Killer Cruise (A Jaine Austen Mystery) - Hardcover

Laura Levine

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1602855005 ISBN 13: 9781602855007

Publisher: Center Point Pub, 2009

Synopsis

Things are already off to a rocky start when Jaine discovers a stowaway amidst her luggage - her persnickety cat Prozac. To make matters worse, Prozac is also spotted by the ship's steward, an aspiring writer who quickly uses his advantage to blackmail Jaine into editing his massive handwritten manuscript. So much for seven days of sun, fun, and relaxation...Jaine's sinking sensation grows stronger at dinner, where she meets chatty Emily Pritchard, a wealthy seventy-year-old who's traveling with her bossy personal secretary, Ms. Nesbitt, and her nephews, arrogant investment banker Kyle, and his ruggedly handsome brother Robbie. Jaine can't help noticing the tension among them, especially when the cruise's charming - and sleazy - British dancer, Graham, whisks Emily out onto the dance floor and keeps her there for the rest of the evening. Soon Emily is accepting Graham's invitations to every social event on the ship even though her nephews and Ms. Nesbitt clearly don't approve. And when the bubbly couple announces their engagement just two nights later, no one is more surprised than Graham's long time girlfriend Cookie. But the news is quickly overshadowed the next morning by the discovery of Graham's body with an ice pick protruding from his chest...The captain is quick to accuse Cookie, but Jaine suspects there are more sharks in the water. Was money-hungry Kyle protecting his inheritance? Perhaps Ms. Nesbitt was attempting to regain control over Emily's life? Or could the notorious lothario have fallen to one of his many paramours? And what about Robbie? Although Jaine finds herself falling for him, she can't help but wonder if he's been completely honest with her. Between hiding a furry fugitive, flirting with Robbie, and baiting the hook for a clever murderer, Jaine is about to dive into her most dangerous case yet...

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

In Levine's highly amusing if rather breathless eighth Jaine Austen mystery (after 2008's Killing Bridezilla), freelance writer Jaine gets a gig conducting a writing course on a seven-day cruise from L.A. to Mexico. The trouble begins when Jaine realizes her sneaky cat, Prozac, has stowed away in her luggage. Jaine bargains with Samoa, her eccentric steward, to keep Prozac's presence a secret by promising to read and edit Do Not Distub (sic), his 900-page thriller about a swashbuckling steward. Levine's lively wit keeps the familiar Love Boat–esque shenanigans afloat as Emily Pritchard, an elderly wealthy singleton, falls for Graham Palmer III, a botoxed gentleman escort and gold digger, who's engaged to Cookie Esposito, the ship's lounge singer. Emily's engagement to Graham throws her family in a tizzy, ditto the spurned Cookie, who's later suspected of the gigolo's ice-pick murder. In the delicious denouement, Samoa's bulky manuscript serves a useful nonliterary purpose. (May)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Center Point Pub
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1602855005
• ISBN 13: 9781602855007
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 292