Killer Cruise (Jaine Austen Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: formal night, writing your life story, override code, Laura Levine, Shoptillyoudrop Subject, Puerto Vallarta (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Levine's highly amusing if rather breathless eighth Jaine Austen mystery (after 2008's Killing Bridezilla), freelance writer Jaine gets a gig conducting a writing course on a seven-day cruise from L.A. to Mexico. The trouble begins when Jaine realizes her sneaky cat, Prozac, has stowed away in her luggage. Jaine bargains with Samoa, her eccentric steward, to keep Prozac's presence a secret by promising to read and edit Do Not Distub (sic), his 900-page thriller about a swashbuckling steward. Levine's lively wit keeps the familiar Love Boat–esque shenanigans afloat as Emily Pritchard, an elderly wealthy singleton, falls for Graham Palmer III, a botoxed gentleman escort and gold digger, who's engaged to Cookie Esposito, the ship's lounge singer. Emily's engagement to Graham throws her family in a tizzy, ditto the spurned Cookie, who's later suspected of the gigolo's ice-pick murder. In the delicious denouement, Samoa's bulky manuscript serves a useful nonliterary purpose. (May)
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Product Description

Things are already off to a rocky start when Jaine discovers a stowaway amidst her luggage - her persnickety cat Prozac. To make matters worse, Prozac is also spotted by the ship's steward, an aspiring writer who quickly uses his advantage to blackmail Jaine into editing his massive handwritten manuscript. So much for seven days of sun, fun, and relaxation...Jaine's sinking sensation grows stronger at dinner, where she meets chatty Emily Pritchard, a wealthy seventy-year-old who's traveling with her bossy personal secretary, Ms. Nesbitt, and her nephews, arrogant investment banker Kyle, and his ruggedly handsome brother Robbie. Jaine can't help noticing the tension among them, especially when the cruise's charming - and sleazy - British dancer, Graham, whisks Emily out onto the dance floor and keeps her there for the rest of the evening. Soon Emily is accepting Graham's invitations to every social event on the ship even though her nephews and Ms. Nesbitt clearly don't approve. And when the bubbly couple announces their engagement just two nights later, no one is more surprised than Graham's long time girlfriend Cookie. But the news is quickly overshadowed the next morning by the discovery of Graham's body with an ice pick protruding from his chest...The captain is quick to accuse Cookie, but Jaine suspects there are more sharks in the water. Was money-hungry Kyle protecting his inheritance? Perhaps Ms. Nesbitt was attempting to regain control over Emily's life? Or could the notorious lothario have fallen to one of his many paramours? And what about Robbie? Although Jaine finds herself falling for him, she can't help but wonder if he's been completely honest with her. Between hiding a furry fugitive, flirting with Robbie, and baiting the hook for a clever murderer, Jaine is about to dive into her most dangerous case yet...

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Kensington; 1 edition (May 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758220456
• ISBN-13: 978-0758220455
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #225,875 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jaine's Cruising for a Murder, April 30, 2009

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

Jaine has scored herself a working vacation, and she can't wait. In exchange for three one hour classes on memoire writing, she gets a free week vacation on a Holiday Cruise Lines trip down the Mexico coast. With dreams of 24 hour buffets in her head, she sets out.

But things turn disastrous before she even gets on board. On the dock, Jaine discovers that her cat, Prozac, has snuck out of the house. Since the ship won't survive a week with Prozac in quarantine, Jaine has to smuggle the stowaway into her tiny room on the Dungeon Deck (also known as the Paradise Deck, the place where all employees live).

Jaine beings to make friends with her neighbor, Cookie, and her dining companions, the Pritchard family. But every night, the tension at the dinner table seems to build. When a member of this extended group turns up dead, Jaine feels she must find the killer hiding among the passengers. Who could it be?

It's hard to believe we are eight books into this delightful series. And they really have stayed strong. There are several sub-plots that keep things moving while the suspects and motives are developed. After the murder takes place, it becomes the focus with the sub-plots filtering through every so often. But in the entire thing, the pace never lags. I thought I had the killer pegged early on, but I was surprised by the outcome.

With Jaine and Prozac on a ship, the cast of characters is mostly new. But they are still very real. And for fans of the wacky exploits of her parents, don't worry. Their e-mail exchanges are still here and possibly even funnier than normal as they wreck havoc in Los Angeles where they are supposed to be house and pet sitting.

These are very light, breezy books. They make great companions on any trip you may have planned for the summer or beside the pool at home.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amusing amateur sleuth, May 2, 2009

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Freelance writer Jaine Austen (no descendent of you know who) is thrilled with a week-long Mexican cruise in return for giving a writing class. She should have known better that the oceanic trek from Los Angles would turn horrific from the onset; Prozac her cat hid in her trunk undetected until it was too late to do anything but bring the feline on board. Jaine cuts a deal with Samoa the steward to allow Prozac on board secretly and in return she will edit his 900 page plus thriller manuscript.

Jaine is seated with the Pritchard party whose elderly single matriarch Emily is dancing with gold digging escort Graham Palmer III. He showers her with attention and soon Emily is in love. In spite of his engagement to lounge singer Cookie Esposito, Graham and Emily agree to marry over the objection of her family. Soon afterward, Graham is found dead murdered with a stolen ice-pick. The prime suspect is the dumped Cookie, but Jaine does not believe the singer killed her former fiancé. Jaine investigates with Prozac's help while trying not to fall for Emily's nephew Robbie who makes it clear he wants her.

The latest Jaine Austen amateur sleuth (see KILLING BRIDEZILLA) is a laugh out loud KILLER CRUISE that readers will want to join. Jaine spends much of the time extracting herself from one awkward mess after another. The whodunit is clever and her investigation fun, but what makes this terrific tale refreshingly brisk is Samoa and his tome that has nothing to do with the mystery, but plenty to do with a great read.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jaine Solves Another Murder, May 3, 2009

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

Jaine Austen, our favorite detective, goes on a free cruise. All she has to do is teach a class in writing. When she gets to the docks, she find out that she has a stowaway, little Prozac, her cat. Since she was running late she has no choice but to take her along. Unfortunately, her steward finds the cat and blackmails Jaine into editing his unusually long and terribly written novel.

That is just the beginning of the fun. Jaine makes constant raids on the buffet to keep up with Prozac's appetite. She meets a dysfunctional family at her assigned dining table and tries to solve a murder. All the while she is trying to start a new romance and to discourage another.

You will love the latest by Laura Levine.