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57th out of 153 books
—
39 voters
Death of a Trophy Wife (A Jaine Austen Mystery #9)
by
Laura Levine (Goodreads Author)
Freelance writer and part-time sleuth Jaine Austen becomes immersed in a lethally funny cocktail of murder, mayhem, and dates from hell.
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published
May 1st 2010
by Kensington
(first published 2010)
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A very quick read, mostly becaus there's no substance to this book. Apparently, this is the 9th book in a series. I can't believe 9 of these have been published. If you like the Stephanie Plum books you'll notice the writer is unsuccessfully trying to copy that concept.
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I've been reading a lot of romance novels lately so this was a nice palate cleanser. It's a nice stand-alone book (I haven't read any others in the series but was able to follow along quite well) and a quick, fun read.
Jaine Austen (yep) is an ad writer in L.A. She is always looking for new clients and when her friend Lance introduces her to Bunny (didn't think it could get worse than "Jaine" didja?) who is the second wife of the Mattress King. Bunny is, well, a bitch. She's plastic and fake and...more
Jaine Austen (yep) is an ad writer in L.A. She is always looking for new clients and when her friend Lance introduces her to Bunny (didn't think it could get worse than "Jaine" didja?) who is the second wife of the Mattress King. Bunny is, well, a bitch. She's plastic and fake and...more
I’ll preface this review by saying that it’s likely that I’ll lose a whole lot of literary cred by admitting how much I enjoyed this book. Perhaps it’s that my brain has been rather addled by all this month of MS Readathoning, or perhaps I’m seeking a bit of brain fluff to prepare myself for the hard slog of literary fiction I have mounting up by the bed.
Or perhaps it’s that Jaine Austen, the hapless protagonist of this book, has a contract writing copy for a toilet company, and goodness, as a f...more
Or perhaps it’s that Jaine Austen, the hapless protagonist of this book, has a contract writing copy for a toilet company, and goodness, as a f...more
This is the first Jaine Austen mystery I've read but it won't be the last. She is a wonderful heroine who scoffs at designer clothes and health food. She'll keep her elastic-waisted pants, thank you very much, and chomp her way through fast food places without regret.
In this book, her neighbor and friend, the gay Lance with impeccable taste, is latched onto by the universally disliked Bunny. Bunny loves his fashion expertise and she has money to support it. Of course, she got it when she snagged...more
In this book, her neighbor and friend, the gay Lance with impeccable taste, is latched onto by the universally disliked Bunny. Bunny loves his fashion expertise and she has money to support it. Of course, she got it when she snagged...more
I really enjoyed this novel for what it is- a fast pace, quirky, quick read. It's about a stereotypical Hollywood trophy wife who gets murdered at her own party. The main character Jaine Austen (gotta love those Austenphiles) is an advertising writer and occasional PI. Jaine has a main gay, Lance, who is falsely (or maybe not?) of the murder of his best shoe buying customer, Bunny. Once Lance is questioned by the police and invading her cherished apartment and diet (she likes McD's and he wants...more
Normally I don’t read these types of books, but I gave it a try and after I zipped through the pages I just couldn’t help but love the quirky part-time unlicensed snoop, Jaine Austen, and not to mention her sarcastic cat, Prozac.
Jaine has the tendency to live dangerously - that’s of course when she’s not veggin’ out in her jammies or writing toilet bowl ads – and she gets a break from her mundane life by poking her nose into a humorous “who dunnit” case, in which she must help solve in order to...more
Jaine has the tendency to live dangerously - that’s of course when she’s not veggin’ out in her jammies or writing toilet bowl ads – and she gets a break from her mundane life by poking her nose into a humorous “who dunnit” case, in which she must help solve in order to...more
Another witty and funny book from Laura Levine! I could relate to Jaine with her fashion sense, dating troubles, and the kitty who seems to rule the house. Even as I type this, my 9-year-old tortie, Smokie, seems to be asking me to feed her.
Jaine didn't trust Bunny the minute she saw her take her best friend, Lance, from under her nose. Sure, Bunny is nice to her but Bunny has a bitchy side that no one seems to tolerate. When Bunny ends up dead, Jaine goes on the hunt to clear (view spoiler)...more
Jaine didn't trust Bunny the minute she saw her take her best friend, Lance, from under her nose. Sure, Bunny is nice to her but Bunny has a bitchy side that no one seems to tolerate. When Bunny ends up dead, Jaine goes on the hunt to clear (view spoiler)...more
Jul 13, 2010
Al
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
kindle,
read-post-kindle-2010
Protagonist Jaine Austen describes herself as a "part-time unlicensed private investigator." In other words she comes from the long literary lineup of main characters in mysteries that typically have no official (or often unofficial) reason for getting involved. Either trouble finds them, they're snoopy, or just can't help them self.
Although this is the 9th in the series of Jaine Austen stories it is my first. I thought Jaine was a great character. She's funny, self-depreciating, and very human....more
Although this is the 9th in the series of Jaine Austen stories it is my first. I thought Jaine was a great character. She's funny, self-depreciating, and very human....more
I have a weakness for a particular type of novel that I call "throwaway mysteries." They're firmly within the mystery genre, of varying degree of plot complexity, and usually of insignificant literary value (hence the throwaway bit.) Unfortunately, most of these light entertainments tend to be extremely thin plot-wise, so I wasn't expecting a whole lot when I started reading this novel, as everything about it screams genre ghetto (to be fair, I was looking for something that wasn't intellectuall...more
Jul 28, 2011
Margaret Konecsni
added it
Now that I have finished reading all the books in my possession in this series, I do a perfect judgement on them all: I hated it!
There was no character developement, no situational development; and Jaine Austen isn't even Stephanie Plum, let alone Jessica Fletcher. The fact that she takes it upon herself to clear people who have been wrongly accused is one thing, but she has almost no investigational acumen. The only situational development is that her gay neighbor Lance kept the little puff-bal...more
There was no character developement, no situational development; and Jaine Austen isn't even Stephanie Plum, let alone Jessica Fletcher. The fact that she takes it upon herself to clear people who have been wrongly accused is one thing, but she has almost no investigational acumen. The only situational development is that her gay neighbor Lance kept the little puff-bal...more
I downloaded this book from Amazon for free onto my iphone Kindle app. I had never heard of Laura Levine or The Jaine Austen Mysteries before and wasn't really sure what to expect. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised. Death of A Trophy Wife is the 9th book in the series and I hadn't read any of the others but, that didn't keep me from enjoying this book.
Jaine is an out of work freelance writer. While out with her friend Lance, Jaine is introduced to Bunny, Lance's best client at Neim...more
Jaine is an out of work freelance writer. While out with her friend Lance, Jaine is introduced to Bunny, Lance's best client at Neim...more
This was the first one of the series that I read. They can be read out of order as there really isn't continuity between the books. They are written in the first person which sometimes I find hard to deal with, but these are just hysterically funny, and what Jaine THINKS is very often different from what she actually SAYS. The other recurring characters are her cat Prozac, her gay shoe salesman neighbor Lance, her best friend Kandi who writes for a show called Beanie and the Cockroach, and the e...more
I picked this out thinking it might be a fun read and it was free on Kindle. I'm not sure which is worse, the fact that it was so bad or the fact that I actually finished it. This was an insult to my literature minor! You'll soon note that the author spends more time having the main character describe the food that she eats, her dad cooks, and her cat eats, than the main character does actually describing the other characters in the book. That may have been on purpose because I have a feeling th...more
I'm really enjoying these funny cozy mystery series by Laura Levine.
The ever funny Jaine Austen is chasing after a murderer of a trophy wife in this book in the series. I really enjoyed watching Jaine stumble through, trying to find the murderer and avoiding being the next murder victim.
I like these books because they are full of laughs. Who can resist Jaine with her lust for food and finding murderers? While the previous book, Killer Cruise, packed some laughter, this one made me love the ser...more
The ever funny Jaine Austen is chasing after a murderer of a trophy wife in this book in the series. I really enjoyed watching Jaine stumble through, trying to find the murderer and avoiding being the next murder victim.
I like these books because they are full of laughs. Who can resist Jaine with her lust for food and finding murderers? While the previous book, Killer Cruise, packed some laughter, this one made me love the ser...more
Freelance writer Jaine hopes to get a job writing ad copy for Marv Cooper, the Mattress King when her gay, shoe-salesman neighbor Lance introduces her to Marv's trophy wife, Bunny. But Bunny is unpleasant to most of the people in her life, and there are a lot of suspects when she's poisoned. Unfortunately, the police focus on Lance, because he's mentioned in Bunny's will. Meanwhile, the Uzbek tourist that Jaine's eccentric parents met comes to Los Angeles to pursue a more than reluctant Jaine, a...more
This is a very lighthearted, fun, who-done-it. The main character is Jaine Austen an advertising writer and occasional p.i. She has a gay male friend Lance who gets accused of killing his best shoe buying customer Bunny. Jaine sets out to prove him innocent once he invades her cherished apt and her diet. He eats healthy she prefers Mcdonalds. Plus it would help her bank acct and career if she could land Bunny,s widower ,s mattress King advertising acct. A cast of believable characters. I was a l...more
a fantabulous cozy mystery. Just loved it. This is the first book of the series that I read , though this is not the first in series. I really liked the dry wit (though sometimes it was repetitive) which made me laugh out loud and the heroine-ad writer-detective and her gay friend next-door. This plot revolves around a trophy wife with a cruel interior who is disliked by one and all, and it comes as no surprise when she is killed. Who did it is difficult to fathom, as all had motive to do so.
This is my first read by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. while things that happen to the heroine are far fetched, they are very humorous. I literally laughed out loud a few times.
I didn't figure out who had commited the murder but that may have been because I was so caught up in the story that i was not focusing on solving the mystery.
I really loved this book. After a long drought of just okay novels it is good to read a few really good things lately including this one.
I didn't figure out who had commited the murder but that may have been because I was so caught up in the story that i was not focusing on solving the mystery.
I really loved this book. After a long drought of just okay novels it is good to read a few really good things lately including this one.
I have had this book on my kindle "shelf" for quite a while now. I regret not having read it sooner. It is a light-hearted mystery along the lines of the Stepanie Plum series. Except maybe no hot boyfriends. Jaine Austen is a self-deprecating freelance writer who solves mysteries on the side. This time her neighbor Lance accidentally gets her invovled in a mysterious death by poisoning of his new friend and trophy wife Bunny Cooper. Meanwhile Jaine has personal problems of her own with Vladimir...more
This book does not disappoint, it's as funny as her others.
Jaine attends a party with her neighbor Lance so she can pitch an ad campaign for the Mattress King, Marvin. Marvin's new wife Bunny can be quite the pain and very demanding. At the next party, Bunny is not happy that Marvin has invited Jaine and another guest and lets him know about it. Later in the evening, Bunny doubles over and dies after drinking her martini. Many people had a reason to kill her and Jaine is on the trail.
Jaine attends a party with her neighbor Lance so she can pitch an ad campaign for the Mattress King, Marvin. Marvin's new wife Bunny can be quite the pain and very demanding. At the next party, Bunny is not happy that Marvin has invited Jaine and another guest and lets him know about it. Later in the evening, Bunny doubles over and dies after drinking her martini. Many people had a reason to kill her and Jaine is on the trail.
This book was short only 206 pages but it was so funny that I found myself laughing out loud. The main character Jaine Austen spoke to the reader revealing all her faults and weaknesses. Her profession is an ad writer but she likes to dabble in PI work. I don't want to give away the plot but I highly recommend this book to someone who wants to read something light and definitely funny. The best part is that I got this for free for my Sony Reader.
Though I read all the way through to the end, this book left me a bit flat. The protagonist seems to make her living as an independent copy writer but one wonders how she can make a living with just one account. She 'makes nice' to people she doesn't really care for to further her career and to solve the mystery. Its an okay read but with no real depth to the characters, I'll pass on this author's other books.
Something to loose yourself in for an afternoon and then completely forget about. The writing is mildly entertaining and there are some cute tongue and cheek lines. However, I found the endless references to eating and the main characters constant conversation with her cat distracting. While this provided humor the first 3 times; after that it became tiresome.
This is a cute, fast, funny read with a likable heroine and pussycat. I gave it an extra star just because I've held many of those same conversations with my own fuzz faces. I normally hate chick lit because the main character is often so stereotyped that she is too girlie to be a real girl (I call it transvestite lit) but nobody could ever accuse Jaine of being too girlie--a slob after my own heart. Sometimes attempts at humor were too forced and just didn't work, but most of the time the humor...more
Picked this up as a freebie on my Kindle. It was unexpectedly clever and funny. A nice light read with great characters and a funny story. The email exchanges between her parents regarding her Dad's "Famous Popcorn Chicken" were brilliant.
I really enjoyed it and will wind up reading more of her stuff!
I really enjoyed it and will wind up reading more of her stuff!
Okay this book land Janie in a lot of trouble and there are many laugh outloud scenes. If you're a little depressed this summer this is the perfect pick me up book and series. I have read a number of books in this series this summer and let me tell you the series just gets better and better.
My favorite "junk food" mystery series. This series is like a Krispy Kreme donut - although it isn't really good for you, it is the best of its kind, and it sure is tasty going down! I've read every book in the series and my only complaint is that Ms. Levine can't write them fast enough!!
This book was a really quick read. When I had finished it I like many others didn't know that it was part of a series. With this story it did move a bit quick, but you were able to understand all of the details of "Ms. Bunny's" death. The one cool thing about this book; there's a cat named Prozac.
was a free e-book on Kindle, and I definitely HATED the writing style. when someone was murdered I become drawn in only to find out "whodunnit". I did stop reading it after 10 minutes, but having neither availability of better books or ability to sleep, I kept at it.
I think Laura Levine has a wicked sense of humor and writes witty stories. I laughed my way through this entire book. She makes the outrageous seem normal and the rest of us can see ourselves in her clever analysis of her characters. what fun!
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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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