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Smarmy personals ads. Daring declarations of love. Writer-for-hire Jaine Austen has penned them all. But when one of the love connections she made is broken up by murder, Jaine finds herself freelancing free-of-charge - and uncovering more than she bargained for…No one seems to need her help more than geeky, gawky Howard Murdoch. His request is simple enough: a letter proclaiming his undying love for Stacy Lawrence, a gorgeous aerobics instructor.
Julia Snowden returned to her hometown to rescue her family's struggling clambake business - not to solve crimes. But that was before a catered wedding on picturesque Morrow Island turned into a reception for murder. When the best man's corpse is found hanging from the grand staircase in the Snowden family mansion, Julia must put the chowder pot on the back burner and join the search for the killer. And with suspicion falling on her old crush, Chris Durand, the recipe for saving her business and salvaging her love life might be one and the same…
It was a hell of a long shot.... CIA assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever - in Sinful, Louisiana. With a leak at the CIA and a price placed on her head by one of the world's largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off-grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element.
In the gentle coastal town of South Cove, California, all Jill Gardner wants is to keep her store - Coffee, Books, and More - open and running. So why is she caught up in the business of murder? When Jill's elderly friend Miss Emily calls in a fit of pique, she already knows that the city council is trying to force Emily to sell her dilapidated old house. But Emily's gumption goes for naught when she dies unexpectedly and leaves the house to Jill, along with all of her problems...and her enemies.
It's the end of the roaring twenties, and the exuberant and Honourable Phryne Fisher is dancing and gaming with gay abandon. But she becomes bored with London and the endless round of parties. In search of excitement, she sets her sights on a spot of detective work in Melbourne, Australia. And so mystery and the beautiful Russian dancer, Sasha de Lisse, appear in her life. From then on it's all cocaine and communism until her adventure reaches its steamy end in the Turkish baths of Little Lonsdale Street.
At the end of her first unsuccessful season out in society, Lady Georgiana has all but given up on attracting a suitable man - until she receives an invitation to a masked Halloween ball at Broxley Manor. Georgie is uncertain why she was invited, until she learns that the royal family intends to marry her off to a foreign prince, one reputed to be mad.
Smarmy personals ads. Daring declarations of love. Writer-for-hire Jaine Austen has penned them all. But when one of the love connections she made is broken up by murder, Jaine finds herself freelancing free-of-charge - and uncovering more than she bargained for…No one seems to need her help more than geeky, gawky Howard Murdoch. His request is simple enough: a letter proclaiming his undying love for Stacy Lawrence, a gorgeous aerobics instructor.
Julia Snowden returned to her hometown to rescue her family's struggling clambake business - not to solve crimes. But that was before a catered wedding on picturesque Morrow Island turned into a reception for murder. When the best man's corpse is found hanging from the grand staircase in the Snowden family mansion, Julia must put the chowder pot on the back burner and join the search for the killer. And with suspicion falling on her old crush, Chris Durand, the recipe for saving her business and salvaging her love life might be one and the same…
It was a hell of a long shot.... CIA assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever - in Sinful, Louisiana. With a leak at the CIA and a price placed on her head by one of the world's largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off-grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element.
In the gentle coastal town of South Cove, California, all Jill Gardner wants is to keep her store - Coffee, Books, and More - open and running. So why is she caught up in the business of murder? When Jill's elderly friend Miss Emily calls in a fit of pique, she already knows that the city council is trying to force Emily to sell her dilapidated old house. But Emily's gumption goes for naught when she dies unexpectedly and leaves the house to Jill, along with all of her problems...and her enemies.
It's the end of the roaring twenties, and the exuberant and Honourable Phryne Fisher is dancing and gaming with gay abandon. But she becomes bored with London and the endless round of parties. In search of excitement, she sets her sights on a spot of detective work in Melbourne, Australia. And so mystery and the beautiful Russian dancer, Sasha de Lisse, appear in her life. From then on it's all cocaine and communism until her adventure reaches its steamy end in the Turkish baths of Little Lonsdale Street.
At the end of her first unsuccessful season out in society, Lady Georgiana has all but given up on attracting a suitable man - until she receives an invitation to a masked Halloween ball at Broxley Manor. Georgie is uncertain why she was invited, until she learns that the royal family intends to marry her off to a foreign prince, one reputed to be mad.
Selchester Castle in 1953 sits quiet and near-empty, its corridors echoing with glories of the past. Or so it seems to intelligence officer Hugo Hawksworth, wounded on a secret mission and now reluctantly assuming an altogether less perilous role at Selchester.
Mrs. Virgil (Emily) Pollifax of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was a widow with grown children. She was tired of attending her Garden Club meetings. She wanted to do something good for her country. This first in the series sends Emily on her first case after she successfully persuades a skeptical CIA recruitment officer that she is the best person for the job.
Margot Cary has spent her life immersed in everything Lake Sackett is not. As an elite event planner, Margot's rubbed elbows with the cream of Chicago society and made elegance and glamour her business. She's riding high until one event goes tragically, spectacularly wrong. Now she's blackballed by the gala set and in dire need of a fresh start - and apparently the McCreadys are in need of an event planner with a tarnished reputation.
Jayne Frost is a winter elf, Jack Frost's daughter, Santa Claus's niece, heir to the Winter Throne, and now private investigator. Needing someone he can trust, her father sends her to Nocturne Falls to find out why employees at a toy store are going missing. Doing that requires getting to know the town, which leads to interesting encounters with a sexy vampire, an old flame, and an elevator that's strictly off-limits. The more Jayne finds out, the more questions she has, but the answers lead her deeper into danger.
In her first foray into the sleuthing game, resourceful, red-headed Hannah Swensen must find the right ingredients to solve two perplexing murders. One chilly morning on her way to The Cookie Jar, Hannah discovers Ron, the dairy delivery man, shot dead in his truck. When she begins to investigate, she suspects the dairy owner. But when he, too, is murdered, Hannah must look further afield for the culprit.
Rachel Goldman writes mysteries in which Duffy Madison, consultant to the county prosecutor's office, helps find missing persons. Rachel is busy working on her next book when a man calls out of the blue asking for help in a missing person case. The caller's name? Duffy Madison. Is this real, or has she lost her mind? She doesn't have much time to find out, because a serial killer is on the loose, kidnapping and murdering mystery authors. And Rachel may just be the next target.
Clare Cosi used to manage the historic Village Blend coffeehouse…until she opted for quieter pastures and a more suburban life. But after ten years and a little friendly cajoling from the owner (a fresh pot of Jamaican Blue Mountain was all it took), she's back to the grind. With a sprawling rent-free apartment directly above the Village Blend, her cat Java by her side, and plenty of coffeehouse redecorating ideas, Clare is thrilled to return to work. Until she discovers the assistant manager unconscious in the back of the store, coffee grounds strewn everywhere.
After leaving a dicey marriage and losing a beloved job in a corporate crash, Pepper Reece has found a new zest for life running a busy spice and tea shop in Seattle's Pike Place Market. Her aromatic creations are the talk of the town, and everyone stops by for a cup of her refreshing spice tea, even other shopkeepers and market regulars. But when a panhandler named Doc shows up dead on the store's doorstep, a Seattle Spice Shop cup in his hand, the local gossip gets too hot for Pepper to handle.
Lily Ivory hopes for a normal life when she opens Aunt Cora's Closet. With her magical knack for vintage fashion - she can sense vibrations of the past from clothing and jewelry - her store becomes a big hit. But when a client is murdered and children start disappearing from the Bay Area, Lily may be the only one who can unravel the crime.
Few can compete with the Natasha Smith when it comes to entertaining, but her childhood rival, Sophie Winston, certainly tries. While Natasha is known for her intricate centerpieces and painstakingly prepared gourmet meals, Sophie likes to keep things simple...real simple.
When Santa Claus is a cop, you better watch out. It’s not looking like a very merry Christmas for San Diego cop Nick Pappas. Suspended from his job, alienated from his family, and persecuted by the press, he’s sorely tempted to turn his gun on himself. Except for his first name, he couldn’t possibly have less in common with jolly old St. Nicholas. But when a local mall decides it needs a secret Santa to help collar some vicious muggers preying on its holiday shoppers, Nick’s persuaded to red-suit up so as to take the naughty punks down and avert a ho-ho homicide.
The morning of her niece's wedding, Margo Just drinks a double martini and contemplates the many mistakes she's made in her fifty-odd years of life. Spending three decades in love with a wonderful but unattainable man is pretty high up on her list of missteps, as is a long line of unsuccessful love affairs accompanied by a seemingly endless supply of delicious cocktails.
Love is in the air as freelance writer Jaine Austen begins a new job at the Dates of Joy matchmaking service--but between juggling her boss's demands, deflecting theadvances of an eccentric suitor, and tracking down a calculating killer, she hardly has time to think about romance. . .
When Jaine lands a job writing web copy and brochures for matchmaker Joy Amoroso, she's excited for a chance to help the lovelorn just in time for Valentine's Day--until she realizes what "Dates of Joy" is really all about. Joy is a ruthless taskmaster who screams at her employees for the smallest infractions, pads her website with pictures of professional models posing as clients, and offers up convincing but empty promises of love in exchange for inordinate sums of money. And woe betide anyone who lays a finger on her heavily guarded stash of chocolates. So it's no surprise when the chiseling cupid turns up dead at a Valentine's Day mixer.
Aghast to find herself on the cops' suspect list, Jaine sets out to track down the killer. Who could it be? Joy's harried assistants, whose lives she made a living hell? Her younger lover? The handsome hunk of a client with a secret in his past? Or the furious Beverly Hills widow who forked over the last of her savings for a Prince Charming who never materialized? Joy left behind a slew of enemies struck by her deviant arrows, so finding the culprit may prove harder than spotting that elusive caramel praline in a box of chocolates--and Jaine will have to flirt with danger to get to the truth...
Witty dialogue, good plot, and quirky characters, I hope more Jaine Austen on Audible soon!
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
The story is OK. but there are too many times she over-states something and then tells the truth. it was funny the first dozen times.
even the main character is not believable.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
This is another great book in the Jaine Austen series. Jaine is once again under suspicion for murder. She noises around to find the killer. As always, there are plenty of hijinks on Jaine's part and also from her father. The mystery is fun and enjoyable. The characters are entertaining and realistic. This is a very good story. I can't wait until the next book comes out.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
I love California mysteries. I've been reading Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone since "C is for Corpse" (1986), published the year I moved to Southern California. It's a place of stark contrasts - an oasis wrenched from the desert by William Mulholland, always flooded or in drought; of glittering Hollywood dreams built on the backs of migrants 'sans papiers.'
I keep looking for Marcia Clark's Rachel Knight ("Guilt by Association" (2011) etc.) at the Grand Central Market on Broadway when I get Thai take out after a Case Management Conference at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse. And Michael Connelly - can I subpoena Harry Bosch ("The Black Echo" (1992), etc.) when I am defending a driver confused by Ventura Boulevard? And there's the LA Noir of Raymond Chandler, Gar Anthony Haywood, and Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins . . .
What Los Angeles mysteries don't do often enough is laugh when desperation turns to absurdity, and a 30 something looking for Mr. Right (or a 'Mr. I'm not a convicted felon and I can pay my half of the rent, but I'll leave the seat up and eat your yogurt') ends up dating an almost 80 something eligible with a blond toupee so frightening it deserves it's own movie, or at least an hour on Dateline.
Laura Levine finds that line between desperation and humor (I think it's on Wilshire Boulevard, west of the 405, by the way) and leaps over it in "Killing Cupid" (2014). We're talking doubled over laughing when laundry needs to be folded, here. And Jaine Austen's parents, who have their own Florida subplot going? I'm perpetually surprised that there aren't charges involved.
About the narration - well, I was listening to Brittany Pressley's narration by my mother's Persian cat, Crush. When Jaine Austen's cat, Prozac, meowed, Crush started looking for the offender. Crush may be a bit inbred, but he was a true believer.
[If this review helped, please press YES. Thanks!]
13 of 21 people found this review helpful
I have no idea why I kept listening to this book. The whole premise was dreadful.
Here's the thing about the murder victim (Joy).. She's not very likable. In fact, she's purposely written to be insufferable, and she plays the character well. The narrator is spot on with the shrill fake British accent, and boy is she a pain in the butt. The problem is, when she gets poisoned I didn't really feel a deep need to get justice for her. I wasn't all that invested in solving the crime. Usually when the victim is beloved character it drives a sense of urgency for answers. This book didn't have that. Joy was written well, because her character was not only irritating, but she's also a horrible person conning people out of lots of money.
I also didn't love the emails from her parents which interrupt the plot all the time. I didn't much care for what her parents were up to, especially not in the form of email letters. I really could have done without that. It seemed to only slow the pace of the story at the most inconvenient times.
I like Jaine as a character & I enjoy her friendship with Lance, who is a ton of fun. Her cat, Prozac, actually has a bigger personality than most the human characters which is hilarious. Also, Jaine's nicknames for people is also humorous, such as "Detective Adam's Apple." Overall a cute cozy, but not quite charming enough to go further in the series
Based on all the good reviews and descriptions of this book as "witty," I gave it a try. I've rarely seen a book less witty. I know the humor was supposed to be zany and over the top, but when such humor works there is nevertheless a base of humanity and believability that comes through (i.e., the Marx Brothers or P.G. Wodehouse). I didn't find enough realism in the characters to be able to buy into the their supposed zaniness, and often it felt like the author was just ignorant of her own subject matter (like giving us a "dedicated vegan" character who eats yogurt and is a regular at a famous steak restaurant for the steamed vegetable plate). I thought the narrator had little to recommend her beyond her inexplicable propensity to act like an idiot and the author basically had contempt for all of her other characters. I don't think mocking derision is a viable substitute for actual humor and wit.
Quirky characters, a fantastic narrator, a mystery, and a sassy cat make for a great read! I really enjoyed this book from start to finish.
Quick and fun read overall, but I felt that the humor was a little forced and repetitive. It was The characters and events were so over the top that the book was a little cheesy for my taste.
The narration worked well for the story though.
What made the experience of listening to Killing Cupid the most enjoyable?
The actress reading the book was fantastic and she did a great job
Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?
at times yes it did, however there were a couple of dips but over all, good time
What about Brittany Pressley’s performance did you like?
she was great
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
The Prozac show
Any additional comments?
I hope more people try this author