Jaine Austen is taking her cat to the vet. I'm not entirely
keen on naming a cat Prozac, but this may be a misnomer as
blood is likely to be drawn from the long-suffering
veterinarian. Prozac is not cooperative. MURDER HAS NINE
LIVES clearly references cats, but the lively Jaine Austen
Mystery series - this is the fourteenth, my first -
is not
overall cat-themed. Jaine is a writer, who lives in Santa
Monica and scrapes a living writing copy for commercials.
An agent looking for a cat to star in a commercial for cat
food spots the pretty Prozac, and the cat chow wins over
the kitty. This starts a whole new chapter in Jaine's life
as she gets more involved with cameras and sets than usual.
Well, it beats her other line of work, promoting bathroom
furniture. All does not go smoothly in a LA studio, where
every receptionist is a frustrated screen writer and pets
are expected to be pro actors. But who would have expected
a death by poisoning? Surely that's a dramatic step too
far.
A separate track is followed by a string of e-mail messages
sent from Jaine's parents who are planning a Hawaiian
vacation and playing Scrabble. As I did not know these
characters I didn't find these messages a good way to meet
them; if you have been following the series to date you may
have them in your mind's eye. Back in the studio, we learn
the tricks of the advert food stylist's trade, from
spraying deodorant on carrots to make them shiny to
undercooking a plump chicken and colouring the skin to make
it look done. These foods should have a Do Not Eat sign on
them.
I find it a nice touch that poor Prozac, rejected by fame,
goes into a depression, showing us that animals have
emotions and moods just like humans. But Jaine, who does
care for her furry pal, is busy trying to solve the murder
before the police settle guilt on her; and her suspicions
rest on everyone from the agent to members of the filming
team. Also, Jaine's human friend Lance has got his dog
Mamie accepted for a commercial and can't resist crowing
about it. To my mind, Jaine has too many episodes of eating
doughnuts and egg rolls, but then she might be following
Prozac's example.
MURDER HAS NINE LIVES contains plenty of fun and games,
with Laura Levine taking a wry look at wannabe stardom and
dishing the dirt for us readers. Amateur sleuth fans,
enjoy!
The future is looking bright for freelance writer Jaine
Austen. She's signed up for a new job, she's looking
forward to a tropical vacation, and her cat Prozac is
slated to star in a major commercial. But when the claws
come out behind the scenes, Jaine worries that murder might
be the only thing to meow about…
A writer's life is far from glamorous. Still, Jaine's new
gig to write an ad campaign for Toiletmasters' new line of
self-flushing toilets comes with a few perks--including a
date with the president's dreamy nephew. And with a
much-needed trip to Maui on the horizon, it seems life
couldn't get any better
needed trip to Maui on the horizon, it seems life couldn't
get any better--until her cat Prozac is tapped to star in a
Skinny Kitty commercial. But Jaine never would have guessed
the world of cat food could be quite so catty…
Jaine is nervous that Prozac won't be able to take
direction, but the finicky furball ditches her diva
behavior for the camera, eating and napping on cue like a
seasoned pro. But just as Jaine begins dreaming of fame and
fortune, Skinny Kitty's inventor drops dead on the set.
Everyone is a suspect--including Jaine. And she'll have to
get her paws on the truth before the killer takes a swipe
at another victim…
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