Death of a Gigolo

Written by Laura Levine

Narrated by Amy McFadden

After a dry spell, freelance writer Jaine Austen's life is suddenly full of romance. For one thing, she's reconnected with her ex-though her cat, Prozac, isn't happy about it. And Jaine's also got a new ghostwriting gig, working on a steamy novel called Fifty Shades of Turquoise . . .

Daisy Kincaid is in her sixties and 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 . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Feb 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781977366207

Laura Levine

Laura Levine is a comedy writer whose television credits include The Bob Newhart Show, Laverne & Shirley, The Love Boat, The Jeffersons, Three's Company, and Mary Hartman, Mary Martman. Her work has been published in The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. She lives in Los Angeles and is currently working on the next Jaine Austen mystery. For more information, visit www.JaineAustenMysteries.com.

Reviews for Death of a Gigolo

[authorjanebnight · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Synopsis: This is book 17 in the Janie Austen Mystery series. I have read every book up to this point. If you are thinking of picking up this series, the books can be read out of order without much difficulty.In this book Janie, a freelance writer, is hired to pen" the next 50 Shades of Grey." When her employers fiancé is found dead, Janie must figure out who killed him. In the midst of all this professional drama, Janie's ex husband is trying to come back into her life. He seems a changed man and Janie wants to believe they can finally have the happily ever after they missed out on before. My Rating:4/5The Janie Austen Mystery series is much like candy. It is a yummy fun treat but there isn't a lot of substance beyond that. This book was no exception. One of the upsides of that is that the books can be read in any order. One of the downsides is that there is no real overreaching character arc for Janie. She is what she is a food loving, elastic waist pants wearing, cat mom. If you are going into this book wanting anything other than a fun humorous read with a mediocre mystery then this isn't the book for you. Book 16 in the series was a bit too over the top for my taste. This book returns to typical levels of over the top. I gave it 4 stars because I just had such a fun time hanging with Janie again. If you have read the series and enjoyed it this is a pretty typical Janie Austen. If you are looking for a humorous mystery series to get into this is a good one. The mystery in this is fine but nothing special. If you have read several of the books in the series the big reveal is a trope that has been used before in the series and probably won't be much of a shock to any long time reader. If you are looking for a fun, humorous, and light read you may enjoy this book and this series. Since this is a pretty decent Janie Austen I feel like this book would be a safe starting point for a new reader.

[ladyofthelodge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Death of a Gigolo" presents readers with a mystery that is liberally sprinkled with humor. Jaine Austen returns with more adventures as a writer. This time she is involved in ghost-writing a romance novel instead of her usual ads, and becomes involved in the investigation of the murder of a guy who is definitely an opportunist! Readers who have read other novels in the series will be familiar with many of the characters and with the humorous quirks of Jaine. The author includes many silly scenes, lots of red herrings, and the usual "punny" character names. Mix in frequent emails from Jaine's parents (Daddy-O and ShopTilYouDrop) and the result is a hilarious reading opportunity. No profanity or sexual descriptions to detract from the plot. Prepare to keep guessing the killer and motives until the surprise ending. All is wrapped up in the usual humorous manner.I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.