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Lost in Las Vegas
by
Kristen Painter
amateur sleuth, cozy mystery, magical realism in a Kindle edition that was published by Sugar Skull Books on January 6, 2021 and has 190 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Blood Rights, Flesh and Blood, Bad Blood, Out for Blood, Last Blood, House of the Rising Sun, City of Eternal Night, Garden of Dreams and Desires, Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case, All Fired Up, "Prologue to The Vampire's Mail Order Bride", The Vampire's Mail Order Bride, The Werewolf Meets His Match, The Gargoyle Gets His Girl, The Professor Woos the Witch, The Vampire's Fake Fiancée, The Shifter Romances the Writer, "The Witch's Halloween Hero", The Dragon Finds Forever, The Vampire's Accidental Wife, The Reaper Rescues the Genie, The Detective Wins The Witch, The Vampire's Priceless Treasure, The Werewolf Dates the Deputy, "When Birdie Babysat Spider", Miss Frost Ices the Imp, Miss Frost Saves the Sandman, Miss Frost Cracks a Caper, Miss Frost Braves the Blizzard, "The Werewolf's Christmas Wish", The Vampire's Cursed Kiss, Her First Taste of Fire, The Trouble With Witches, Moody and the Beast, The Vampire's Sunny Sweetheart, Miss Frost Chills the Cheater, Wrapped Up in Christmas, Mystified in Music City, Sucks To Be Me, A Sky Full of Stars, Suck It Up Buttercup, The Forgettable Miss French, Sucker Punch, The Suck Stops Here, Nixed in New Orleans
First in the Frost & Crowe cozy mystery series with an amateur sleuth who happens to be Princess Jayne Frost and her necromancer husband, Sinclair Crowe, who are back from their honeymoon.
My Take
It’s so sweet to start a story with such positivity. Sinclair adores his new wife. It’s also sweet how much they pay attention to each other. Nor do their respective parents have any issues. We know all this through third person dual protagonist point-of-view from Sin’s and Jayne’s perspectives.
Jayne is such a sweetheart, and I do envy her ability to metabolize all that sugar and Dr Pepper! Okay, so my evil addiction is Coca Cola, but it’s the idea of unlimited yummies!
Okay guys, you’ll “appreciate” this one. It seems that Jayne has one closet in their new apartment at the North Pole; Sin has one that he shares with Jayne!
I do so enjoy “listening” to Spike’s and Sugar’s comments. They’re direct and to the point, and even though I know I don’t want to know most of what my cats would say . . . I still wanna know.
Oh, we visit Sin’s parents’ home! Nice. Mom’s beauty regime is not so nice. Seems like she goes through a whole lotta moisturizer. Painter has also provided a wee bit of family history about Lila’s condition.
We get a wee bit of history about Las Vegas. We also find out what jerks Tony and Lou are.
Lost in Las Vegas is definitely about the characters and it’s action-driven, as everyone panics. That’ll teach ya to love your family and embrace your friends . . .!
The Story
Sinclair is thrilled to be married, but . . . he’s also bored. And Jack knows just how to fix it — road trip!
An important stop is Las Vegas to catch Anson and Lila’s spectacular new trick. Only the trick is on them when Lila is abducted. They can’t call the cops and Lila could die so many ways.
The Characters
Princess Jayne Frost is the daughter of Jack Frost. Sinclair Crowe, a.k.a. Prince Consort Sinclair, a necromancer and former doughnut shop owner, is Jayne’s new husband. Spider and Sugar are their “married” cats, who can talk. Sugar calls Jayne “Momlady“.
Las Vegas
Sinclair’s parents — Lord Anson, the magician, and Lady Lila, the zombie assistant, Crowe — have a magic act in Las Vegas — and were granted the titles of Lord and Lady when their son got married. Dead Sexy is their new mega-hit show in Vegas at the Oasis Casino. The “Vanishing Woman” is their new trick. The Oasis Grand is the name of their house. Maude Dabrowski is the Crowes’ agent. Zinnia is Lila’s great-aunt and a necro-psychometrist who lives at Canyon Meadows. Yep, death magic runs in Lila’s family. Dex and Buck Murphy are stagehands.
Miranda Winterberry is the manager of the local Santa’s Workshop. Xavier, who bought a book from Superfine, works at the Dove and Wand, a magic bookstore. Martin Beck was Harry Houdini’s manager. Dr Brewer is a witch and handles a lot of supernatural clients, including the Crowes.
Frank Chiarillo owns the Crystal Palace, and he’s been trying to poach the Crowes for years. Frank is also part owner of the Rare Breed biker bar. Jimmy Deville is the Palace’s show manager. The Palace’s magic act is Tony Toretllini and his Impastable Magic. The number 2 act in Vegas. The questionable Carrie Caruthers, a.k.a. Cora Bright, Krissy Lawton, and Carolyn Hernandez, is Tony’s assistant. Gabrielle née Fine “Gabi” is Tony’s wife, an ex-showgirl. Lou Scholtz, who lives in Sierra Vista, is Tony’s minimal effort manager. Crimson Dancer is a horse Tony bought.
The North Pole (NP)
Jack Frost is also the King of Winter. Mrs Greenbaum is Jack’s administrative assistant. Ezreal has built a fabulous RV. Davide handles Jayne’s jewelry. Her travel jewelry is specifically special.
Y’all know who Santa Claus, a.k.a. Kris Kringle, is. His wife, Martha, makes incredible eggnog fudge. And I’m back to craving some eggnog! They’re also Jayne’s uncle and aunt.
Ingvar is in charge of IT. Great-great-great-aunt Lynette had a fixation with her tiara. Galaxy is a reindeer’s name. The Pole Post is the NP’s newspaper. Most communication in the NP is through magical snow globes. A Santa’s Bag is a quick mail service. Shimmer is a winter magic used in the Santa’s Workshop stores. The Santa slide is how Santa gets inside houses to deliver presents.
Nocturne Falls is . . .
. . . where Sin and Jayne met. Aunt Birdie, a werewolf and computer whiz, works as a police dispatcher. Jack Van Zant is a raven shifter, witch’s familiar (technically), and Cole’s father (The Professor Woos the Witch, 4). Greyson is Jayne’s vampire ex-boyfriend.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a colorful and fuzzy Las Vegas under a night sky — the better to see Jayne’s magic swirling into the air. Yep, it’s the blue, long-haired Jayne all in black cuddled up with her new husband, Sinclair Crowe in all-black as well, standing in front of a border of ferns with the black Spider and the white Sugar at their feet. At the very top is the series info in a colonial blue with the title immediately below in white. At the very bottom is an italicized info blurb and below that is the author’s name; both are in white.
The title is about Lila, for she’s Lost in Las Vegas.
