Shoes To Die For (A Jaine Austen Mystery) [Paperback]

Laura Levine (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Freelance writer Jaine Austen is not your typical Los Angelino. She's not rich, she's not thin, and she's definitely not starstruck. She is a sarcastic, sometime-sleuth who's never met a carb she didn't like...or a mystery she couldn't solve...If clothes make the man, then what do Jaine's elastic-waist pants and T-shirts make her? A fashion nightmare, according to her neighbour, Lance. She doesn't expect Lance - who works in the designer shoe department at Nieman Marcus - to understand...which is how she ends up visiting his favourite boutique, Passions. While the couture is definitely not for Jaine, the staff's gossip is. Tiny orange-haired clerk Becky starts complaining about her co-worker Giselle - a.k.a. "Frenchie" - a brittle blonde who, when she's not making fun of customers behind their backs, adds extra-marital notches to her Chanel belt. Though Jaine doesn't land a new look, she does land a new job when Passions' owner gives her a chance to write their new magazine ads. But when Jaine arrives the next morning to pitch her ideas, she finds Frenchie pitched over, stabbed in the neck by one of her own stilettos. Now all Jaine has to do is figure out who hated Frenchie the most, in a case of death by designer knock-off...

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (May 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758207824
• ISBN-13: 978-0758207821
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #253,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mystery with a Smile, March 29, 2008

By	J. E. Stephens "Jeanne" (Florida) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shoes To Die For (A Jaine Austen Mystery) (Paperback)

This was the second Jaine Austen mystery I have read. It was very witty. I enjoyed reading about Jaine's class and her student Mr. Goldman. He is such a funny and believable character. Reading her emails from her parents are also a hilarious subplot.

The mystery was solved eventually by Jaine in the nick of time. Although the culpret was not Jaine's first choice, she eventually figured it out.

This series is refreshing and cleverly written. You will enjoy it too!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fashionable Read, June 1, 2005

By	Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Shoes To Die For (Jaine Austen Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Jaine Austen enters the world of fashion when her neighbor Lance decides to give her a make-over. Visiting his favorite high end fashion boutique, Jaine doesn't find any clothes, but does land a potential client for her writing business. Coming in early to pitch ideas one morning, Jaine finds the body of Frenchie with one of the woman's own stiletto heels stuck in her neck. To know Frenchie was to loath her, so the list of suspects in long. The police are zeroing in on a woman who wouldn't hurt a fly, literally. When Becky hires Jaine to find the real killer, Jaine drops all her current writing assignments (ok, she had none anyway) to pursue the clues. Meanwhile, her father has his heart set on the lead in a play at her parent's retirement village, one of her memoir writing students suffers a heart attack, and Kandi signs both herself and Jaine up for speed dating.

Fans of this series will love the latest entry. All the charm and sarcastic humor of the others is present. I smiled, giggle, and laughed my way through the entire book. The book is very well set up. By the time the murder takes place, you are aware of several suspects. And how can you not love such an inventive murder weapon? The ending felt a little rushed to me and definitely could have used a few more pages to better flesh things out.

This book will appeal to those who love light mysteries. If that's you, this series is in fashion.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed this book, December 9, 2007

By	Linda J. Manson "Sammy Stringbeads" (Mechanicsville, MD United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Shoes To Die For (A Jaine Austen Mystery) (Paperback)

This was a fun book; it had comedy, mystery, and a little bit of everything...even made me hate a few characters, which usually doesn't happen. It's a good, funny read, with lots of twists.