Nightmare on Elf Street

A Jaine Austen Mystery #11.5

by Laura Levine

A delightful holiday cozy mystery which originally appeared in the Fern Michaels holiday collection, Secret Santa, is made available as an e-book single for the very first time!

Aside from the mortifying costume, how bad can a gig as a mall Santa’s elf be? Jaine Austen finds out when she’s teamed up with the Santa from Hell. But things go from bad to worse when he’s found murdered on the job—and Jaine is a suspect. Now all she wants for Christmas is to find the real killer . . .

Genres: Mystery, Christmas, Cozy, Cozy Mystery, Holiday

Unknown Binding

First published September 26, 2023

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

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story was cute and enjoyable to read.

[Icy_Space_Cobwebs · Rating 4 out of 5]

In CHRISTMAS SWEETS ANTHOLOGY

[Karen ReadsALot · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of humor, mayhem and murder.

[kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the character Jaine Austen written by Laura Levine. I’ve read all the books in the Jaine Austen series. In this book is a short story with the character, Jaine Austen with a Christmas theme.

“Nightmare on elf Street” was very funny! I love the Author’s writing. I can always visualize what’s happening. She is so fun. Her stories are just a delight to read. I was disappointed when I recently learned she is done writing this series. I will miss the books and my anticipation of her next book. I recommend it if you want a funny Christmas story!

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of four novellas in Secret Santa. I’m rating each one on its own merits. This one was cute and funny, but I missed the emails from Mom and Daddy.

Even in a short story the author used tush 5 times!! Get a thesaurus, Laura.

[Donald Krage · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was funny

[Hummingbird · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny

[R. Jetleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always, always, a fantastic light hearted read.

[Jaclyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Silly and fun holiday mystery with a Prozac mini-adventure right at the centre of it all!

[Mark Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freelance writer Jaine Austen has taken a job as the elf at a mall to a pretty despicable Santa. When he is killed with a Christmas ornament to the heart, there are no shortage of suspects, but Jaine dives in to make sure the case is solved before her annual trip to visit her parents.

The series always features wacky humor, and this story is no exception. Even though the story is only 100 pages, we manage to get a couple of sub-plots and some twists as well. The characters are developed enough to pull us in while making us laugh as well.

This is a novella length story, so it will be faster than a full novel. As long as you know this, you’ll be fine.

Also note that this was originally released in the romance anthology Secret Santa. You’ll want to make sure you haven’t read it before purchasing it again. Although, if you haven’t read it, you’ll be thrilled to add this fun, festive mystery to your to be read pile.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Prozac (the cat, )and Jaine!

I really love this holiday book. I had already read the other books in this series. If you like cozies with a cat, you'll love this book and series.

[☺Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read the first four books of the Jaine Austen cozy mystery series by Laura Levine and enjoyed them. Nightmare on Elf Street was a cute, quick holiday read.
P. S. Lance needs more depth. So does Jaine, for that matter.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun pre-Christmas read! The author sprinkles regular humor into the story, and I enjoyed it!

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious!

[Jeremy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could feel this book actively wasting my time.

[Sara Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book! Such a cute Christmas read.

[Lisa Michelle Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the most part, I quite enjoyed this book. My only real issue was all of the weird fat phobic comments about every single character that wasn't thin.

[Michele Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and cute. Sometimes a short story based around novel characters can lose some of the appeal, but this one did not.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Nancy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laura Levine nev we r disappointes

I am a huge fan of Laura Levine adventures. They are always a fog in read with unique characters and the storyline is always great adventure. I have loved every book Laura has written I highly recommend

[Louis Lukancic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun story

I enjoyed all of Laura Levine‘s books, and this is no exception. It was a fun read with a good storyline and lots of good humor. I look forward to any more coming out and I would recommend them to anyone.

[Penelope Rivers · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite author

Levine always manages to brighten my day. Great whether she’s writing novels or novellas. Don’t be afraid to snatch these up

[Angela Verdenius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another romp in comfortable, happy surroundings with old friends, laughter and a murder mystery!

[Diane L. Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with all her Janie & Prozac books this was a pleasure. With the nightly news and economy , I love reading a book that makes me laugh. It's nice to read a funny cozy mystery, it makes my day.