Killer Blonde: A Jaine Austen Mystery by Laura Levine

BUY IT NEW

  • Limited Time Offer! Everyone receives the Member Price on books.
    See Details
  • This item is currently out of stock.
  • Add To List uiAction=GetAllLists&page=List&pageType=list&ean=9780758201621&productCode=BK&maxCount=100&threshold=3

BUY IT USED

29 copies from $1.99

See All Available

Pick Me Up

Reserve it at BN.com & pick it up in 60 minutes at your local store.

Enter a zip code

(Hardcover)

  • Pub. Date: June 2004
  • 256pp

    Reader Rating: (3 ratings)

    See All Detailed Ratings

    Buy it Used: 29 copies from $1.99 See All Available
     
    • Overview
    • Editorial Reviews
    • Customer Reviews
    • Features

    Product Details

    • Pub. Date: June 2004
    • Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
    • Format: Hardcover, 256pp

    Synopsis

    Armed with a wicked wit and a wanton disrespect for LA's most inflated egos, freelance writer Jaine Austen is back on the scene with a ghostwriting gig that has her rubbing elbows with the rich and deadly…

    A gal with a serious Ben & Jerry's habit and credits including a tome entitled "I Was Henry Kissinger's Sex Slave" can't afford to be too picky about employment opportunities. So when Beverly Hills socialite SueEllen Kingsley offers Jaine megabucks to ghostwrite a book of hostess tips, it's time to sharpen the #2s.

    So what if Jaine has to take dictation from a rail-thin lady of leisure in a bubble bath, sporting man-made breasts-crafted, no doubt, by her plastic surgeon husband, Hal-that qualify as flotation devices? Pride doesn't feed the cat (and Jaine's furry roommate, Prozac, eats more than the average kitty). A dubious side benefit of this particular job is an up-close, personal view of the amorous exploits of Hollywood's ladies-who-lunch. Apparently, swinging is alive and well in LA. The only bright spot is sixteen-year-old Heidi, a girl after Jaine's own heart. Shy, overweight, and oppressed by her stepmother, SueEllen, Heidi could use a friend as much as Jaine could use an ally.

    But everything short circuits when Jaine finds SueEllen floating face down in her tub, fried by her own blow dryer. The primary suspect: Heidi, whose account of a mysterious blonde fleeing the scene is greeted with skepticism by Beverly Hills' finest. It's time for Jaine to flash her YWCA membership card (that's Young Women's Criminology Association, for your information), and see which blonde's ambition led to murder. Peroxided suspects abound, including a very private masseuse, a jealous nurse, a former game show hostess…even a closet blonde with a surprising secret. One of them is hiding a murderous heart behind pricey highlights, and Jaine's out to expose the killer's dark roots. Because blondes have enough fun without getting away with murder…

    Publishers Weekly

    In Laura Levine's Killer Blonde: A Jaine Austen Mystery, her third cozy to feature sassy freelance writer and sometime sleuth Jaine Austen (after 2003's Last Writes), Jaine agrees to ghostwrite a book of hostess tips for SueEllen Kingsley, a Beverly Hills socialite. When the abusive, self-centered SueEllen gets electrocuted in her bathtub, Jaine must do what she can to exonerate the chief suspect in the murder, the victim's endearing, chubby teenage stepdaughter. The identity of the real killer comes as an abrupt if smart surprise. Agent, Evan Marshall. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

    More Reviews and Recommendations

    Customer Reviews

    Ghostwriting can be deadly businessby Anonymous

    Reader Rating:
    See Detailed Ratings

    March 29, 2005: Jaine Austen is hired as a ghostwriter by SueEllen Kingsley. Jaine doesn?t really want to work for her, but she can?t turn down the three thousand dollars a week she is paying. Jaine befriends Heidi, SueEllen?s teenage step-daughter. Heidi tells her that she?ll probably quit within a week like everyone else as they can?t survive with SueEllen. SueEllen does most of her work while soaking in the tub. Jaine finds sitting on the toilet a terrible place to work. Plus having to look at SueEllen?s perfect boobs, a present from her plastic surgeon husband, every day is difficult. Jaine stays for dinner one night and quickly finds that the women in the house don?t get but a miniscule helping. After Heidi?s birthday party where SueEllen is very mean to Heidi, Jaine decides to quit. Unfortunately when Jaine arrives for work to tell SueEllen she quits, Jaine finds SueEllen has been electrocuted in the tub by her hairdryer. The police believe Heidi killed her. Jaine believes Heidi when she says she didn?t do it and that she saw a blonde in the hall not long before SueEllen was discovered. Jaine sets out to try to find out who killed SueEllen to keep Heidi from going to jail. Since SueEllen was mean to everyone, there are plenty of suspects in Jaine?s mind. There are quite a few blondes as well. Plus Jaine discovers plenty of infidelity going on as well. Books in this series are so much fun to read. Jaine is a fun character and has plenty of one-liners to keep you laughing. Jaine?s neighbor Lance is a great supporting character in the series. There?s always lots of laughs with the various guys Jaine dates as well. There are plenty of clues but lots of suspects as well. I didn?t figure out who did it or why until it was revealed. I highly recommend this book.

    An upbeat mysteryby harstan

    Reader Rating:
    See Detailed Ratings

    August 20, 2004: Though she would prefer to say no to Beverly Hills socialite SueEllen Kingsley, THIS PEN FOR HIRE writer Jaine Austen needs the money so that she and Prozac the cat can eat in the style that Ben & Jerry recommend. She knows if offered she will accept the ghostwriting of an insipid mess. Before meeting SueEllen, Jaine meets her client?s stepdaughter fifteen years old overweight Heidi, who warns her that within a week she will quit because no one survives the queen of mean. The interviews starts out strange as SueEllen resides in a giant bathtub and Jaine cannot get her eyes off of the perfect boobs that apparently was a present from her plastic surgeon husband................................... Jaine sits on the toilet while SueEllen dictates her memoir At Home with SueEllen. Quickly she considers quitting and giving up 3K a week instead of trying to fix a book that has recipes that start with the maid and the cook doing the work. Someone else gives her assignment its LAST WRITES as SueEllen is electrocuted in her tub by her hairdryer. The police believe Heide killed her stepmother, but the teen insists she saw a blond run from their home. Jaine likes Heide and begins an investigation hoping to find the KILLER BLONDE............................... The third Austen amateur sleuth tale is an amusing story as Jaine provides a stand up comic?s running soliloquy. The story line is fun and contains a few surprising but reasonable twists. The SueEllen-Heide relationship sounds some what like ?Mommy Dearest? so the teen makes a perfect suspect. Fans will laugh at Jaine?s observations as Laura Levine furbishes a jocular who-done-it................................. Harriet Klausner


    More Customer Reviews