Jaine may still be single, and have no will power when it comes to junk food, but she has finally landed her dream job. Her friend, Khandi, has helped her land a gig writing for the syndicated sitcom, Muffy ‘n Me. Okay, so it’s not high art, but it at least gets her foot in the door, and Jaine soon begins daydreaming of more lucrative work in Hollywood and a beach house in Malibu.

Then Jaine meets the cast and crew and quickly realizes that she’s not in Kansas anymore. Between the actors and her fellow writers, there is more dysfunction on the set than Days Of Our Lives. When gorgeous actor, Quinn Kirkland, drops dead after nibbling on a rat-poison-laced donut there are plenty of suspects for the cops to choose from. Seems Quinn was doing his part in keeping the lonely women on set happy. But even with plenty of jealous lovers and jealous actors to choose from the police zero in on Khandi as a prime suspect. So Jaine begins digging for clues to unearth the real killer and clear her best friend’s name.

The crisp, funny writing is easily the highlight of this story. Told in the first person, from Jaine’s perspective, the one-liners and pop-culture references keep the story zinging along. For readers who watch a fair amount of television, the references to the writing process, actors, and various other television shows add some freshness to the proceedings.

There are also some very funny e-mail exchanges between Jaine and her parents – her father thinks her mother is having an affair with a Home Shopping Channel host, and her mother wants to give Jaine’s number to some guy named Ernie. There are also Jaine’s home interludes with her pet cat, Prozac, who is a typical cat – that is to say Prozac is the master with Jaine working in indentured servitude.

The mystery here is really very good, despite the fact that the dead body doesn’t show up until almost the halfway point. However, Levine sets up quite a bit of groundwork, so by the time Quinn bites the dust, all the players have been introduced along with their motives. For a slim book (not even 250 pages), the author does a bang-up job with character development, red herrings, and keeping the reader guessing. In a mystery this size, the reader is normally lucky to get 2 suspects, let alone 7.

While book two in a series, Last Writes stands alone very well. My knowledge of the first book, This Pen For Hire, is limited to seeing it in a bookstore once, and this reviewer had no trouble keeping up. For readers who like their mysteries fast and fun, with a healthy dose of humor, Last Writes is the perfect summertime read.

--Wendy Crutcher