Death of a Gigolo
Daisy Kincaid is in her sixties and a heiress to a fortune. Now she wants to make a name for herself as a romance author, with a little help from Jaine, that is. As Jaine labors away on love scenes, she gets to know the wealthy woman’s gentleman friend, her household staff, and her social circle—every one of whom is horrified when Daisy falls under the spell of a much younger stud named Tommy, a rude, crude lothario who’s made himself a fixture in Daisy’s Bel Air mansion.
After Tommy and Daisy shock everyone by announcing their engagement, it doesn’t take long for someone to stab him in the neck—with the solid gold Swiss Army knife that Daisy gave him as a gift. The challenging part is trying to narrow down the list of suspects. Jaine’s going to have to put a bookmark in that love story and focus all her creative talent into untangling a tale of money and murder
Series: A Jaine Austin Mystery – Book #17
Author: Laura Levine
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Animal/Pet
Publisher: Kensington Books
Page Count: 240
Rating: 
New from Kensington Books comes the 17th addition to the cozy mystery series “A Jaine Austin Mystery” by Laura Levine, Death of a Gigolo.
I have to say, right at the start, the basic story is interesting and, at times, humorous. This applies to all of the books in this cozy mystery series. New readers and old will love the interaction between Jaine, her friends, and her family. The “emails” between her and her parents are one of the best parts of this book and the series at large.
Janie is always getting involved in murder cases and sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. Every suspect is hiding something, and in some cases, their secrets could be a motive for murder. Janie finds out that many of the key players are thieves, liars, and worse. All of them with a motive to kill the victim, who was not in the least likable. Technically, Janie uncovers the killer by accident.
Unfortunately, I took issue with every suspect having some secret intention and no redeeming value. And the fact that Janie uncovered hidden motives, as well as crimes, and she doesn’t report any of it to the police or anyone else, which is a bit too farfetched to be credible. Also, Janie falling for her ex, knowing full well what type of sleazeball he is, and for which she has done nothing but complain about for 16 books, was so far off the mark as to be ridiculous. Then her being upset about him lying to her when throughout the book, she is lying to him about the “diet” she supposedly is on to please him is hypocritical. Add the childish fixation Janie has with food, junk food, in particular, makes it impossible to overlook the glaring problems with this story. The lack of any real police investigation makes the entire book rather blah. Any cozy mystery series or book needs believable characters and motives, and this one just doesn’t have either.
I wanted to like this cozy mystery book more than I actually did. Humor was present, and the story was easy to read, but, in the end, I couldn’t wrap my head around all the issues that plagued Death of a Gigolo and still enjoy the book. I hope the next edition will be something new and will invigorate the series. Perhaps it’s time for Janie to grow up.
Books with pets as a large part of the story readers may enjoy include Julie Chase’s http://juliechasebooks.com/ cozy mystery series “A Kitty Couture Mystery” https://www.thecozyreview.com/cat-got-secrets/ or T. C. LoTempio’s https://www.tclotempio.net/ fantastic series “A Purr N Bark Pet Shop Mystery” https://www.thecozyreview.com/the-time-for-murder-is-meow/.
About the Author:
Laura Levine is a former sitcom writer (The Bob Newhart Show, Laverne & Shirley, The Love Boat, Three’s Company, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman). As an advertising copywriter, she created Count Chocula and Frankenberry cereals for General Mills. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.
Contact Laura: Jaineausten@aol.com
Find Laura on Social Media
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LauraLevineBooks/
Contact The Cozy Review
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