# This Pen for Hire

By Laura Levine · Jaine Austen, book 1

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/this-pen-for-hire-8fef1663/

Freelance writer Jaine Austen gets Howard Murdoch a date by writing his love letter. Then the woman he's courting is murdered, and Howard becomes the chief suspect. Feeling partly responsible, Jaine starts asking questions of people who had better reasons to dislike the victim.

## What makes it funny?

Jaine's literary name comes from a mother who loved the classics and struggled with spelling. Her professional life is less elevated: she writes advertisements for Toiletmaster Plumbers. An aspiring screenwriter has to take the jobs she can get.

### The comedy at work

Jaine brings a self-deprecating voice to the investigation and an improvised approach to authority. Bogus credentials get her access to possible clues, while a smug homicide detective gives her someone to needle.

### Try this if…

The appeal is an amateur investigator who keeps her sense of humor under pressure. There's also a romantic distraction in the form of an attractive neighbor, although Kirkus found the mystery more satisfying than the romance.

### Good to know

The case begins with a woman bludgeoned to death with a Thigh Master. The jokes coexist with a murder investigation and real danger to Jaine.

## What to expect

- Genre: Mystery
- On the shelf: Amateur sleuth
- Kind of humor: Situational comedy · Wordplay
- Format: Novel

## Sources & further reading

- Publisher: [Publisher](https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/shop/this-pen-for-hire-9781617736186)
- Review: [Publishers Weekly review](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780758201584)
- Review: [Kirkus review](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/laura-levine/this-pen-for-hire)