough fun without getting away with murder...

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (May 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 075820163X
• ISBN-13: 978-0758201638
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,330,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laura Levine is a former sitcom writer (The Bob Newhart Show, Laverne & Shirley, The Love Boat, Three's Company, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman). As an advertising copywriter, she created Count Chocula and Frankenberry cereals for General Mills. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.

She and her husband live in Los Angeles.

Readers are welcome to contact her at [e-mail] or on her website at www.lauralevinemysteries.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laughs and Mystery Aplenty, August 6, 2004

By 

Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Killer Blonde (Jaine Austen Mysteries) (Hardcover)

When Jaine gets the phone call, she thinks she's hit the mother lode. SueEllen Kingsley wants a ghost writer for her party planning and recipe book and is willing to pay three thousand dollars a week. Jaine soon finds that working for SueEllen is hardly worth the effort. The woman is mean to all around her, especially her step-daughter. After a few days, Jaine is ready to quit. But when she arrives to resign, she finds her employer dead. With the police focusing on the step-daughter, Jaine steps in to find the real killer. Meanwhile, her parents are having another crisis. Seems her father has bought a used toupee that looks horrid and insists on wearing it at all times. Can Jaine help her mother from three thousand miles away?

Having read the previous two books, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. I was once again rewarded with a hilarious book with a great mystery. The plot left me plenty confused; I never would have guessed the killer. Laura Levine is the queen of the one-liner. I was laughing the entire way through the story. The sub-plot with Jaine's parents just adds to the fun. Jaine is charming and sympathetic heroine, and you can't help but root for her to solve the latest puzzle.

If you have never met Jaine Austen before, you are in for a treat. This is a wonderfully charming cozy series. Once you get started, you'll want to read them all.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Not So Blonde Moment, May 4, 2008

By 

J. E. Stephens "Jeanne" (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Killer Blonde (Jaine Austen Mysteries) (Paperback)

This Jaine Austen installment was very enjoyable. Ms. Levine is such a clever writer. She writes a great mystery with lots and lots of humor entwined.

A blonde socialite hires Jaine to be her ghostwriter. Jaine soon learns that she is working for a wicked stepmother. After a few days on the job, Jaine shows up for work to find her employer murdered. Jaine has made friends with the stepdaughter and doesn't believe she was the killer even though the police think that very thing.

After many days of sleuthing, Jaine is sure the mystery is solved and that all loose ends are tied up. However, a surprise ending makes this book riveting until the last page.

The writer has many red herrings throughout and just when you think you know you find yourself surprised.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She's a "Killer" of a Writer, January 3, 2007

By 

Samantha Augustus (Southwick, Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Killer Blonde (Jaine Austen Mysteries) (Paperback)

As soon as I read this book by Laura Levine I had to order the rest of her "Jaine Austen" series. She's funny, she's entertaining and she writes a great mystery. She "grabbed" me right away. Her books are page turners. I was impressed with the unusual way she includes her family in her books. I don't believe she started including "emails" from her zany parents until her second mystery in this series but they are inventive and now expected as well as anticipated in each one she writes. She has a flare for humor and that's what I enjoy and look for in mysteries. If you favor a whodunit with a little more than the usual and sometimes boring quessing game of which character in the book is the guilty party, this is a great series to start with. She's right up there with Janet Evanovich, Sarah Strohmeyer and Lori Avocato - just to name a few. I wish I could give her more than 5 stars!!