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Pampered to Death (A Jaine Austen Mystery #10)
by
Laura Levine (Goodreads Author)
Jaine Austen is looking forward to an indulgent spa getaway--until she learns it's more about deprivation than relaxation. Between miniscule meals and a deadly brush with fame, surviving this vacation will be no piece of cake.
Hardcover, 228 pages
Published
August 1st 2011
by Kensington
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Jaine Austen and her cat Prozac are treated to several days at a spa by her friend Lance as a thank-you. While there, a guest is murdered, so Jaine's amateur sleuthing skills are put to the test. I'll admit the premise of this story was entertaining enough, and it moved quicker than any other book of hers I have read. However, the cat's safety was endangered on numerous occasions, and I just can't stomach that. Never, would I dream of taking my cat on vacation with me, nor would I stay there onc...more
Oct 13, 2011
Stacey Pagan
added it
Pampered to Death is the second novel I’ve read by Levine and I have to say, I love her style. The first person dialogue along with the emails that she receives from her parents crack me up! I’d love to see a novel of Janie going to FL to visit with her parents and see what would progress!
Janie’s friend gifts her a week stay at The Haven, a “swellegant spa for the rich and famous.” However, poor Janie wasn’t informed that it this is a spa to help the clients lose weight. After six plus hours of...more
Janie’s friend gifts her a week stay at The Haven, a “swellegant spa for the rich and famous.” However, poor Janie wasn’t informed that it this is a spa to help the clients lose weight. After six plus hours of...more
There's lots of disagreement, I notice, in the various reviews of Laura Levine's Jaine Austen series, sometimes even in the reviews of one book. Pampered to Death certainly ran a range of 2 to 5 stars. But generally all of them, from the lowest to the highest agreed that the book made them smile whether it was/was not the best in the series and that Levine is funny. Jaine is funny. Her parents are funny. Even her cat Prozac is funny, in the usual unfunny cat way that cats have.
I could say I agr...more
I could say I agr...more
I had an Advance Readers' Copy of this book and decided to give it a try after a few pretty intense reads. It's apparently #10 in this series, and I've not read any of the others, so I had no idea what to expect.
The heroine, Jaine Austen, is a professional writer for trade magazines, and a self-described part-time private investigator. A friend and neighbor has given her an all-expenses paid visit to a well-known spa called The Haven, and as the story begins, she is on her way there, excited at...more
The heroine, Jaine Austen, is a professional writer for trade magazines, and a self-described part-time private investigator. A friend and neighbor has given her an all-expenses paid visit to a well-known spa called The Haven, and as the story begins, she is on her way there, excited at...more
After Jaine Austen gets next door neighbor, Lance Venable off the hook for a murder rap, he surprises her with a gift of an all-expense paid week at “The Haven “ Spa (which is supposed to be the “crème de la crème” of spas) for both Jaine and her spoiled feline companion, Prozac. Jaine had envisioned a luxurious week of pampering from head to toes, fantastic dining and a chance to completely relax and unwind. Imagine her surprise when the Spa and its “services” are not at all like she expected,...more
I think this is the first book I've ever read in 2 hours. I couldn't put it down. Jaine's stay at a health spa (that best friend Lance tricked her into) turns into a murder mystery when a bitchy A-Lister turns up dead and everyone is a suspect.
I couldn't put it down because I wanted to see what was tomorrow's dinner or today's lunch. I wanted to see Prozac in all of his meowing glory. I wanted to know who offed the Hollywood princess. Would Jaine finally get past (view spoiler)...more
I couldn't put it down because I wanted to see what was tomorrow's dinner or today's lunch. I wanted to see Prozac in all of his meowing glory. I wanted to know who offed the Hollywood princess. Would Jaine finally get past (view spoiler)...more
I hadn't been impressed with her other recent books, but this one was pretty good. Like always, the cat and the emails from the parents are still the best part. In this one, Jaine's friend Lance gives her a free week at a wonderful spa. Or so she thinks. Once she gets there (with her cat, who takes their cat with them to a spa?)she realizes that its actually a fat person spa where people can go to lose weight. Its also where some B-list celebs go to get away. One person is Mallory who ends up de...more
Jaine Austen (no relation) is presented with a deluxe spa getaway by her friend Lance, she and her cat Prozac hit the road. However, when she arrives she finds it's a fat farm, with diet food, exercise, and public weigh-ins, everything Jaine hates. They even put Prozac on s diet! Not to mention that Olga, the owner, is beyond strict, making it difficult to sneak food in, and the maid is selling goodies for a huge profit. Jaine's fellow inmates, uh, companions aren't her choice of company either....more
I really enjoy the Jaine Austen Mystery series, so I probably shouldn't be considered an unbaised reviewer. I find Laura Levine's first person narrative engaging and laugh out loud funny at times. Who can resist at least a smile when you have a cat named Prozac in the story? (Even funnier is Jaine's mom who can never seem to remember her grandcat's name and has called her Valium and Xanax in other books within this series).
I have found the mystery better than most of the others books in the pre...more
I have found the mystery better than most of the others books in the pre...more
I like this cozy mystery series because it is light and fluffy and has a great dose of laughs.
The latest installment, Pampered to Death, did not disappoint. This time Jaine and her cat, Prozac, are off to a health spa. As she tries to find cheesecake and chocolate bars and avoid celery fizz drinks, Jaine gets caught up in the murder of a hollywood actress.
This time it's Jaine AND Prozac that are trying to solve the case, and its a laugh-a-minute.
I really liked this one, especially since there is...more
The latest installment, Pampered to Death, did not disappoint. This time Jaine and her cat, Prozac, are off to a health spa. As she tries to find cheesecake and chocolate bars and avoid celery fizz drinks, Jaine gets caught up in the murder of a hollywood actress.
This time it's Jaine AND Prozac that are trying to solve the case, and its a laugh-a-minute.
I really liked this one, especially since there is...more
Lance has treated Jaine and Prozac to a spa. Jaine thinks it will be nice to get away and just relax. Prozac protests the whole drive and when they check in to the resort, Jaine realizes it's a health spa! She wants to kill Lance but he won't answer the phone.
Jaine is joined by a movie star Mallory and her two assistants, Cathy a very chatty woman and a male movie star, Clint. Mallory is very much the diva and everyone soon hates her, including Olga the owner of the spa and diet Nazi as Jaine ca...more
Jaine is joined by a movie star Mallory and her two assistants, Cathy a very chatty woman and a male movie star, Clint. Mallory is very much the diva and everyone soon hates her, including Olga the owner of the spa and diet Nazi as Jaine ca...more
Perfectly fine mystery. Jaine Austen and her cat Prozac receive a gift certificate to a ritzy spa that actually turns out to be a not-so-ritzy weight loss spa, 900 calories a day, run by a woman who's close to bankrupcy. One of the other clients is an old "friend" of the owner, now a famous actress. The actress abuses the relationship and is divalike and demanding. She's found strangled and everyone at the spa had a reason to kill her. Since she's trapped at the spa, starving to death, until the...more
I think I've read all the book in this Jane Austen series--no, not 'the' Jane Austen, this Jane Austen is a struggling writer who solves murder cases on the side...though actually, its probably the other way around. She never has enough money, she eats too much and has to wear elastic waist jeans, has the most obnoxious cat (I would have killed the cat after the first book), and has the best looking neighbor who is, of course, gay. I read these books for fun. There is no redeeming value to any o...more
Sep 29, 2012
Kathy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Cozy mystery lovers, lovers of the Jaine Austen series
Shelves:
mysteries-and-thrillers
In this, the twelfth book in the series, Jaine Austen is sent to enjoy a vacation at a luxurious spa, The Haven. Little does she know when she receives this gift from her friend, Lance, (as a way of saying thanks for clearing him of murder) that said spa is actually a diet spa, a diet spa where she is subjected to a diet Nazi insistent on serving celery fizzes, a teen chef hoping to use his talent of turning every protein into a glob of grey as a way to work his way up to a job at Applebee's, an...more
Jaine got a thank you gift from Lance. It was a week long visit to an exclusive spa. However, when she arrived, the spa was not at all what Jaine expected. This latest Jaine Austen mystery by Laura Levine, will keep you laughing all the way to the bookstore to buy another! Levine's wit is peppered throughout the book. Her spoiled darling cat, Prozac's antics will keep you in stitches as well as the emails from her parents who retired to a community in Florida called, Tampa Vistas. I highly recom...more
Totally brainless, totally fun. Jaine Austen thinks she has it good when her neighbor pays for her to go to a spa... only to find out it is a weight loss diet spa... where you drink celery juice and live on 900 calories a day. While plotting to get back at her neighbor, and trying to feed her poor cat who only gets diet cat food, she has a murder to solve when a very obnoxious Hollywood star gets strangled by kelp in the seaweed wrap....
Everyone else here seems to have liked this book. Not me. I'm giving it a 2, only because the mystery itself was pretty good. But I don't think I've ever come across a book with a worse cast of characters. Not a sympathetic one in the lot. Shallow, self-centered, rude, etc. I don't plan to read any more Jaine Austen mysteries, especially since she was one of the most annoying characters.
Another " cozy mystery" series I absolutely love!! No, we're not talking "classical literature" but as far as this genre, it's one of the best
I can relate to the main character Jaine Austen and her want of all good foods, her cat, and her plain ordinary life with added bonus of PT P.I. Sleuth. It's rich in comedy and this entire series just keeps getting better and better
I can relate to the main character Jaine Austen and her want of all good foods, her cat, and her plain ordinary life with added bonus of PT P.I. Sleuth. It's rich in comedy and this entire series just keeps getting better and better
She is a funny author. The only reason to read this book is for mindless fun. I love her narative style, the way she says what she knows the person really meant but didn't say (including herself), and even her obsession with food. It is like cotton candy, light fluffy, fun and melts in your mouth into nothing. And that is why we like it.
I am a big fan of Laura Levine's books; they are light and laugh-out-loud funny! I have read the whole Jaine Austin series and find each one delightful.
This one was a particular favorite of mine because of the character involvement by Jaine's cat, Prozac.
I think I own a very close relative of Prozac by the name of Mae-Mae.
The mystery was fresh and the laughs were forthcoming throughout the book.
I would recommend this to anyone looking for a light, fun read.
Completely unoffensive and sheer deligh...more
This one was a particular favorite of mine because of the character involvement by Jaine's cat, Prozac.
I think I own a very close relative of Prozac by the name of Mae-Mae.
The mystery was fresh and the laughs were forthcoming throughout the book.
I would recommend this to anyone looking for a light, fun read.
Completely unoffensive and sheer deligh...more
Boring. Stereotypical main character whose quirks are fairly standard (and pussywhipped, too). One each of standard character list: mean celebrity, macho man who isn't, stressed out enemy of mean celebrity, motormouth woman, flaming queen, sibling rival, etc etc. Plot standard. Sigh. Oh yeah, not funny.
Small-time writer Jaine Austen is looking for some big-time pampering when she gets a gift vacation at the Haven, a famous spa. She's unpleasantly surprised when it turns out to be one of those starve-and-exercise spas, but before she can make up her mind to leave, one of the other guests is murdered and the police want everyone to stay put. Since this means 300-calorie meals, Jaine decides to investigate on her own. It seems that almost everyone has a motive, even--theoretically--Jaine. As usua...more
My guilty pleasure. I discovered this series years ago and have worked my way through them enjoying every minute. Jaine struggles with her weight and loses the battle daily. Between her cat Prozac and her parents in Tampa Vista addicted to the shopping channel Jaine keeps me amused.
My friend Babs recommended this one and I had to find out for myself what a "fat vat" is.
I've heard about spas where the rich and famous go to be pampered and I've heard about the "fat camps" where you pay to be locked away from food.
What a shock to think you're getting one and get the other!
Funny too.
I've heard about spas where the rich and famous go to be pampered and I've heard about the "fat camps" where you pay to be locked away from food.
What a shock to think you're getting one and get the other!
Funny too.
This is the 10th in the series (I think), but the first one I read. I wasn’t confused and didn’t feel out of the loop, so that’s a plus. It was an ok read, but I didn’t get hooked and I don’t plan to read any more of the series. The main character is a little bland, but I did enjoy her parents…they made me laugh.
The second of this series I've read. Just a fun, light read. Not something I read all the time, but the kind of book I keep in reserve when I need a quick chuckle. I plan to read the rest of the series.
I only read this because I loved the earlier books in the series. The mysteries were always light, but the humor which fueled the earlier books almost non-existent. It's the same old sctick.
My least favorite of this series. Just not the usual laughs that I usually get from reading these books. However, I remain a fan and look forward to the next in the series.
Jaine Austen is off to a spa thanks to neighbor Lance. Only when she gets there, she learns it's really a fat farm. When another of the guests gets murdered just before Jaine is going to escape, she decides to find the killer so she can grab some real food. This is another funny adventure for Jaine, and I laughed my way through it from start to finish.
My full review at Epinions.
My full review at Epinions.
As all of Laura Levine's other books, I loved this book. Jaine Austen is a great character and the story is fun and intriguing. Now to read the rest of them! :-)
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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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