Whenever I get burned out on serious and suspenseful thrillers, I turn to cozies, and especially Laura Levine’s humorous novels in her popular Jaine Austen series. I recently picked up the 20th installment, Murder Buys a One-Way Ticket , and laughed all the way through. Jaine Austen, who is a free-lance writer, gets a job ghostwriting a fitness book for a wealthy gym owner, Chip Miller. He insists she (and her cat, Prozac) go on a private train trip with him and his staff, and discovers that he is a narcissistic jerk who treats everyone terribly and hires and fires constantly. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), Chip is murdered during this trip and Jaine discovers the body. Since she is the prime suspect, she goes into sleuthing mode to discover which of Chip’s staff has a motive to kill him. That turns out to be everyone. Jaine works to narrow it down so that she isn’t a suspect.

Laura Levine’s trademark is humor. Jaine, the protagonist, can’t resist food – Oreos, chips, dessert, etc., and has the hips to prove it. Levine weaves Jaine’s food cravings and fantasies throughout, and they are not only humorous, but mouthwatering. Jaine is also looking for a companion, and gets herself into trouble going after one of the waiters on the train, Sean, who is in love with her cat, Prozac. Prozac always finds a way to throw Jaine under the bus during ill-fated dates with suspects for anyone who gives her attention.

Levine does an excellent job of developing the characters – readers will love them – and also weaving a good story. She includes emails from her parents in Florida, which are fun, and subplots with her gay neighbor, Lance.

All told, anyone who needs cheering up or to laugh, will want to pick up this fast read.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I just love Jaine Austen. In this cozy mystery series our mc, Jaine and her cat Prozac get involved with a murder. In this case the murder of Chip Miller, the owner of a series of gyms, hires Jaine to help him write a fitness book. Chip is a miserable man, hated by all his employees and family members. When Jaine finds Chip dead, she immediately becomes the police's favorite suspect. Enter Jaine with her detective hat!
Jaine's parents make their appearance in the always funny emails she receives from Tampa Vistas. This book was every bit as delightful as the rest of the series has been and is sure to bring new fans to Laura Levine's books.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this digital ARC.

this uses the mystery element perfectly and had that feel that I enjoyed from the other books in this series. It had a great mystery going on and Jaine worked well as a character. I enjoyed what was going on and thought the feel of this book worked. The characters were everything that I was hoping for and thought they worked in this story. I can't wait for more in this series and from Laura Levine.

My favorite Jaine Austin, a writer always looking for her next gig gets caught up with a new client that she wants to ghost write for.
On a long train ride, full of people who are not found of her client, she tries to convince him. He is not a pleasant fellow at all but she needs the work.
Then she finds him dead. Her prints are on the weapon and she becomes the most likely suspect. She has to prove her innocence.

A delightful romp with mystery and comedy.

I'm a huge fan of this series. Laura Levine is a former television sitcom writer and her sharp wit is displayed on every page. You can read the plot description on Amazon, but I will tell you that this series never gets stale and I wish it could go on forever. Jaine's cat Prozac is a hoot and I love the way she comments on the action and on Jaine's motives. Like a feline Greek chorus. Jaine's parents-who moved to a retirement village in Tampa--are hilarious and send zany texts to Jaine in every book. I can't believe this is book 20--it is laugh out loud funny and delightul as the first!

𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐞. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨, 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞, 𝐩𝐢𝐳𝐳𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐭.

The Jaine Austen mystery series is one of my absolute favorites! This was installment number 20 but still felt fresh and fun.

Jaine, a freelance writer, lives with her neurotic cat Prozac, who seems to adore everyone but Jaine. She pays the rent with her snazzy ads ("In a Rush to Flush? Call Toiletmasters!") but longs for something more. When the chance presents itself to write a health and wellness book for a hefty sum of money, Jaine pushes aside the pints of Chunky Monkey and rolls up her sleeves to start. Her client is the arrogant Chip Miller, owner of a successful chain of gyms. Her assignment includes an exclusive train ride from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. The passengers include Chip himself, along with some of his family workers and employees. When Jaine sees firsthand how awful Chip treats everyone, she isn't surprised at all to find him smothered to death in his room.

Once again, Jaine finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation, but this one is a little different as sparks fly between Jaine and a passenger on the train. Is she really making a love connection, or is her potential beau trying to derail her investigation?

One of the few cozy series with some true laugh out loud moments, this installment was so enjoyable. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the early read. This title will publish June 25, 2024.

#MurderBuysaOneWayTicket #NetGalley is the best book of 2024 so far!
Laura Levine is one of my favorite authors, and Jaine Austin is my favorite character of all.
Jaine is a typical thirty something, a little chubby, single, living with her neurotic cat, Prozac.
After a disastrous marriage, Jaine is content working as a free lance writer, sharing laughs and good food with friends, and having to prove her innocence each time she finds herself wrapped up in a murder investigation.
In #MurderBuysaOneWayTicket , Jaine is hoping to get a gig ghost writing an exercise and wellness book, but naturally, nothing goes as planned.
As Jaine discovers a dead body and a greedy family , she realizes that she needs to save herself before she ends up behind bars, after all, our Jaine would never survive on prison food.
Between the odd situations Jaine gets herself into and the emails from her parents, #MurderBuysaOneWayTicket #NetGalley, will have you laughing until the end, which I will admit I may have cheered for Jaine and shed a happy tear.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of the book, and thank you to Laura Levine, for writing such a great series and keeping me laughing with Jaine and company.

I love, love, love Laura Levine and her Jaine Austen mysteries!!!!!! They are mu favorite cozy mysteries and this latest is amazing! Great, fun read.