Laura Levine's latest book in the Jaine Austen Mystery series is Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge. Jaine and her friend Lance are house sitting in a no pets allowed mansion over the Christmas holidays. When her cat Prozac gets thrown out of the pet hotel, Prozac ends up moving in the neighboring mansion. The owner, Scotty, is a former child star who makes Scrooge look like a spendthrift. When he is murdered with a discount Yule log, the suspect list includes neighbors, the current wife, an ex-wife, the renter, and the maid. Jaine is determined to solve the mystery and rescue Prozac whether she likes it or not. This series falls on the lighter side of the cozy mystery genre. It is enjoyable nevertheless. My favorite part of this series is always the e-mails from Jaine's parents which did not disappoint!

I’ve read two other books in this highly entertaining series by Laura Levine, and found them all to be enjoyable. In this one, the main character, Jaine Austen, has agreed to spend Christmas house-sitting in a Bel Air mansion, along with her friend Lance. Unfortunately for Jaine, her cat, Prozac, is not permitted to stay with them because of all the very expensive items throughout the house. After being kicked out of an elaborate pet vacation establishment, Prozac ends up staying with the neighbors, Missy and Scott. Meanwhile Scott, who seems to hate Christmas, is murdered, and Jaine finds herself involved in yet another madcap adventure.

I enjoy this series; however, this time, the author threw in a curse word involving God, and I was disappointed that it showed up in a cozy mystery.

With every new book in this series, I get so excited to start and am so sad to reach the ending - it's hard to wait for the next book in such an awesome series! I just love everything about this story - we have classic Jaine, unable to stay out of shenanigans no matter where she might be staying, her constant side-kick Lance, always there to bail her out when needed, and her lovely feline Prozac, who unfortunately shows a bit of betrayal in this storyline. Oh Prozac, we know who your true mommy is!
I am always entertained by the interwoven tales of Jaine's parents told in between the paragraphs. The holiday setting is perfect for fall reading! Pull up your favorite blanket, a cup of cocoa, and enjoy Jaine and Lance's version of a wonderful holiday while house sitting for a customer in Bel Air! All of the neighbors are suspect in the latest murder mystery Jaine involves herself in - including Jaine herself. Will the true murderer please stand up? Don't miss this laugh out loud, page turner! Thank you #netgalley for allowing me early access to review!

The Jaine Austen mystery series is a new to me series. Read this book, it wasn’t until halfway through that I realized there were many other books in this long term series. That means that this book can absolutely be read stand-alone.

Our sleuth is Jaine Austen, a writer (though of ad material and not wonderful books of the Regency period.) Jaine is talked/conned into house-sitting by her best buddy Lance. Her cat, Prozac, finds other digs and settles in quite well.

When a murder occurs (what else in a cozy murder mystery) and Jaine comes under suspicion (ditto cozy murder mystery), she kicks into high gear to solve the crime. Only problem is, just about everyone who knew the victim had really good reasons to knock him off.

Added into this fun are a series of emails from Jaine’s mother and her father – describing events on a cruise from two very different perspectives. I really enjoyed this comic moments away from the whodunnit.

As I mentioned, the book can be read stand-alone but it certainly make me eager to go back into the back list of the series and buy and read them from the beginning.

I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.
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Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge by Laura LevineJaine Austen is spending her Christmas housesitting with her friend Lance. Prozac, though supposed to be boarded, had gotten herself kicked out. Luckily, the next door neighbor, Missy, offers up her home. Her husband Scotty, the titular Scrooge, is less impressed. He says that Jane can work off the boarding payments by helping him edit his screenplay.

It seems that Scotty played Tiny Tim in an early Christmas movie and has been riding the residuals pretty much ever since. He's a wealthy man but his mansion is empty, he has a renter (who appears to be in love with Missy), his wife is on a tight allowance, and his ex-wife comes over regularly to try and pry her alimony checks out of his fingers.

The title of the story reveals the conflict of this story; Scotty ends up dead. Turns out, in addition to being tightfisted, he was mean-spirited as well; complaining about his neighbors decorations via megaphone and blackmailing at least one person.

A nice addition to the series but nothing standout.

Three stars

This book came out on September 25

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge by Laura Levine is the 16th book in Jaine Austen Mystery Series, and is another wonderful book. Jaine Austen is a writer and part-time semiprofessional private investigator who always seems to be around when a murder occurs. It's Christmas time and Jaine and Lance are house-sitting at a lush Bel Air mansion. When Jaine finds a neighbor's body, the mystery begins.

Not only is this book really funny, it has a great mystery. There are twists and turns around every corner. I laughed out loud several times. The emails from her parents were also amusing. I found this book to be a quick read, with a well developed plot and characters. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. If you love humorous cozy mysteries, I strongly recommend this book.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I loved the fast pace of this book. It was a great book to get in the holiday spirit, and I loved the emails from her Dad. This is a great stand alone, but it is also part of a great series. I recommend this book to all holiday cozy lovers

Jaine Austen's friend and neighbor, Lance Venable, gets them a cush job house sitting for Connie Van Hooten's luxurious home in Bel Air. Missy Parker, who lives next door to Connie, agrees to watch Jaine's feisty cat Prozac. Missy is the trophy wife of a former child star and cheapskate Scotty Parker and their home has no valuable that Prozac could damage. Missy falls in love with Prozac, but her cheapskate husband, Scotty, makes Jaine help him with his atrocious screenplay in exchange for boarding Prozac. When Scotty is murdered, Jaine becomes the prime suspect, so she starts her own investigation to clear her name.

This book is part of a long-running series, but reads as a stand-alone for new readers. The book isn't complex, but for a lighthearted, fun read, nothing beats a Jaine Austen mystery. I love the humor of the dialogue, Jaine's comments to herself, the situations she and Lance get into, as well as the emails Jaine received from her parents. As in prior books, the emails from Jaine's mom and dad aren't related to the murder investigation, but deal with some sort of crisis usually of Jaine's dad's making. I find these emails to be hilarious and don't find them to be distracting to the main case. I would love to see a future book in which Jaine and Lance go visit her parents in Florida. I can only imagine the havoc Lance, Prozac, Jaine, and Hank Austen could wreak if they were all in the same city!

In addition to a mystery Jaine is investigating, this book, like most in the series, also show Lance and Jaine looking for a prince, but ending up with toads. Lance means well, but is equally adorable and annoying. The "help" he gives Jaine in finding Mr. Right usually backfires, as do his own attempts to find his soulmate.

Since the murder victim is such a jerk, Jaine has plenty of people to investigate, which keeps readers entertained. I was surprised when the murderer was revealed even though there were some clues as to that person's identity. I was shocked by a development in Jaine's personal life and am looking forward to see what happens. "Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge" is funny from beginning to end. I hated to put it down and was sorry when it ended. 4.5 stars

I received this book from NetGalley, through the courtesy of Kensington Books. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Lance drove me nuts and I wasn't fond of "hearing" the cat's thoughts. However the mystery was interesting. I also liked the main character, Jaine Austen. Unlikely that I will be reading another in this series.

I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for being able to receive an eARC for my honest review.

Jaine Austen spends the holidays house sitting in a beautiful mansion when one of the Scrooge like neighbors is murdered! I always love this series because the books are funny, breezy and (often) holiday themed. This installment doesn’t disappoint and has everything fans like myself look for - antics from Jaine’s cat, chunky monkey ice cream, and LOL emails from Jaine’s parents who are living in a retirement community in Florida. Keep the holiday cozies coming Ms. Levine!

Thanks to Net Galley for the advance copy!

When I need to escape, silly, laugh out loud mysteries like this series are good for what ails me. Jaine and her cat, her parents, her friends are a very funny bunch of characters. This time around, her parents are on vacation and Jaine is housesitting. It's the neighbors who take center stage and one becomes a corpse. My only quibble? Why did it take so long to do him in? He was disliked by all and made the perfect murder victim. Add to that, her cat gets to take a vacation, too, not being allowed to stay with Jaine and risk breaking something valuable.
Jaine is my kind of lady, one who eats when she is stressed and when she is not, her clothing choice runs to sweats and her sense of humor is amazing.
This is the 16th in the series but it can be read as a standalone. I have enjoyed every one of them.

Princess Fuzzypants here: I confess I adore Prozac. Not the drug, of course, but the kitty. She is so funny with her acerbic comments and observations. Jaine would be even more of a catastrophe on two legs without her. In fact Jaine begins to mourn when her affections are usurped by a tall leggy blonde who may or may not have murdered the Neighborhood Scrooge, her husband. He is an obnoxious child actor whose career ground to a halt with the advent of acne. It did not improve his disposition either. He is a thoroughly reprehensible person so the suspects practically line up when he is murdered by being whacked with a frozen chocolate Christmas Log. I kid you not.
I love these books because there is so much silliness. There were times when I snorted aloud at a passage. Jaine does a bang up job complicating her life but with her friend and neighbour with whom she is House sitting when the action occurs it adds another layer of goofiness. Then there are her parents who this time are on a cruise and the emails back and forth from Mom and then Dad explaining the most recent mishap to befall them are hilarious.
I look forward to each new book and this one does not disappoint. If you are a fan of the series, you will love this one. If you have never read the Jaine Austen series (no not 19th Century writer), you can pick up the thread anywhere and this is as good as any to get started.
I give it five purrs and two paws up.

This is my first introduction to Jaine Austen and this series by Laura Levine. Jaine Austen, a freelance writer, is given the opportunity to earn some extra cash and spend the holiday season with her best friend Lance by housesitting in a fancy LA neighborhood. Unfortunately, the neighbors leave something to be desired. While Jaine's cat Prozac might be smitten with the woman next door, the man, an aged child actor named Scotty, is universally hated. So when Scotty turns up dead with a crazy number of suspects, Jaine's Christmas is turned upside down.

I don't think I could categorize Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge as a cozy mystery. It's more of a light mystery with a bit comedy thrown in. Sometimes the jokes and puns land, sometimes they don't. I enjoyed the emails from Jaine's parents and Jaine's ill-fated online dates the most.

Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge was a quick and easy read. Yet, it wasn't entirely satisfying. Some parts of the story drag, while others are wrapped up a bit too quickly. The characters aren't very developed and seem to fit stereotypes; more like caricatures than characters.

I'd like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge early and complimentary in return for my honest review.

This is the first introduction to Jaine Austen that I have had to endure. From the Netgalley description, I was unaware that this really was not a cozy but more of an exaggeratedly farce.

By 30% into the book, I felt like I had been on a roller coaster ride twice over and was ready to throw up. This is a fast paced, very juvenile, slapstickish book. I was so dizzy trying to keep up with Jaine, her parent’s cruise, and Lance her best friend. Her current neighbor is despicable.

I had to stop reading before the jerk was murdered. I was not ready to read about self-centered Lance, or the totally absorbed neighbor Scott. The only one that seemed close to normal was Jaine.

I think the cover is wonderful, inviting and quaint all at the same time.

Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge is part of the Jaine Austen mystery series. This is my first introduction to Jaine, Lance (best friend) and Prozac (her cat) and I was not disappointed. Although I prefer to read a series in order I was still able to follow along with the characters in the book. Jaine and Lance are going to be house sitting at Christmas at a fancy Bel-Air mansion but when she arrives she learns no pets allowed so she lets Prozac go the neighbor in exchange for helping the scrooge next door with his screen play. The neighbor Scotty is a former child actor who was Tiny Tim but is not well liked by anyone now. So it comes as no surprise he is the one who is murdered. With Jaine working with him she is on the suspect list and she begins investigating to clear her name. I really liked the character of Jaine, she was a real person who when anxious eats junk food which I can totally relate to! Jaine is funny and I love when a cozy has humor it keeps the story moving. I will be getting some of the earlier stories to enjoy more of Jaine's antics. Good read.

Jaine Austin has been commandeered to help mansion sit for a wealthy shoe client of
her good buddy, Lance, over the Christmas holiday. She agrees very reluctantly and then runs the gauntlet of finding accommodations for her cat, Prozac, at the swanky pet motel and spa in town..which doesn’t last more than half a day. Trying to find another way to find kitty care for Prozac, Jaine happens upon her next door neighbor at the mansion. The woman adores Prozac, but her husband is one of the worst people Jaine’s ever met. Scrooge would be tame in comparison! But, it’s room and board for Prozac, so Jaine agrees to foot the kitty sitting bill AND read over the man’s screenplay.

Over the course of the week, Jaine runs afoul of almost every person on the block along with several unplanned blind dates arranged for by Lance. Tempers are flaring all over the block and Jaine just wants to spend some quality time with Prozac, so she goes over to visit her while she thinks nobody’s home and sneaks upstairs. Unfortunately, she hears a loud thud from downstairs a short time later and when she goes to see what’s happened, her Scrooge-like neighbor is dead at his office desk.

Now, in order to clear HER name off the list of suspects, Jaine is roaming all over town investigating the whereabouts and possible motives everyone she’s come across may have to knock of the neighborhood Scrooge. And that list is impossibly long!!

While I did enjoy the story and the characters were memorable, some of the phrasing became a bit repetitive. After introducing the reader to Jaine's Corolla, the need to keep saying Jaine was jumping into her Corolla, hopping into the Corolla, etc. was a bit tiresome. As was the need to keep repeating Chunky Monkey. Perhaps this is too picky on my part, but it doesn't lend anything more to the storyline or make things any more interesting.

Scotty Parker is a former child star who once played Tiny Tim, but now he’s grown up into the role of neighborhood Scrooge. He cuts the wires on his neighbors’ Christmas display and tells the kids that Santa had a stroke. His miserly, bah-humbug attitude lasts year-round, a fact known all too well by everyone who knows him.

Scotty thinks he can stage a comeback with the screenplay he’s working on (The Return of Tiny Tim: Vengeance Is Mine!). Jaine is reluctantly recruited to help him edit the horrible screenplay. When Scotty is bludgeoned to death with a frozen chocolate yule log, the police start making a list of suspects. Jaine’s name is unfortunately at the top of the list

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Series: A Jaine Austen Mystery - Book 16
Author: Laura Levine
Genre: Cozy/Holiday Mystery
Publisher: Kensington Books

Publishing Date; September 25, 2018

Laura Levine is a talented writer. Her characters are modern, quirky, and written with an eye towards the current world we live in. Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge is the sixteenth book in this series, and like most of the other books, it is filled with lots of clues, suspects and dating issues for Lance and Jaine. Jaine isn’t having much luck herself, and that is what makes the two characters work well together.

Jaine Austen is a writer, mainly ads. She doesn’t mind the work but hopes for better. Working with the victim is a bit overwhelming for her especially as she, like most everyone else, doesn’t like him. Lance is not really any help and is too self-centered to really care. Other characters in this book are far too sporadic to worry the reader; most are not memorable.

The Jaine Austen Mystery series is popular and well liked. But I have an issue with this particular book. Anyone who would hand over their beloved pet to a complete stranger is incredibly callous, not to mention irresponsible. Especially when Jaine lives within easy driving range of Scotty. This is a big sticking point for me as a reader and as a pet owner. Then top it off with the fact that the strangers treat Prozac as if he belongs to them without asking Jaine’s permission for how the cat is taken care of, and Jaine allows this to continue throughout the story, makes it unbelievable. Add in that the victim is so unlikable that the reader will wonder why someone didn’t kill him sooner; this makes it hard for the reader to care about any of the characters. Unfortunately, mix all of this with the ending, and I’m afraid that I can’t give this book a high rating.

Overall, Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge is a fast-paced, easy-to-read story that has moments of entertainment. If readers love this series, they will most likely enjoy this new addition, if they didn’t enjoy it previously, that won’t change.

ARC Provided by NetGalley

Right up front- as usual Levine takes this cozy right up to and occasionally over the top but that's ok because Jaine, Lance, and Prozac the cat are all so well written and funny that you'll find yourself laughing out loud. If you somehow have missed this long running series, you are in for a treat and don't worry, you'll fine with this as a standalone. Jaine and Lance are housesitting in Bel Air! Woo hoo! AND, the fact that the house must be pet free means that Prozac goes to live with Scotty next door in return for Jaine's help on a script Timmy Parker is writing. He is the Scrooge of the title and when he's murdered (that must have been some Yule log, frozen or not), Jaine is a suspect. AND, of course, she and Lance will figure out which person he has been rotten to is the real culprit. One of the nicest things about this group are the smaller characters, such as Jaine's mom, who always has something to say. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Another winner from Levine.

So I'm obviously in the minority here, but I just didn't like this book. Maybe it's because i haven't read any of the previous books of this series. This is not a long book by any standard, yet the first 30% , an entire third, is filled with nothing but angst over her cat (really?), and emails from her parents about their vacation. The murder doesn't happen till almost midway through! I didn't love the characters. I couldn't connect with Jaine. I have cats, and I love them, but she is nuts, and not in a funny way, more in a depressingly lonely way. Lance was a caricature. They all felt quite flat. Finally, while I could tell some parts were supposed to be funny, most often I didn't find them to be humorous. So while many may enjoy Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

I really enjoyed this book, I already other in this series but this one was really good.
I loved the sentimental misadventure of the heroine and Prozac the cat, such a wonderful character.
This is the perfect book if you want to be entertained and laugh a lot.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC