Last Writes

A Jaine Austen Mystery #2

by Laura Levine

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 costar 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 . . .

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Chick Lit, Humor, Fiction, Audiobook

266 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Grew up in Brooklyn, New York, back when mastodons (and Edsels) still roamed the earth.

Education: Barnard College

First job: Reporter/photographer at a newspaper so small, we had our photos developed in the local camera shop.

Advertising claim to fame: I created Count Chocula and Frankenberry cereals for General Mills.

TV gets invented, and I get a job as a sitcom writer, turning out scripts for shows like The Bob Newhart Show, Three’s Company, Laverne & Shirley, The Love Boat, The Jeffersons, and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.

Current (and favorite) incarnation: Author of Jaine Austen mysteries.

Marital status: Wedded blissfully to business journalist Mark Lacter (aka Mr. Hubby), whose insightful coverage of the Los Angeles business scene can be checked daily at http://www.laobserved.com/biz/

Favorite authors: COMEDY: Joe Keenan. MYSTERY: Agatha Christie. SERIOUS STUFF: Anne Tyler.

Hobbies: Reading, swimming, gardening, and lots of walks (mainly to the refrigerator).

Reviews

[Heidi (can’t retire soon enough) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Lightweight cozy mystery with plenty of murder, mayhem, and a TV studio setting with a kooky cast of characters.

I loved the setting, our heroine’s cat, Prozac, and the epilogue. Unfortunately, it was an easy-to-solve murder and not as much mayhem as the first book.

But I heartily admit that the chuckles elicited throughout definitely make up for some of this cozy’s shortcomings!!

Next book please!!

(Reviewed 2/8/24)

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved LAST WRITES! This series always makes me cackle with laughter for Jaine Austen’s zany antics. Fresh off of her gig writing for plugged toilet companies, she’s now got a job as a screenwriter on a small Hollywood comedy set. Of course, things are not quite as glamorous as her mother would have all the neighbors believe. When someone is murdered on set, Jaine has to leap into action to find the killer and get one of her friends cleared of charges. I really enjoy the mix of cat jokes (Prozac the cat is one of my favorites), Jaine with her hilarious single girl who can’t resist food that tempts her life, and the amateur sleuthing.

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jaine Austen's star seems to be rising. She has a gig writing scripts for a new comedy show. She can just see that Malibu beach house that she will buy with all the moola she is going to earn from residuals. Too bad a murder on set sheds suspicion on her cowriter and friend Candy. Can Jaine solve the case and save the show? Includes hilarious email exchanges with Jaine's parents in Tampa. Britanny Pressleys narration is spot on. Can not imagine a better voice for our dear Jaine with an I.

[Luffy Sempai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done Laura Levine for writing such a good story. It was different from the first book, 'This Pen For Hire'. And they both were excellent, and I'm glad I was stubborn enough to experiment and diversify in non culinary cozy mysteries. Now I have this series, plus another, to look forward to. The solution to this book's mystery was brilliant, as was the path the heroine chose to conduct her inquiry. The much dreaded climax failed to materialize and suddenly I found myself face to face with a perfect cozy mystery. I cannot imagine how the writer is going to outdo herself a third time. Even the title, 'Last Writes' works on different levels. Boldness and imagination coupled together makes for a great alloy and Laura Levine's got it amply.

[Amy Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I enjoyed the witty comedic writing style, but found the mystery a bit less compelling than the first one. Still forming my opinion on the series, but it's definitely funny! If you choose to read this, I'd go into it knowing that everyone in this book is an exaggerated caricature for comedic effect, so everyone is made fun of to some degree, basically.

[Maureen DeLuca · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars? Sure- why not?! As far a cozies go - it is a 4 star read - but I added another star for the story itself was just 'too cute' - Remember - we are talking cozies here. I pick up cozies every once in a while for popcorn for the brain and to clear my head from all the murder/mystery/police procedure/serial killer type books. I read the first in this series a while ago , and forgot about it - so glad I went back to my cozy list- book too was good and look forward to getting book number 3 !

[Vicki Seldon · Rating 2 out of 5]

My touchstone for these kinds of books is the early Stephanie Plum books which had me laughing out loud at the antics and liking the characters as well. This is my first book of this series and I may stay with it for a bit as it's a really mindless read while on the treadmill. I must say however that it was much more cliche than funny and I haven't yet developed an interest in Jaine Austen, the main character, a free-lance writer trying to break into show business as a comedy writer in LA.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always an enjoyable laugh out loud book.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms Levine has done it again - pages and pages of laughter. These books are all the same - Jaine helping a friend suspected of murder, a slew of characters with motive and opportunity, attempts on her life, and it’s easy to pick out whodunnit, but the path to the conclusion is always laughathon.

Lance, Kandi and Prozac are Jaine’s sidekicks who hinder more than help. Mom and Dad and their hilarious emails make their first appearance. It’s a great series even though it is trés formulaic. If it t’aint broke, don’t fix it!!

This is Book #2, murder by rat poison, which she uses again in one of the later books.
Also, she uses peanut oil in Book #1 to cause an allergic reaction. That also appears in one of the recent episodes. For the reaction the hospital does a stomach pump - I don’t think that is correct. Didn’t they have epi pens in 2002?. She needs to find new ways to commit murder!!

[Star Gater · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars -- not rounding up

The uniqueness of book one with regards to the main character's speaking and personality carries through book two; however, rather than be funny it was grating, a one hit wonder would have been perfect for me. (I don't do well with umm umm ummm or you know you know.). Next, the MC has a tweaked profession and it didn't sit well with me.

I did enjoy 70-80 references, in particular the wrap skirt -- I had a couple of those.

As much as I enjoyed book one, the scale evened out with me not liking book two. At 80% I told a friend I could see myself suggesting this as a transition from middle grade to grown up books, without being actual adult books. They had been clean, two people too old (late 20s-30s) in my opinion to be date crazed but I was a young teenager once. But at around 85% I realized I spoke too soon. The author spews profanity out of no where. Not sure what I would say if asked. I like to recommend without a disclaimer. I am a firm believer if you think it, you'll say it, and I have more respect for myself and want likeminded people to follow the example.

[Nathalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Jaine Austen's mysteries and this one did not disappoint. I was just in the mood for a fun easygoing mystery. Jaine is thrilled to get to work as a joke writer on a rather lame sitcom "Muffy 'n me" but hey, this is Hollywood and this could be her big break. Of course things don't go as planned and the fun begins. Of note, Mormons are "popular" lately and they appear in this book in the studio audience as a "sea of American Gothic lookalikes--fair-haired, gimlet eyed people who sat ramrod straight, eerily silent who are here on a break from a Bible Study Camp." It's quite obvious the author knows nothing about Mormons and/or has them confused with fundamentalist mormons. But never fear, Jaine did not disappoint. "What's more, the Mormons were wonderful! Yes those delightful people laughed at all my jokes...I guess after being holed up in Bible camp, they were ready to laugh at anything or maybe they were simply connoisseurs of comedy....they were a fabulous audience and the next time they show up at my doorstep wanting to discuss the Bible, I'm going to ask them in for coffee and danish" LOL! They are now dubbed as "my darling Mormons". Whew! we came out alright in the end. Maybe the author does need a referral so she can meet some real Mormons :D. All in all, this is a very fun break from daily life!

[Helen Power · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another hilarious book by Laura Levine! There are some glaring plot holes, but I didn't mind, because I was reading it for Jaine Austen’s humorous outlook on life and the embarrassing situations she gets herself into. However, I do wish that there had been a little more mystery in the plot. The murder occurred a whopping 36% into the book! Although, that did allow for Levine to properly develop the characters before the murder, and she effectively made it seem like anyone could be the killer (except for Prozac, the cat. I always knew he was innocent). All in all, this was a fun, quick read!

[Kaijsa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Definitely not as good as the first in the series, which has a heroine I can barely tolerate because she's practically Cathy from the comic strip. Ack! It surprised me that the pattern for the murder--amateur sleuth investigates, figures out who did it and convinces the police, then immediately realizes she's wrong and REALLY figures out who did it, and almost dies humiliatingly in the reveal--would be exactly the same in the second book. Lame.

[Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another quick fun read. You can tell the author's background in sitcom writing that's for sure. Both books read like one with sarcasm and one liners aplenty. It wasn't laugh out loud funny but I did get a bit of a chuckle in a few places.
Our girl Jaine finally has a real job writing for the sitcom Muffy N Me about a teenaged girl who gets magical powers after being hit on the head. It seems a wild concept but one of my favourite shows as a kid was about a half alien girl who had the power to freeze time and a few other powers (voiced by Burt Reynolds in the show sadly not on the DVD release) and talked to her alien dad through a cube, so for those of us from the 80s and 90s it's not so farfetched. I mean there was also sitcoms about genies and witches and let's not forget Mork and Mindy.
Anyway she arrives at the studio a rundown frightening place where sitting down can get you sick as her friend Kandi who got her the job warns.
Jaine at first kind of enjoys herself meeting the actors and people working on the show including the funny and very handsome Quinn Kirkland, the star Vanessa Dennis or VD as she's called, a well endowed obnoxious teen starlet, Wells Dumont a British thespian, Zach who plays the me in Muffy N Me and Dale who plays the father of Muffy. There's also fellow writers married couple Audrey and Stan. Stan has an eating and drinking problem.
Not long after arriving on set they stumble upon Vanessa and Quinn in bed together and it soon comes out that Quinn despite having a wife in New York is sleeping with practically every woman on set including Kandi who finds herself as top suspect as she was spotted going into the prop room to get the doughnuts that killed Quinn. So Jaine sets out to clear her buddies good name.
We have some old familiar characters, the crew from the nursing home are back, Lance the nosy neighbour who is looking to get a script turned into a show (as is the cop in charge of the case) Perozac the cat is still sassy and we meet (sort of) Jaine's parents through email. I read about them being the best part of the books and I have to say I thought so too. Mom is addicted to The Shopping Channel, dad's addicted to new cooking machines. Dad becomes convinced mom is having an affair and things start to escalate from there. Best part was mom calling people and pets by the most random names and trying to set her daughter up on a date. All in all an amusing escapist read.

[Bri_winter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the cat Prozac and the email conversation with her parents - really funny!
Entertaining fast food!

[RavenReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book in the series. A fast paced and entertaining cozy mystery. A 3.75 rating.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a cat named Prozac, you gotta love the main character, Jaime. I love her dry sense of humor. The emails from her parents are the toppers on humor scale. This is a quick steady read.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many funny lines in this mystery. I had an inkling early on as to who the murderer was, but kept reading as it's just a fun cozy.

When Jaine is trying to break into Quinn's trailer using her Bloomie card to jiggle the lock:

I was standing there, jiggling my Bloomie's card, wondering if I'd remembered to pay last month's bill, when suddenly I looked up and saw a cop approaching. A big burly cop with deltoids the size of watermelons.
Gad, she was scary.
What the heck was I going to tell her- that I thought Bloomie's had opened a branch in Quinn's trailer?

[Chantelle Marshall · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25 stars (Audible). Worst amateur detective ever. I'd hoped the stories would get better, but it's still not clicking with me. Taking a mini break then we'll see how I feel about book 3.

[Diane Morasco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laura Levine's sophomore effort proves her debut, This Pen for Hire, was not a fluke.

Wisecracking, lovable, zany Jaine Austen is back in this comical mystery.

Told from Jaine's perspective this whimsical book is a must for readers who like their mysteries fast paced, entertaining... OK, sidesplitting w/ an abundance of humor.

Laura Levine delivers the one-liners effortlessly. This talented scribe definitely knows how to write comedy.

For readers who love their television, Laura Levine gives us a glimpse inside the fickle world of the actors & the erratic writing process.

Laura Levine saturates Last Writes w/ a freshness that is not always easy to pull off in the ever growing world of the mystery series.

Laura Levine's writing is crisp, down~to~earth, & plain 'ole fun!!!

Jaine is back w/ her campy, kooky, delightful friends ~ be prepared for plenty of laughs.

Kandi, Lance & Prozac are priceless!!!

All of the characters peppered in Last Writes are fascinating.

I adore the uproarious e-mail exchanges between Jaine & her parents.

Despite the fact that the dead body doesn't show up until almost half way into this campy read, the mystery is first~class.

Laura Levine does an excellent job setting up the foundation. She doesn't drop the ball.

While Last Writes is book # 2 in the Jaine Austen Mystery it stands alone just fine.

[SW · Rating 2 out of 5]

Normal chit lit meets Nancy Drew mystery. Nothing special just read it to pass the time and also because I borrowed it from someone on my Kindle and I always feel guilty if I don't read those since you can only loan it out once. What does this have to do with the book? Nothing really it just wasn't that great and it was predictable. The first one I found way more funny because I think it was new to me, this was just the same book different plot, so I found it boring after awhile.

[Shiela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cozy set in in L.A of freelance writer
#2 in the Jaine Austen series

Jaine’s best friend Kandi gets her a gig writing for the sitcom “Muffy n Me.” But her writing career must take the back burner again when she feels the need to investigate the murder of sleazy lead actor Quinn Kirkland, who is known for sleeping with several of the women involved in the show, including Kandi.

Highly enjoyable and amusing. Better than the first, I absolutely LOVE this series.

[Zyra · Rating 5 out of 5]

jaine austen books are cozy mystery books, funny & light hearted. in each of these books, the main character jaine takes investigation on side to solve the murders.
jaine has funny sense of humor. things i enjoy most in her books are her conversations with her pet cat Prozac, the emails from her parents & her love for food. these books makes for relaxing reads at times with laugh out loud dialogues & scenes.

[*b*l*u*e*m*o*o*n* · Rating 3 out of 5]

great read. really enjoy all the characters. mystery was also interesting. liked the fact that the book keeps you entertained until the end. you don't really find yourself bored at all. murderer was not a surprise. I feel that the ending was fitting for the whole story. I do enjoy the presence of romance that's usually found in most cozies. hopefully the author changes that up a bit.

[Mishka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another in the series, enjoyed the quick read. Somewhat funny, character development is lacking and the plot is kind of thin...

[A. L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our main character, Jaine Austen (no relation to the famous author), has finally had a stroke of luck!  Her best friend, Kandi, has helped her land a job scriptwriting for the sitcom, Muffy 'n Me!  It's not exactly an Oscar-worthy show, but it does come with a steady paycheck and a host of interesting characters to get to know.  All is going well, or at least as well as a show run by the "Ice Queen" and her not-so-secret alcoholic husband can be, until the show's most popular character dies by poison doughnut... right after getting caught in flagrante delicto with the show's barely legal aged main character.  And who delivered the poisoned doughnuts?  Our good friend Kandi!  Well, Kandi obviously cannot have done it, and just as obviously the cops aren't looking at anyone else, so it's up to good old Jaine to solve her second case!

Three things I liked about this book: The humor, this author really knows how to write a witty line and fantastic dialogue.  The mystery was actually better than the other two I have read in this series.  It showed a lot of the darker side of fame without going over the top or being silly.

Three things I did not like about this book: As much as I liked the humor, it could also be a little repetitive at times.  Jaine really needs to stop feeding her cat all the time!  It had a bit of a tone problem in balancing the light atmosphere with the shockingly serious end to the mystery.

On a scale of 1-10, I give this book a 6!  This book was not quite as strong as the first, but better than a lot of second books of a series tend to be.  It wobbled a bit at the start but finished strong.

[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! My health is not well and so I need to read light, fast and fun books!

SYNOPSIS: "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 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..."

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is only the second book of the series but the third one I've read/listened to and so far, I'm enjoying the series.

Freelance writer Jaine Austen is moving up in the world from writing ads for Toilet Master Plumbers to guest writing for a sitcom, thanks to some help from her best friend, Candy, who is one of the show's head writers. But during the taping of the episode Jaine wrote, one of the lead actors is murdered - and Candy is the main suspect! Knowing her best friend is not a murderer, Jaine sets out to help prove it to the cops by figuring out who the real killer is.

Being these are cozy mysteries, there's not a lot of suspense but they are perfect to listen to while doing things like refinishing cabinets, putting together a jigsaw puzzle or sitting in traffic. I like the way the characters are introduced; by the time the victim is killed, it's clear who the suspects are and what their motive is, but with enough left out so as not to make the murderer obvious. While snarky at times, for the most part, Jaine is pretty good company and the subplot, written as emails exchanged between Jaine and her parents, was pretty amusing as well.

It's interesting to see this was written in 2003 and a lot of the terms that were popular then (i.e. hooker) are not in use today so it is a bit cringeworthy in places and from that respect, these books are not aging well! But aside from that, as far as cozy mysteries go, it's good enough to continue with the series.

[Niffer]

I listened to the audiobook of the first book and honestly the narrator really made that book. It was seriously ditzy chick lit stuff, but the narrator managed to put in just the right inflection to make it fun ditzy instead of annoying ditzy.

I hoped the second book would be a bit of an improvement. So many first books suffer a bit due to the necessity of introducing characters and establishing backstory. But this second book suffered (IMO) from an over-indulgence in the slapstick comedy of the first one. A little slapstick is fun. But often it seems like there's a sense of "hey it worked the first time--lets make it bigger and slapstickier so it'll be better."

Maybe that works for some, but it just got real old for me real fast.

Plus my library didn't have the audio version of the book, so I didn't have the benefit of a good narrator.

Anyway, I have plenty of other light reads available to me. I'm just setting this one aside and moving on to something else.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jaine Austen wishes she didn’t like sweet snacks so much, but she’s thrilled to have found her dream job as a writer on a TV sitcom. Of course, Miracle Studios isn’t exactly the center of Hollywood glamor. But things could change…

Change starts with the death of one of the actors (after various shenanigans that shouldn’t take place on set), and poison… so how’s a girl to continue eating all those snacks? But Jaine’s friend is top of the murder suspect list, and Jaine has already shown a flair for investigation in a previous book. So now’s the time to investigate again, even if it might mean the end of that happy dream.

Last Writes is a cozy Hollywood murder with a nicely named protagonist, plenty of humor, and an interesting mystery, good for a quick summer’s read.

Disclosure: I liked the title, so I had to read the book.