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Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution by Brent Berlin and Paul Kay The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan
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Dog Dish of Doom by E.J. Copperman and Christy Romano (narrator)
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Julia's House Goes Home by Ben Hatke
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! Volume 5 by Sumito Oowara and Kumar Sivasubramanian (translator)
Last Writes by Laura Levine and Brittany Pressley (Narrator) Layers by Pénélope Bagieu and Montana Kane (Translator)
Lost Lad London, Volume 3 by Shima Shinya
Love Is My Favorite Color by Nina Laden and Melissa Castrillón (Illustrator)
The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum and John R. Neill
My Aunt Is a Monster by Reimena Yee
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The Paper Caper by Kate Carlisle
Pumpkin Spice Peril by Jenn McKinlay and Susan Boyce (narrator)
The Secret Starling by Judith Eagle and Kim Geyer (Illustrator)
The Sign of Four Spirits by Vicki Delany and Kim Hicks (Narrator)
Six Feet Deep Dish by Mindy Quigley and Holly Adams (Narrator)
Wear the Damn Mask by Izzy the Frenchie, Rick Hendrix, and Shane Jordan (2020)

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Last Writes: 01/18/23

Last Writes

Last Writes by Laura Levine and Brittany Pressley (Narrator) (2003) is the second book in the Jaine Austen mysteries. Jaine has sold a script to a sitcom similar to Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Unfortunately it's being made by a D tier studio with no budget and fewer morals.

When the man who play's the star's uncle is poisoned during a live taping of the show, Jaine has to solve the case to save her BFF's reputation and keep her out of jail.

The mystery itself was entertaining. It was a run of the mill who done it with a manageable list of suspects, motives, and opportunities. It was frankly similar to another one I read recently, Hummus and Homicide by Tina Kashian (2018).

What has me taking off two stars is the all the asides filled with stereotypes and borderline hate speech. Before you think I'm living in a suburban bubble of ignorant bliss re sex work in Hollywood, let me say that my commute used to take me down Sunset Blvd past the older, shadier studios and I'm well aware of the sex workers.

My problem with the book isn't the inclusion of prostitution. My problem is with the author comparing every bad thing in her fictional studio with the sex workers Jaine can see out the window. I especially dislike all the times something especially seedy in the studio is then compared to the "trannies" working the street outside the studio windows.

The third book is Killer Blonde (2004).

Three stars

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