I've been a horrible slump. It's a slump that was born out of equal parts work stress, a year so far where my average reads are in a dead heat with good and great reads (combined) and just not having the spoons to do much eyeball reading. Frankly though, this funk I've been in has started to annoy me, so I decided it was time to try pure, unadulterated brain candy. A book where I knew exactly what I was going to get, and as luck would have it, Murder Buys A One-Way Ticket by Laura Levine dropped in late June.
Spoilers Ahoy!

This is the 20th book in a series that started in the early 2000s and I would compare it to the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich on one very salient point - you're basically getting the same plot structure over and over again. There are just certain things I know are going to happen to our heroine, freelance writer, Jaine Austen, in each new book:

A dating disaster of epic proportions.
Jaine's various food obsessions (seriously, at this point I'm convinced she has an undiagnosed eating disorder and should work with a shrink about her comfort eating....)
Wacky hijinks her parents (OK, her father) get into in their Florida retirement community, relayed via email.
At least one mention of Jaine's favorite T-Shirt (Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!) and clothing with elastic waist bands.
Her fabulous gay neighbor, Lance, lamenting her wardrobe and roping her into some scheme that he's sure will help bag him Mr. Right.
Jaine's cat Prozac being the "owner" in their relationship.
But whereas I quit Stephanie Plum after Book 17 because of the main character being a flaming hypocrite and the super thin mysteries, Levine, for all the problematic faults in some of her books (broad humor is tricky, you either stick the landing or plummet to Earth like an anvil) never skimps on the mystery. There's always multiple suspects, with compelling motives (the victims are usually widely loathed), condensed in a short word count (usually around 230 pages). A lot of this can be explained by Levine's history as a sitcom writer. The mysteries keep me guessing and the books are snappy as hell.

This time out Jaine takes a ghostwriting job for Chip Miller, owner of a string of successful gyms looking to publish a Fitness For Dummies style book. Jaine is to join Chip and his entourage in a trip from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara by private railway. A veritable lap of luxury way to travel, except, of course, Chip turns out to be a tyrant. On board are family members, his fiancée', his right hand man / best pal in the gym enterprise, and the staff (specifically a waiter and a cook) who all hate his guts. So truly, it's not a huge surprise when Chip turns up dead, smothered to death in bed by one of his many "World's Greatest Dad" pillows. Naturally, the cops zero in on Jaine as possible suspect. To clear her good name she's going to once again turn amateur sleuth.

This is by far the strongest entry in the last several. The mystery is solid, there's a ton of suspects, all with compelling motives, and some of the broad humor that has annoyed me is tempered a wee bit. It's still there, but this time out Jaine's father's antics while still wacky as hell didn't hit me quite as wacky as some of the last few books. Lance, who I feel had turned snide and borderline vicious in the later entries, is positively mellow here. Heck, even Prozac isn't nearly as mean spirited. Is it still broad humor? Is it still following the well-trod path of each book that proceeded this one? Yes and yes. But it worked better here with this story than in the last handful of entries.

Finally, the ending. One word: wowzers! This would be why I put the Spoiler label at the start of this review. Folks, it's happened. Jaine finally gets a happy ending. I'm not sure what this means, but I see three possibilities:
This is the end of the line for the series. Jaine rides off into the sunset to live happily-ever-after.
The series will continue, but the author will take Jaine in a slightly new direction now that she has a romantic partner.
It all goes to hell between the end of this book and the start of the next book. Jaine's back to being single.
I truly hope #3 doesn't happen, because the happy ending is amusing and apropos for a character named Jaine Austen. Time, as they say, will tell. In the meantime, I'm not ready to declare the slump dead, but this book helped to at least give it flesh wound.

Final Grade = B

Murder Buys a One-Way Ticket is the 20th installment in the Jaine Austen mystery series. These would fall into the category of cozy mystery, and our admittedly light and fluffy, and silly. Sometimes laugh out loud, sometimes roll your eyes. It's a good pallet cleanser, a good summer read. And just as I was thinking I might have grown out of this series, they had to throw a curveball at the end with another literary name and a wedding. I guess I'm going to have to read the next one now lol.

Freelance writer Jaine Austen is glumly examining the alarmingly low levels of her bank account when she lands the opportunity to write, of all things, a fitness book. Since her preferred forms of exercise include shopping for ice cream and coddling her pet cat Prozac, she knows she has very few qualifications for this project – her excellent writing skills aside, of course.

Meeting with her prospective employer, Chip “Iron Man” Miller, proves to be quite the experience. The paycheck he’s offering is lucrative, but he has several questions that he needs her to answer before he can hire her:

QUOTE
“Where are your deltoids?”

(No idea.)

“Your pecs?”

(No idea.)

“Your triceps?”

(Still no idea.)

I fumphered some answers, all of them wrong.

(Just FYI, your deltoids are nowhere near your big toe.)

Finally, he asked me, “What’s your favorite machine at the gym?”

“The one that sells Snickers,” I confessed.

What the heck? By this point, I was certain I was never going to get the gig.

But, much to my surprise, Chip beamed.

“Perfect! You’re my target audience. If I can get somebody like you to write convincingly about the power of exercise, I can get anyone to try it.”
END QUOTE

Thrilled by the prospect of a twenty thousand dollar paycheck, Jaine gets ready to write. But first, her new employer wants her to join his family on a private rail trip down to Santa Barbara so she can learn more about his personal philosophy. Even better, Chip says she can bring Prozac with her, a boon given Prozac’s remarkable ability to scare off any and all cat sitters. With a personal chef on board and a delightful itinerary planned, this train ride looks like the perfect start for Jaine’s new project.

Alas, then, that things start going downhill fast. Chip’s family has little love for him, though at least his soignee fiancee Avery seems to enjoy his company. She looks to be the only one who does though, as he’s uniformly terrible to everyone there, guests and staff alike. Not even Jaine can escape his disproportionate wrath: when Prozac scratches up an expensive tapestry, Chip demands Jaine replace it, for a price much higher than her entire fee for writing his book.

So when Chip is found smothered to death in his cabin, there’s no shortage of suspects. Unfortunately for Jaine, the police seem to be focusing on her, as she was the one who discovered his body. Will she be able to clear her name by finding the real killer, while also helping out her best friend Lance in his quest for membership to the prestigious Empire Club and juggling her own complicated love life?

This last, especially, provides plenty of entertainment for readers as Jaine starts going out with Mario, the personal chef from Chip’s private train. While she takes the unexpected inclusion of his mother on their second date in stride, Mom has a far more adversarial attitude:

QUOTE
“Mom,” Mario said, “meet Jaine. Jaine, this is my mom, Nelly.”

The fireplug looked me up and down, distinctly unimpressed.

“Lovely to meet you, Nelly,” I said.

“Mrs. Fanelli to you,” she snapped in reply.

Then she turned to Mario, radiating disapproval.

“This is the girlfriend you were telling me about?”

Wait, what? He told his mom I was his girlfriend??

“Ptui!!” Mrs. F sniffed. “You can do better than her.”

“Mom!” Mario cried, embarrassed. “I’m so sorry,” he said, turning to me. “Mom didn’t mean it.”

“Of course I did!” Mrs. F insisted.
END QUOTE

Packed with snappy dialog and several hilarious – and occasionally scary – encounters, the twentieth installment of the Jaine Austen mystery series is another winning, witty read. Unlike Chip, Jaine has very strong, if still occasionally stressful, relationships with her loved ones, and those very much come to the fore in this novel. Jaine’s parents make their usual comic cameos via email, and series fans absolutely must stick around for their final missive at the end. It’s a wonderful development in Jaine’s life, and I’m super eager to read more of her hilarious adventures!

MURDER BUYS A ONE-WAY TICKET, written by Laura Levine, is the newest addition to the Jaine Austen mystery series. Jaine takes the job of ghostwriting a fitness guidebook for Chip Miller, the 63-year-old owner of The Muscle Factory. She accompanies Chip and other members of his family as they travel from LA to Santa Barbara aboard his private train. What follows is a fun adventure.


I immediately like the comic tone of the first-person narrative. Jaine Austen is a great protagonist. I also enjoy reading about the other characters who tag along from book to book (Lance, her parents, and Prozac-the-cat). The mystery itself is well-crafted. What a fun read! Thank you, Kensington Books and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review an ARC of MURDER BUYS A ONE-WAY TICKET.

Murder Buys a One-Way Ticket is book #20 in the Jaine Austen Mystery series by Laura Levine.

I enjoy Janie and how things don’t always go as planned. I enjoy humor in my cozies and Laura Levine does it well. Prozac, the cat’s, snarky comment and the emails from her parents were fun. Jaine’s new job sounds interesting though her client leaves a lot to be desired. She becomes a suspect in the murder and has to clear her name. This is an entertaining story and I plan to catch up on the earlier ones.

Thank you to the author, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley & Kensington for saying yes to my request for an ARC of Murder Buys a One-Way Ticket. Loved, loved, loved it!

Having Laura Levine novels in the house is like keeping a stash of chocolates--it's a necessity. I love to laugh and getting to follow along on Jaine's jobs from Hell every-single-time is a treat. Once I heard she was going to be working for a fitness freak and would be travelling with him on an exclusive private train, I knew we were in for murder and couldn't wait to come along for the ride.

Her books have it all: one liners, a snarky cat we can hear thinking, beloved friends, parents with hearts of gold when it comes to their daughter and her kitty, and bosses so bad it makes plunging a clogged toilet sound like a refreshing afternoon diversion.

The ending came as a complete surprise-- I just hope the next novel is already in the works; I need more Jaine Austen & Prozac!

Jaine has herself a new gig that’s starting off with a private train trip. On board the train, Jaine discovers that her new client is one flaming jerk! So when he found dead in his private car, she’s not surprised to find that no one, including his own family, liked the man.

With so many, possible suspects, it’s Jaine who leaves her DNA at the murder scene. Having discovered the body means she is now the prime suspect, and she has to put on her soothing cap to determine who killed the man. Otherwise, Jaine may just find herself on the next train to prison.

It’s no surprise that this is a great series, after all this is 20. The writing is so engaging that you’re drawn in right from the beginning. The plot is well mapped out, filled with red herrings to keep you guessing to the end. If you’re looking for a cozy, th

Jaine Austen (no relation) and her cat Prozac are up to their usual hijinks as Jaine takes on another exciting freelance gig. This time she's ghostwriting a fitness manual. Since Jaine is a junk food junkie with zero interest in exercise, her new employer figures she'll be able to relate to his target audience. It's an interesting premise, but work on the book hardly gets a chance to begin before a murder interrupts the job.

The setting is a luxury train along the Pacific coast and the characters are full of quirks and deep, dark secrets. There's a bit of romance, too -- and that's a little hint that this installment of the series includes a very startling conclusion.

This series is always fun and lively.

Jaine has once again found herself in a "bit of a situation." Chip Miller, owner of The Muscle Factory, hires Jaine to be his ghost writer for a fitness book. She agrees to accompany him, his family and employees on an overnight train trip from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. Prozac, Janie's adorable cat, goes along for the trip. The trip has great food and a cute train steward, unfortunately Chip and his entrouge are pretty insufferable. It is not a surprise when Chip is found murdered. Unfortunately, he is found by Janie and she becomes a suspect. Janie puts on her elastic waist pants and decides to investigate and find the real culprit. Come to find out Chip was not a likeable guy and anyone of a number of people could have done the deed.

Meanwhile, in Florida Janie's dad has found a picture of Elvis signed to: Uncle John from your ever lovin' nephew, Elvis. Could Janie's dad be a cousin of Elvis? The email exchanges between Mom and Dad to Janie are hilarious.

In this 20th book in the series the humor keeps us laughing and cheering Janie on.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Kensington Books, for an ARC. The review is my own.

Murder Buys a One-Way Ticket places freelance writer Jaine Austen in another uncomfortable predicament. Although she hates working out, Jaine accepts a job ghostwriting a fitness guidebook for a wealthy owner of a chain of gyms. She and several people close to the owner take a trip on his private railcar from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. Jaine's mischievous cat Prozac goes along, too, which always spells trouble. The victim has many enemies, but Jaine herself becomes a suspect so she launches her own investigation, taking it upon herself to question the suspects. 

Jaine's parents have their own adventures, separate from the plot of the book, in their Florida retirement community. Jaine learns about their escapades through a series of emails throughout the book. I enjoy these funny stories even though they're unrelated to the investigation.

The book is full of slapstick humor since Jaine's sleuthing doesn't always turn out the way she had intended. That type of humor isn't always my favorite in a book, but works well in this series, probably because the author used to be a writer for several hit comedy television shows. The resolution of the case and the book as a whole has several unexpected developments, which raises my rating of the book from 4 to 4 1/2 stars. It’s on the shorter side, but fans of the series won't want to miss this one!

I received an advance copy of this ebook at no cost from NetGalley, Kensington Books, and Kensington Cozies, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

The Jaine Austen mysteries are always fast paced and fun. It's absolutely guaranteed that Jaine will find herself in embarassing and humorous situtions, and that her cat, Prozac, will add to the chaos. This time she's been hired to ghost write an excercise manual, despite the fact that she can't name or locate a single muscle in her own body. Fitness guru Chip Miller was looking for an out of shape writer just like her -- after all, she's his target audience for the book. Jaine finds herself (and her cat) on Chip's private train, along with a lot of people who want him dead. Then she finds his body. There are also emails to Jaine from her mother and father, this time detailing a feud involving Elvis and Betsy Ross. I found myself laughing out loud more than once and can't wait to read more about Jaine and her cat.

This book was the perfect vacation read. It's funny, and doesn't assume I'm not smart enough to figure out the mystery without being condescending. I love the characters who are extreme but not unbelievable. My only complaint is that the ending makes it seem like the series is ending. I really don't want this to be the last book.

Jaine rides a train! Well, she's meant to be working with her heinous new client Chip to ghostwrite his book but then she discovers his body and the incredible number of people also on the train who hated him. This latest in the long running series sees Jaine and her cat Prozac figure out the identity of the real villain, help her friend Lance, and cope with her father's claim that he's related to Elvis. It's light fun that I enjoy more for the characters than for the mysteries. Jaine's parents always make me laugh and Jaine herself is a hoot (as is Prozac). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read for fans of the series and newbies who can enjoy it as a standalone.

From the first page I was enthralled with this story. I adored Jaine and her quirky sense of humor and her consuming love of foods. All of the characters in this book were interesting, even the annoying characters. The plot was fun and full of humor as well as an interesting mystery. The emails between Jaine and her parents were hilarious; one of the best parts to the story as was the parts involving her cat, Prozac. The story flowed well and kept your attention. This was my first book by this author and with this series, but I didn’t feel as if I was missing out on anything by not having read the other books in the series.

My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions are my own.

Well written. An easy, breezy read. The characters, descriptions and plot line were well done. I would definitely recommend.

I loved this read. Having read all in the series, I knew a bit of what to expect and my favorites were all there. Prozac, Lance and the hysterical emails from Jaine's parents.

In this story, Jaine is hired to write a book for a wealthy man and he wants her to travel with him and his family on a private set of train cars. That made it interesting and of course there's a problem - this is Jaine - so she sets out to clear her name. She meets some new people, and a couple are nice to Jaine so that was good. No spoiler so no more details here.

I will say there is a great side story of antics with Lance which is not new to the series but their antics definitely made me laugh.

Great fun to read!

Murder Buys a One-Way Ticket by Laura Levin is part of the Jaine Austen Mystery book #20.
Jaine Austen and Prozac are so much fun to read about. Being able to “hear” what Prozac is thinking is hilarious!
This mystery has Jaine agreeing to be a ghost writer for a fitness guru.
Things never seem to go the way Jaine thinks they should, and this book again puts the spotlight on her when she is the main suspect when fitness guru is found dead by her. She knows she must find the guilty person and off she goes looking for clues to who that is.
I really enjoy the email exchanges between Jaine and her parents. They make me chuckle when I read them!
This is a fun easy mystery to read, and I am sure fans of the series will enjoy it as much as I did.
Thank you NetGalley, #Laura Levin and #Kensington Books for the ARC of the book Murder Buys A One-Way Ticket. This is my personal review.

All I can say is that the ending of this book has me thinking it'll be the last in the series and that basically ruined my entire life from now on. Fortunately I have all the books and can start them over but knowing there may never be another new Jaine Austen book makes me wonder what I'll look forThe ending of this book has me thinking it'll be the last in the series and that would basically ruin my entire life from now on. I absolutely love this series and look forward every year to the next Jaine book. Fortunately I have all the books and can start reading the series over from the beginning but knowing there may never be another new Jaine Austen book makes me very sad. Although the twist at the end could also mean a new and very interesting beginning for Jaine, which would be amazing! I'll be on pins and needles until I know more!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.ward to from now?

Murder Buys a One Way Ticket by Laura Levin is the newest book in the Jaine Austen mystery series. Jaine accepts a job to be a ghostwriter for the wealthy, Chip Miller. Chip owns several gyms and wants help with writing a fitness book. When he invites her to join him on a special train ride, Jaine jumps at the opportunity. However, while on the train, Jaine becomes aware of the fact that Chip is not well liked by anyone including his family and employees. Unfortunately, during the trip, Jaine finds Chip dead in his compartment. Then Jaine becomes a suspect since her DNA is over Chip.

Murder Buys a One Way Ticket is a hilarious read! As usual, the story includes Jaine’s life struggles, her parent’s emails, and her cat’s thoughts which will make the reader laugh! The story’s ending will surprise readers but in a good way.

There are some series that I continue to read out of loyalty, even though they're not as good as they used to be. That is not the case with these cozy mysteries, which still feel as fresh as when I started years and years ago. These books are genuinely funny and I always feel like I'm catching up with old friends.
Jaine Austen (no relation), her cat Prozac, and her friend Lance are up to their usual antics. Jaine makes her living doing writing assignments, so she jumps at the chance to earn a big payday writing for an exercise guru (she gets the job because she so clearly doesn't exercise). Of course a horrible human is murdered, and while trying to solve it, Jaine is dealing with her destructive cat, impersonating royalty to help Lance get a club membership, and reading her parents' hilarious adventures from Florida.
Thanks so so much to NetGalley for letting me read this hilarious book