15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What a Hoot!, March 26, 2008
This review is from: The PMS Murder (Jaine Austen Mysteries) (Paperback)
This is the first book in the Jaine Austen series I have read. I did read the Candy Cane Murder short story collection and her short story.
Laura Levine's writing is very funny and her characters are quite believable. I enjoyed reading about the seniors at the senior center. That was very believable. Anyone who has had a friend or a loved one living in a senior home has probably heard similar tales.
I imagined Andrew Ferguson as looking like the sensible bank employee in the Bank of Scotland commercials. Prozac the cat is the typical spoiled feline.
I liked how she planted little clues to let you believe one character had done it. The actual killer was a total surprise.
I think I will read more in this series. It was fairly entertaining and occasionally extremely funny.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
a very enjoyable read, June 1, 2006
If you're up for a very entertaining and rather amusing mystery novel, a little "light" in the mystery department, but that's still loads of fun to read and full of tongue-in-cheek asides, then you're bound to enjoy Laura Levine's latest Jaine Austen mystery novel, "The PMS Murders."
When a chance encounter at Bargain Barn (a discount clothing store) yields a new friend, Pam, Jaine is thrilled -- especially since her best friend, Khandi, is about to get married and is no longer available for dinners and long chats, leaving Jaine feeling rather lonely and at loose ends. So that when Pam invites Jaine to join her for her once a week meeting of the PMS club (a support group for women to meet and vent about their lives), Jaine is game. How was she to know that she would soon be up to her next in another murder investigation when the club's least liked member, Marybeth, drops dead after sampling some guacamole? (Apparently, Marybeth was allergic to peanuts and it appears as if someone had liberally laced the guacamole with peanut oil). Knowing full well that the police will concentrate on the members of the club as suspects for Marybeth's murder, and afraid that the suspicion will take its toll on her chances of landing a really good writing gig with a bank, Jaine decides to try and discover who murdered Marybeth before it's too late...
I really like Laura Levine's Jaine Austen series, and read them not so much for the mysteries as for her wonderfully entertaining writing style. This series, and this book for that matter, is to be enjoyed for it's quips, asides and hilarious yet (sometimes) embarrassing situations that Jaine generally finds herself in. The mystery subplot is sometimes on the ultra-light side, as it was with this particular installment, "The PMS Murders;" and how Jaine finally figures out who the murderer is (and how the novel is tied up) does almost beggar belief. But all those wonderful bits involving Jaine's cat, her parents and her job interviews for the bank job had me laughing out loud. And this is what made "The PMS Murders" a wonderfully enjoyable and fun read for me, and what (in spite of its light mystery plot) earned it a 4 star recommendation.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Laughter and Clues, June 5, 2006
It all starts with a chance meeting. Freelance writer Jaine Austen is shopping when she meets Pam. They hit it off right from the start, and Pam invites Jaine to join her women's support group. Calling themselves the PMS Club, they get together once a week to drink margaritas, eat guacamole, and complain about their lives.
Jaine goes, and has a great time meeting everyone. Well, almost everyone. Marybeth is overly perky to the point of annoying. She also had a known allergy to peanuts; so when she drops over dead after having some guacamole laced with peanut oil, the obvious conclusion is murder.
Since several of the members of the club are rich, the story makes local headlines. Jaine is less then thrilled to become such a public suspect in a murder, especially since it hampers her ability to land a decent paying job. So what else can she do but investigate the other members of the PMS Club herself to find the killer. The more she digs, the more motives she turns up. Seems everyone in the club had a reason to kill Marybeth. But are there any clues out there?
Of course, Jaine can never deal with just one problem at a time. She's also been forced to put her cat on a diet. Somehow, the cat seems to be getting fatter as a result. Then there's the new member of the memoir writing class she teaches at the local retirement home. The very sexy (for a senior citizen) woman has caught the attention of the lone man of the group and made the other women bitter. Plus her dad is convinced her parent's new neighbor is a wanted professional assassin.
If you're looking for a light mystery perfect for a vacation that is guaranteed to make you laugh, you've come to the right place. This series is fun bordering on the silly at times. There's nothing too deep here, but that's perfectly all right because what is here is entertaining.
The murder storyline starts off a little slow while the other storylines and the new characters are introduced. Once Marybeth dies, the murder does begin to take center stage, with the other storylines taking their rightful place in the background. The murder comes together nicely at the end. I didn't have a clue who done it until Jaine figured it out. The sub-plots have nice resolutions as well.
Then there are the characters. Jaine is a loveable heroine with a great sense of humor. Her asides and quips are often hilarious although the "He didn't say it but I know he was thinking it" can get old at times. The cast of new characters is well developed. Marybeth was getting on my nerves before she died, and I felt sorry for Rochelle, the police's prime suspect.
And then there's the writing style. The story is narrated first person with a very casual tone as if Jaine is telling the story to a friend. This makes her witty observations feel right at home. I especially love the lines she gives the cat. No, this isn't a talking cat, just the thoughts that Jaine is sure the cat has.
With a summer release, the book is perfectly timed. It's a relaxing read perfect for the season. Pick it up today and get ready to laugh.
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