Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake) | MYSTERY LEV | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove) | MYSTERY LEV | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | MYSTERY LEV | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | MYSTERY LEV | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Halloween is just around the corner, and between cauldrons of candy and a deliciously cute new neighbour, Jaine Austen is struggling to resist her sweet tooth. But this year, her once humdrum neighbourhood seems to be handing out more tricks than treats... When her faithful feline Prozac unwittingly scares to death a parakeet belonging to the neighbourhood's resident curmudgeon, Jaine finds herself knee-deep in toil and trouble. The cantankerous Hollywood has-been once played the part of Cryptessa Muldoon, television's fourth most famous monster mom. Now a bitter, paranoid old dame, Cryptessa spends her days making enemies with everyone on the street, and accidental bird killer Jaine is no exception. So when the ornery D-lister is murdered with her own Do Not Trespass sign on Halloween night, the neighbourhood fills with relief-and possible culprits. With a killer on the loose, Jaine hardly has time to fall under the spell of her yummy new neighbour Peter. As the prime suspect, she summons her sleuthing skills to clear her name and soon discovers that everyone has a few skeletons in their closets-and the motives for murder are endless. Could it have been Cryptessa's next door neighbours, the barracuda husband and wife realtors whose landscaping Cryptessa had bulldozed? Or the seemingly sweet old lady whose beloved dog was the object of Cryptessa's wrath? Or perhaps the crotchety actress was done in by her own nephew in a desperate attempt to get his hands on her money? As the masks come off, Jaine's search for sweet justice turns up more questions than answers. And just when she thought nothing could be scarier than her run-in with a tortuous Tummy Tamer, she closes in on the killer and learns the true meaning of grave danger...
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Levine's whimsical 11th mystery featuring L.A. freelance writer Jaine Austen (after 2011's Pampered to Death), our scatterbrained, sugar-addicted heroine; her demanding cat, Prozac; and nosy shoe salesman Lance Venable all fall head over heels for their new neighbor, Peter Connor. Unclear on Peter's sexual preference, Jaine and Lance outdo each other trying to impress the handsome book editor. Peter's arrival even brings the curmudgeonly neighborhood "witch," forgotten TV actress Eleanor Jenkins, better known as Cryptessa Muldoon, out of her cluttered house. Already facing a suit in small claims court for the death of Cryptessa's beloved parakeet, Van Helsing, Jaine falls even deeper into trouble-and under police suspicion-when the one-time star turns up on Halloween night stabbed to death with her own Do Not Trespass sign. Cozy fans will enjoy seeing how Jaine wiggles out of this one. Agent: Evan Marshall, the Evan Marshall Agency. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
If good fences made good neighbors, ad writer Jaine Austen (Pampered to Death, 2011, etc.) would need the Berlin Wall to cope with the nutty crew that surrounds her South Beverly Hills rental. No, she doesn't want to hand out campaign flyers for Lila Wood, running for town council on an anti-development platform. Nor does she want to referee the constant fights between Helen and Harold Hurlbutt across the street. Or look at pricey condos in realtors Matt and Kevin Moore's his-and-hers BMWs. (Despite her manly name, Kevin's a she.) So how does Jaine get roped into planting petunias for crabby old Eleanor Jenkins, whose 15 minutes of fame as Cryptessa Muldoon in the one-season series I Married a Zombie would be long gone if everyone didn't keep calling her Cryptessa? Probably because a hungry look from Jaine's cat, Prozac, sends the actress' beloved parakeet, Van Helsing, to bird heaven, and Jaine's a pushover for anything that punches her guilt button. She's also a pushover for Snickers bars, cinnamon raisin bagels and the cleft on the chin of her newest neighbor, literary agent Peter Connor. Jaine's bud Lance Venable's gaydar tells him that Lance isn't a gene-pool candidate, but Jaine thinks Peter may be close to hitting on her. So she rents a cute flapper outfit for Peter's Halloween party, only to find that Lance has switched it out for an ape suit--the very same costume Emmeline Owens sees on whoever sticks a "No Trespassing" sign through Cryptessa's tiny heart. Now Jaine has two puzzles to ponder: Is Peter available or isn't he, and who's trying to frame her for murder? Levine's latest finds her at her witty and wacky best.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Celebrate ten years of sleuthing and laughing with Los Angeles-based Jaine Austen. A Halloween event turns truly scary when an ornery neighbor is killed amidst the partying. Levine's first in the series, This Pen for Hire, was a Lefty Award finalist. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.