July 15, 2021
An unwanted makeover gets a freelance writer into a world of trouble. Maybe it's her messy curls. Maybe it's her favorite CUCKOO FOR COCOA PUFFS T-shirt. Whatever the reason, shoe salesman Lance Venable is convinced that his neighbor Jaine Austen would be the perfect guinea pig for his Neiman Marcus customer Bebe Braddock's proposed fashion transformation. Jaine agrees, however grudgingly, to take time from working on her ad campaign for Tip Top DryCleaners to go for a tryout to the stylist's posh Brentwood digs, where Bebe is predictably patronizing. But she has limited time to torment Jaine for her frumpiness because on a follow-up visit, Jaine finds Bebe's corpse with a wire hanger wrapped around her throat. Since Bebe was a bitch to everyone, there are suspects aplenty: Anna, her seamstress; Heidi, her hairstylist; even Miles, her husband. But the police zero in on Jaine, probably because her fingerprints are all over the murder weapon. (Well, she had to check for a pulse, didn't she?) Now not even the dinner invitations from Bebe's handsome assistant, Justin, can make her anything but sorry she agreed to this makeover. But it's too late to escape. If she doesn't find out who killed Bebe, her next statement outfit will be an orange jumpsuit. As always, Levine's spunky heroine gets the last laugh.
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September 15, 2021
In her eighteenth outing (after Death of a Gigilo, 2019), freelance writer Jaine Austen is lured from her typical slovenly wardrobe (which usually consists of something like ketchup-stained sweats and a Cocoa Puffs tee) by the offer of a free makeover by Bebe Braddock, stylist to the stars. The experience is far from positive and Jaine nearly bails but is enticed to stay by the promise of a pale blue cashmere tunic with seed pearls as her reward. Bebe is beyond dreadful, with a long list of enemies, but when she is found murdered, Jaine's prints are found on the murder weapon--a wire hanger--and our girl becomes the chief suspect. Interspersed with the silly antics of her parents and the pseudoheroic behavior of cat Prozac, the mystery unfolds. Crazy things happen, misunderstandings create chaos but of course justice is served in the end. For lovers of the zany this is a sure thing. Public libraries that follow the series will need to add this to their collections.
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