Book Review: Pampered to Death

Book: Pampered to Death (A Jaine Austen Mystery book #10) by Laura Levine

Edition: Paperback

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

Pampered to Death was a breeze to read, I started reading it yesterday and finished it today. In this hilarious cozy mystery, freelance writer Jaine Austen thought she had received a wonderful gift of a week long trip to The Haven, a luxury spa from her friend and neighbor Lance. Turns out the gift was beyond disappointing because The Haven wasn't a luxury spa that Jaine and her cat Prozac would be enjoying but a weight lost resort with a owner Olga Truitt who could double as a drill sergeant.

As if being tricked by her friend wasn't bad enough the resort's regimen was hardcore. From limiting the guests to flavorless small calorie meals to tough and rigorous workouts, this was not going to be a fun outing. The guests were another issue that made her stay there unpleasant because they were truly dreadful to be around. The guests included an extremely demanding and rude actress Mallory Francis, her small entourage consisting of her assistant Kendra and her hairstylist Harvy; a star struck people pleaser Cathy Kane and an action movie star Clint Masters.

When Mallory was found murdered during a spa treatment it turned Jaine's bad vacation into something even worse. With the police instructing everyone not to leave, Jaine in hopes of leaving the worst vacation ever, set about trying to solve the mystery. However, it was proving difficult because everyone had a motive to kill Mallory.

It's been a while since I've read a book this funny, Jaine has a tendency to be a tad self-deprecating. She has a strange type of confidence that works for her. As with most cozy mysteries it does takes some time before the mystery begins but you are given a good introduction to the characters so when the mystery solving starts you already know who everyone is. There was also a side story involving Jaine's parents told through e-mail messages sent to her which were pretty funny to read.

This is a fast paced mystery that had me laughing just as much as I was trying to figure out who the murderer was. Although, I've read a few books from the series, I'm going to make sure I read more because this was a fun read.