Death of a Neighborhood Witch

Author: Laura LevineTitle:Death of a Neighborhood Witch (A Jaine Austen Mystery)

Publication: September 3, 2013

Publisher: Kensington

Genre: Comedy, Mystery

Pages: 304

Audience: 17 and up

Rating: 4 out of 5

Source: Public Library

Synopsis (from Amazon.com): When Jaine Austen's beloved cat Prozac unwittingly scares to death a parakeet belonging to the neighborhood's resident curmudgeon, Jaine finds herself knee-deep in toil and trouble. The cantankerous Hollywood has-been once played Cryptessa Muldoon, television's fourth most famous monster mum. Now she spends her days making enemies with everyone on the block. So when the ornery D-lister is murdered with her own Do Not Trespass sign on Halloween night, the neighborhood fills with relief - and possible culprits. With a killer on the loose, Jaine hardly has time to fall under the spell of her yummy new neighbor, Peter. As the prime suspect, she summons her sleuthing skills to clear her name and soon discovers that everyone has a few skeletons in their closets...

Favorite Quote: "I can't take me anywhere."- Jaine Austen

My thoughts:
I work at the public library, and I kept checking this book out to patrons or into the library. One afternoon, I snatched it up and decided to read it. Laura Levine used to write for The Laverne and Shirley Show, and I loved it. So her writing was humor based mixed with a murder-mystery. I loved Jaine. She was just so down to Earth and you could relate to her. I also enjoyed her cat, Prozac because cats are that outrageous. I didn't like her friend Lance, he was a total butt-hole and no one needs a "friend" like that. Her other friend, whose name I have forgotten, did not play a huge role (obviously since I forgot her name!), but she was okay just a bit ditzy. The neighbors were a lot like actual neighbors, they all have their good and bad sides. As a friend said, this book was not a great piece of literature, but it was a nice read. If you want something funny with a mystery twist, then check out this book.