This Pen for Hire

by Laura Levine

Jaine Austen - no, not Jane Austen - is a freelance writer, barely making ends meet in Los Angeles. She and her cat, Prozac, muddle through everyday single life, not looking for any adventure. In fact, Jaine doesn't even want to date, after her disastrous marriage to her ex, The Blob. But when she is hired to write a love letter to gorgeous fitness instructor Stacy, Jaine has no idea how badly this will all end.

An easy to read mystery without all the gore of the Jack Daniels series, Levine gives us plenty of humor and still finds time to write an intriguing mystery. Jaine doesn't set out to solve a mystery, she has no training and no desire, but when she finds herself concerned about Howard, who had hired her to write the letter, she decides to do a little investigating on her own. Along the way, she meets a cast of characters who are all likely suspects in Stacy's death. Will Jaine solve this mystery in time to get home for a bubble bath and a tub of Ben & Jerry's? This book was good in that it wasn't easy for the reader to solve, yet the murderer wasn't someone who came out of nowhere. I hate that.

I'm reading a few others from this same author in this series at the recommendation of Jenni. Stay tuned.