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COZY/CHICK LIT MYSTERY
LAST WRITES
Wisecracking pen-for-hire Jaine Austen is back—and she’s about to discover that working on the set of a Hollywood sitcom is no laughing matter…

Jaine still hasn’t found a good man—or a way to keep all those sugary snacks from going straight to her hips. But—with a little help from her best friend Kandi—she’s finally landed a gig as a sitcom writer! True, Muffy ‘n Me (aka “Bewitched with Tits”) isn’t going to win any Emmys. And her office at Miracle Studios needs a little sprucing up, and a few dozen rat traps. But it sure beats writing boring brochures and bad resumes, so Jaine’s not complaining. Until the plot thickens—with murder…

Jaine figures the trouble all started when Muffy ‘n Me’s hottest star, gorgeous Quinn Kirkland, seduced the head writer—whose husband also works on the show. But when Quinn’s caught in bed with the barely-legal actress who plays his niece, things really heat up—and his many jealous girlfriends start to figure things out…

So when the no-good heartthrob drops dead after nibbling a poisoned doughnut, Jaine isn’t terribly surprised. But who could have done it? A competitive co-star and a couple of scorned lovers top Jaine’s list of suspects, but the police have zeroed in on her man-crazy pal Kandi. She fell hard for Quinn—and nearly fell apart when she learned of all his other women. Now Jaine has to figure out who finally stopped Quinn’s cheatin’ heart—before her best friend ends up behind bars…
Read A Review:

Jaine Austen runs a writing service out of her apartment, in Los Angeles, called This Pen for Hire.  She writes resumes, letters, brochures and personal ads – lots of personal ads.  She shares her apartment with her cat Prozac. 

Now her friend Kandi Tobolowski has gotten her a job as “guest writer” with a script assignment on the comedy called Muffy ‘n Me.  Jaine wrote a segment called “Cinderella Muffy.”  The head writers Stan and Audrey Miller had liked it.  So, here she was.  Miracle Studios wasn’t one of the more glamorous studios and the office she shared with Kandi  was a closet-sized room.  The window overlooked the transvestites on Santa Monica Boulevard.  

The star of Muffy ‘n Me is Vanessa Dennis.  She is a lovely teenager, but Jaine soon found out that her personality was not so lovely.  

One day on the set they accidentally walk in on actor Quinn Kirkland and Vanessa Duffy “boffing like crazed rabbits.”   

Later when Quinn dies, Kandi is considered to be the police’s top suspect because she handed the donuts to him that were poisoned.  No one else seemed to have had access to the donuts to put the poison on them. 

Jaine begins to investigate because she believes her friend is innocent.  In her investigation she discovers that there weren’t many people on the set that wouldn’t have wished Quinn dead, even Kandi.  

Jaine is also getting emails from her parents.  Her dad thinks her mom is having an affair.  Jaine tries to help them figure thing out, but it is difficult.  This does distract her from her investigation at times. 

Before Jaine can prove who killed Quinn, she makes some enemies and puts herself in danger. 

I think this is a fabulous book and series.  The characters were so much fun.  Having them all work on a low-level comedy helped keep the characters together and easier for Jaine to investigate. 

I highly recommend this book.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

Dawn Dowdle