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240th out of 278 books
—
621 voters
Last Writes (A Jaine Austen Mystery #2)
by
Laura Levine (Goodreads Author)
- Last Writes was a Featured Alternate Selection of the Mystery Guild.
- Will appeal to fans of comedic mysteries by such authors as Sarah Strohmeyer and Nancy Bartholomew.
- Will appeal to fans of comedic mysteries by such authors as Sarah Strohmeyer and Nancy Bartholomew.
Paperback, 255 pages
Published
June 1st 2004
by Kensington
(first published July 1st 2003)
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I love Jaine Austen's mysteries and this one did not disappoint. I was just in the mood for a fun easygoing mystery. Jaine is thrilled to get to work as a joke writer on a rather lame sitcom "Muffy 'n me" but hey, this is Hollywood and this could be her big break. Of course things don't go as planned and the fun begins. Of note, Mormons are "popular" lately and they appear in this book in the studio audience as a "sea of American Gothic lookalikes--fair-haired, gimlet eyed people who sat ramrod...more
"Last Writes" is subpar as a mystery story. The mystery itself is interesting; the style it is written in is not. While I did enjoy the plot, there were several tricks the author used that I found rather annoying:
1)the whole 'I wanted to say this, but I said this instead': it was mildly amusing the first time. But Ms. Levine has her heroine pull it five times in the course of one book! By the fifth time, I found myself wanting the character to actually say it, especially since she has so much sp...more
1)the whole 'I wanted to say this, but I said this instead': it was mildly amusing the first time. But Ms. Levine has her heroine pull it five times in the course of one book! By the fifth time, I found myself wanting the character to actually say it, especially since she has so much sp...more
Freelance writer, Jaine Austen is back, still single and still obsessed with pretending to diet. This time she lands a job writing an episode of a sitcom, Muffy 'n Me about a girl who has magical powers. Jaine dreams of riches as a staff writer while they rip her story apart, she meets the cast a crew. The handsome, flirtacious co-star is caught boffing the underaged, overendowed star on the set of the show. It comes as no particular surprise that he's murdered. When Jaine's good friend is the m...more
Continuing on with my Laura Lavine mystery series reading, this one was equally good as the others. There hasn't been any of them that have stood out at me, they are just a fun, easy, mystery read. Something I can take to work and read in between annoying phone calls.
In this book, Jaine gets the chance to write for a sitcom. And of course someone ends up being murdered and Jaine's best friend Kandi is the main suspect, so Jaine tries to clear her name. The ending is kind of disturbing, as the k...more
In this book, Jaine gets the chance to write for a sitcom. And of course someone ends up being murdered and Jaine's best friend Kandi is the main suspect, so Jaine tries to clear her name. The ending is kind of disturbing, as the k...more
This book is similar to the first, but you do not need to have read the first.
Many of the same jokes are re-used, but it's not that annoying as one would expect.
This time Jaine is working on a sitcom set, with a some pretty busy characters. Again, as Jaine tries to solve the murder, she's convinced she knows who did it... until the next chapter. Every chapter she once again has a new suspect, and this story honestly had me guessing until the very end as to who the culprit actually was.
If you lik...more
Many of the same jokes are re-used, but it's not that annoying as one would expect.
This time Jaine is working on a sitcom set, with a some pretty busy characters. Again, as Jaine tries to solve the murder, she's convinced she knows who did it... until the next chapter. Every chapter she once again has a new suspect, and this story honestly had me guessing until the very end as to who the culprit actually was.
If you lik...more
Jaine Austen, with an I, is back and this time she gets a go as a sitcom writer with her friend Kandi! No more resume writing and toiletmasters slogans for Jaine! It is all beachfront houses, malibus, marrying a hot actor, and first class food! Well, until someone gets murdered on set and the police blame Kandi, forcing Jaine to dig through the dirt of the rich and famous, and boy is it dirty.
Laura is quickly moving up my favorite authors list and with laugh out loud humor, she will become your...more
Laura is quickly moving up my favorite authors list and with laugh out loud humor, she will become your...more
Argh! I had an entire review written here and .... POOF, just like that it's disappeared. I like these books because they are a fun/funky detective series. Our main character, Jaine Austen (yes, like the famous author) isn't a detective at all, just finds herself in these situations where people die around her and she's nosy enough to try and figure it out herself. I like the characters. Especially Jaine and her roommate "Prozac" the cat. I like her lack of willpower and lack of confrontational...more
Apr 09, 2011
Diane Morasco
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
beach-read,
chick-lit,
cozy,
fun,
hilarious,
humor,
my-library,
mystery,
mystery-chick-lit,
series
Laura Levine's sophomore effort proves her debut, This Pen for Hire, was not a fluke.
Wisecracking, lovable, zany Jaine Austen is back in this comical mystery.
Told from Jaine's perspective this whimsical book is a must for readers who like their mysteries fast paced, entertaining... OK, sidesplitting w/ an abundance of humor.
Laura Levine delivers the one-liners effortlessly. This talented scribe definitely knows how to write comedy.
For readers who love their television, Laura Levine gives us a gl...more
Wisecracking, lovable, zany Jaine Austen is back in this comical mystery.
Told from Jaine's perspective this whimsical book is a must for readers who like their mysteries fast paced, entertaining... OK, sidesplitting w/ an abundance of humor.
Laura Levine delivers the one-liners effortlessly. This talented scribe definitely knows how to write comedy.
For readers who love their television, Laura Levine gives us a gl...more
My touchstone for these kinds of books is the early Stephanie Plum books which had me laughing out loud at the antics and liking the characters as well. This is my first book of this series and I may stay with it for a bit as it's a really mindless read while on the treadmill. I must say however that it was much more cliche than funny and I haven't yet developed an interest in Jaine Austen, the main character, a free-lance writer trying to break into show business as a comedy writer in LA.
I really enjoyed this book. Like so many other cozy mysteries, though, it had the annoying problem of not giving the reader a key piece of information that leads to the killer's motive, until near the end of the book. Whereas when an author does that, it usually annoys me, I was just enjoying the author's writing style so much, I forgave her. I especially loved when the main character would let the reader know what she really wanted to say versus what she actually said. Very funny!
Definitely not as good as the first in the series, which has a heroine I can barely tolerate because she's practically Cathy from the comic strip. Ack! It surprised me that the pattern for the murder--amateur sleuth investigates, figures out who did it and convinces the police, then immediately realizes she's wrong and REALLY figures out who did it, and almost dies humiliatingly in the reveal--would be exactly the same in the second book. Lame.
Zany and a rollicking good time. Jaine is a rare heroine in that she realizes she’s not perfect and often admits it in asides to the reader. The only thing I found annoying was the obvious plug for Levine’s first book. Jaine comes right out and tells the reader s/he may read about her first adventure in This Pen For Hire. It was a rude interruption of the “real world.”
I just got these books at the discount store & thought even if bad I did not spend that much. Was I surprised to find how easy they were to read & how funny she is. She does not claim to be a PI or have any experience with murder but it happens. Love her cat, so typical & that Lance gets me all the time. Loving this series.
I met this author one time with Joanne Fluke. Really enjoyed her in person. But I find unlike my other cozy mysteries I read this one I find a little harder to get into. Most Mysteries I read I do not want to to put down until I finish. However with this series I find my self putting it down and coming back to it later
Jaine Austen is thrilled when her friend Kandi gets her an assignment writing an episode of the syndicated sit-com Muffy `n Me. And, if this goes well, it might even be a permanent job. This is light reading, similar to the Bob Newhart Show of which Levine was a script writer. A fun read.
I am addicted to this series. I have read the first three and love them. To be honest I can usually figure out the bad guy in the first half of the book, but it doesn't bother me. The story is funny and I think Jaine is awesome. Just wish she'd find a good guy!
I love humorous mysteries that don't veer into stupidity, so I'm very glad to have found Laura Levine! The characters are great, especially Jaine's parents. Sometimes it's good to read something that's just really light and fun. I hope the rest of this series is as entertaining as this installment.
A fun, easy, mystery to read. Jaine Austen gets the chance to write for a sitcom. Someone ends up getting murdered and Jaine's best friend, Kandi, is the main suspect. So, of course, Jaine has to investigate.
A quick fun mystery. The writer uses lots of quick one liners that makes this book funny. Character exploration is well done. The story does not touch on anything related to Jane Austen besides her name.
2012 #5
2012 #5
I enjoyed this one, it was just as funny as the first. Jaine is a total hoot! The scene in the hardware store had me laughing out loud!! Look forward to more of Jaine's adventures in upcoming books. :)
More of the same -- but interesting to me since we just moved to Beverly Hills and that is where the story is set. Also about the movie bizz -- I liked it for pleasure reading.
This was a nice, light mystery with lot's of little comedy spikes. It kind of reminds me of Murder She Wrote or Monk (except nobody beats Monk! ;-) It was a nice, quick, easy relaxing read.
What a great series! Very light and LOL funny. Love Jaine's cat Prozac!
Thanks to my fellow GoodReaders for suggesting this series to me!
Next is "Killer Blonde" which I intend to read this weekend.
Thanks to my fellow GoodReaders for suggesting this series to me!
Next is "Killer Blonde" which I intend to read this weekend.
Another funny mystery from Laura Levine. I will certainly be picking up a few more of her mysteries. They read fast and keep you pleasantly entertained.
The more of the Jaine Austen series I read the more I love her! One of the things i love best about this series is so far no crazy love triangles!!
Once I got past the very strange sentence structure and the character's tendency to speak to the reader, I found myself enjoying this cozy mystery. It was a quick read.
2nd in the series - I do like the series/characters, especially Jaine's parents. This was not as quick or funny as the first, but will keep reading the series
This was a mystery book too but it was very funny and entertaining so it wasn't boring like most mystery novels.
My second Laura Levine book - another entertaining, mindless read..........perfect for a summer afternoon by the pool.
I loved Levine's books. They are funny, easy to read, and keep you on your toes. Another winner.
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Grew up in Brooklyn, New York, back when mastodons (and Edsels) still roamed the earth.
Education: Barnard College
First job: Reporter/photographer at a newspaper so small, we had our photos developed in the local camera shop.
Advertising claim to fame: I created Count Chocula and Frankenberry cereals for General Mills.
TV gets invented, and I get a job as a sitcom writer, turning out scripts for show...more
More about Laura Levine...
Education: Barnard College
First job: Reporter/photographer at a newspaper so small, we had our photos developed in the local camera shop.
Advertising claim to fame: I created Count Chocula and Frankenberry cereals for General Mills.
TV gets invented, and I get a job as a sitcom writer, turning out scripts for show...more
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