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.

Thank you, NetGalley and Kingston Books for this ARC.

Janie and Prozac are back for another adventure and I loved it! And of course, her parents' emails are back with their own adventures. This time her dad is driving her mom crazy because he believes he is related to Elvis!

Janie accepts a job to be a ghostwriter to a fitness guru and ends up regretting it when he is found murdered and she becomes the main suspect. Of course, Janie is going to find out who the real murderer is so that she doesn't end up in an orange jumpsuit and have to end prison food. Janie is such a foodie which can get her in trouble at times especially in this book.

I love it when Janie investigates a murder because she always finds herself in some interesting and funny situations. I laugh way more than I should when I'm reading a book about a murder. Our victim is not someone who is likeable so there are many suspects that Janie has to interview and each one has their own motive. I kept jumping from thinking it was one family member to thinking it was another. This was one dysfunctional family! I will admit that I didn't guess correctly as to who the murderer was, so i was caught off guard when I found out who it was. I kept thinking "how did I not see that?!" But it could be because I was too busy laughing.

This book also has Lance back and he needs Janie's assistance in order to get into an exclusive country club. Janie agrees which leads to a couple more funny situations. I love these two together and their friendship. They both come across as self centered but they really do care about each other. Love their friendship and really could see them in a sitcom together.

I'm not going to say much, but the ending?! I can't believe this book ended the way that it did. It took me by surprise and I love it! I can't wait to read the next one in this series!

One more thing, how can this series not be a movie already?! This is one funny series and deserves some screen time. I'd watch it!

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

I love all the Jaine Austen books and Murder Buys a One Way Ticket was no different. Jaine finds herself solving the murder of her most recent boss - an egomaniac who owns a chains of gyms and his own personal train car. As the main suspect, Jaine must become more entrenched with the family of the deceased. My favorite part of any of these books are the emails from her parents - this time Daddy is convinced he is related to Elvis and is dead set to make sure everyone knows it! With a surprise ending, this book is truly worth the read!

"Murder Buys a One Way Ticket (A Jaine Austen Mystery #20)" by Laura Levine just didn't do it for me. I like my characters to have a few flaws, but being constantly self deprecating and nearly all then other characters are fairly flawed without much redeeming them, it's just not for me. It was a lot of oh they're this but this is what's wrong with them or their personality is just off putting.

I would call this a board line cozy mystery. No out and out sex talk but a bit more lusty talk/thoughts on the part of Jaine and the cat. Yes, the cat. Also, no out and out swearing, but a character gets referred to frequently as "F.U." and meaning it like they're saying it in a swearing way. Also, I don't think I'm totally grasping if Jaine can or can't understand the cat, but the cat has narratives from time to time.


The mystery part was interesting. I did jump around a bit between suspects. I had one character I thought was involved that ended up actually being part of the crime. However, I wasn't quite right about how they were involved.

Not the best book in this series but still enjoyable with Laura Levite’s trademark wit and stereotypically awful characters - a nice way to spend a few hours.

I love reading all Laura Levine’s mystery books featuring Jaine Austen and her snarky and destructive cat, aptly named “Prozac”. I also like her parents, who moved from California to Florida, and constantly email her hilarious messages about their feuding lives in a retirement community.

This new mystery is # 20 in this series, and you don’t lack any of the fun and frolic in Jaine’s life…they just get better and better, (if there is such a thing as getting better than better!), and the situations and pickles that Jaine finds herself in are contrived and hilarious.

This is a very easy read, unless you consider all the time spent laughing and wiping away the tears caused by so many funny situations.

I love how this book is told in the first person…even the cat “speaks”. How does Ms. Levine come up with so many funny things to write about? More power to her…I hope she continues to write more and more books in this series.

This book features train travel, and the person who gets killed was the “meanie” in the cast, so it was “deserved” …hmm I did not guess who the killer was, and had incorrect suspects and theories. I like being surprised, and this ending surprised me again!

Thanks to Ms. Levine for writing this book, and to Net Galley and Kensington Books for allowing me to read an advance copy and post a personal review.

unpleasant-victims, laugh-riot, situational-humor, verbal-humor, amateur-sleuth, cozy-mystery, series, murder, investigation, closed-circle-mystery, suspense*****

Jaine Austen is a thirty something WFH free-lance ad writer who has this cat. The cat's name is Prozac and Jaine often wishes she had a dose when the cat acts up and talks back. This time she is to ghostwrite a fitness manual (say what?!) for an unscrupulous aging fitness guru. First off she has to join a private train ride with all the best suspects (great characters), but she is the one maneuvered into finding the body. Guess who the law zeroes in on. This is a totally perfect stress buster, and it even has a good investigation. The whole book is too much fun! Absolutely loved it!
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

This was another fun romp with Jaine, her wacky neighbor Lance, and her feisty cat Prozac. The emails inserted throughout the book from Jaine's parents are hilarious!

Jaine accepts a job ghostwriting a fitness book for Chip Miller, a wealthy gym chain owner. Chip invites her on his private train so she can begin working on his book. Also on the train are his fiance, adult son and daughter, daughter in law, sister, a coworker, and the small staff on the train. Chip quickly proves himself to be a controlling egomaniac who treats everyone like dirt. When he's murdered on the train, Jaine becomes the main suspect and puts herself in danger by trying to find the real killer.

The ending was a nice surprise which may take this series in a whole new direction. Love, love, love this delightful series.

It is Murder on the Iron Man Express, as aptly named writer Jaine Austen finds herself aboard a private railcar in the hopes of being $20k richer after being hired to write a fitness book. When she discovers said client's tyrannical nature may cost her more than she was hoping to make, she should've run for the hills.

Unable to say no to food more than once, she finds herself in a bind when she agrees to meetings that were screaming with red flags. Will it cost her freedom when she becomes the suspect in murder or even her life when she gets too close.

Although you want to scream in frustration with some of the decisions she makes, readers also won't be able to help rooting for her to get her happy ending. I just hope this isn't the end of the road for one of my favorite amateur sleuths.

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 Miler, 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.

Jaine and Prozac are back and ready to solve another mystery while causing some chaos and mayhem on the way. After being hired to write an exercise book, of all things, Jaine finds herself as a suspect in a murder. It is time to put her detective cap back on and clear her name while still being able to clear her plate. While all of this is going on, Jaine's Daddyo is driving her mother crazy down in Florida, as usual, this time dressed like Elvis.

I always love catching up with Jaine and Prozac and reading her mother and father's updates about life in the HOA.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I love these books! Jaine and Prozac are always hilarious. This book takes jaine on a private train car to help write an exercise trip. Of course someone ends up dead and jaine is a suspect. However she starts investigating and finds herself in hot water for interfering. I did not see the ending coming nor did I have the killer figured out!

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I always enjoy Levine’s cozy mysteries and this one was no exception. Her cast of characters are back for another murder, and this one aboard a train. I thought I had it figured out, but I was wrong. Plus that last chapter was totally shocking to me. Curious to see where this goes next. If you like Levine’s mysteries, check this one out when it’s released this summer.

Jaine Austen is my go-to-gal when I need a cozy mystery pick-me-up.

This installment did not disappoint.

The epilogue has me a little worried, though. Is this the end of her romantic mishaps and sleuthing?

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!