Jinxed (A Jinx Fogarty Mystery)

A great cozy mystery! Meg Barnes played the character of Jinx Fogarty, magician's assistant & amateur sleuth, in a long ago TV detective show called Holiday. Now the network has decided to revamp the show. They ask Meg to train the new much younger Jinx in her signature top hat tricks. Meg agrees & then becomes further involved when the girl goes missing & a murder occurs. Meg is a great character who surprisingly is not bitter with the way life has treated her. She is turning her life around even when the past comes back to haunt her. I enjoyed reading this book & can't wait for the next installment which appears to take Jinx to Europe. This is a definite must read series for those that like the cozy mystery genre!

Jinxed is the sequel to Scott's earlier book, Down and Out in Beverly Heels. It can be read without reading the earlier book (but don't deprive yourself of the pleasure of reading Beverly Heels, it's excellent). In Jinxed, actress Meg Barnes is, at least temporarily, reprieved from living and sleeping in her car (while trying to keep homeless state from friends and colleagues in the television industry) by the generosity of her friend Donna who has offered her, at least temporarily, a room in her luxurious Beverly Hills mansion.Still unemployed, Meg has been reduced to performing in a opus by a 14-year-old wunderkind who has to be driven to filming locations by his mother. Most of the movie is being filmed in the kid's garage against a green bedsheet with backgrounds added with CGI. Meg learns that her hit series from decades ago, Holiday, is being given a reboot with a younger actress playing her part. Meg is hired by the studio to coach her replacement on the tricks with a top hat that were a trademark of her character. Desperately needing the money (while hoping she can parlay the coaching into a role on the series), Meg swallows her pride and agrees. After an initial meeting and coaching session, the younger actress goes missing, and Meg again finds herself in the middle of a mystery. Meg's life is made more complicated (and a LOT more aggravating) when the young actress' acting teacher turns out to be Meg's pompous, self-centered and narcissistic ex-husband who shows up and talks his way into also staying at Donna's mansion.It's no spoiler to reveal that there's a murder and that Meg finds herself in peril again. And of course, Meg decides that she has to solve the murder and find the missing actress.I found this entry even more enjoyable than the first book. The tone was generally lighter and there were many more laugh-out-loud moments in Jinxed. The addition of Meg's ex-husband Dirck (no, that's NOT a typo) was a very funny and welcome inclusion. Let's hope we see him as a recurring character in future entries. Corky, the 14-year-old filmmaker is another delightful addition. Scott once again makes excellent use of her own background in television and film. One big improvement from the first book is that Meg's decisions to solve the crimes on her own are more reasonable and justifiable (which, quite frankly, makes her a lot more believable and sympathetic). The issue of genteel homelessness is still present as a topic, but since things aren't as grim and desperate for Meg as in the first book, the tone isn't nearly as bleak as it was in the first half of Beverly Heels.Bottom line - Jinxed is highly recommended and is a fun and entertaining read. But be warned, I started it at bedtime and found myself still reading it at 6 AM! Hopefully, you're more disciplined than I am, but frankly I'd like to ask Ms. Scott to please write faster. I can't wait for the next installment!P.S. I also want to know if Kathryn Leigh Scott can really do the trick of flipping the top hat onto the top of her head. I'd very much like to see that! <g>

I thoroughly enjoyed Down and Out in Beverly Heels, and have been wondering what mischief Meg Barnes could get into next! Kathryn Leigh Scott did not disappoint in Jinxed! It was hard to put down, and I finished it quickly in just a few days! A fun read, kept me guessing until the end! I also enjoy the peek into Hollywood life and behind the scenes of what goes into making a TV show. I would highly recommend both Down and Out in Beverly Heels and Jinxed. Already looking forward to book 3!!!

This book is the perfect addition to Down and Out in Beverly Heels!! I can't wait for the next edition to the Jinxed series.

Good news for all readers who enjoyed Kathryn's splendid Down and Out in Beverly Heels: Meg Barnes is back in action in Jinxed, a highly enjoyable sequel. As Kathryn's fans know, she starred in ABC-TV's Gothic soap opera, which featured vampire Barnabas Collins. She manages to seamlessly weave Barnabas' name into the storyline in the opening pages. But that's all the detail that I'm going to mention. If you want to know more, then buy the book. Like Kathryn herself, it's a knockout!

What a great follow up to "Down and Out in Beverly Heels". Kathryn Leigh Scott has scored a winner (in what I hope is) a new series of mysteries. Her 'first person' telling of the tale takes the reader right along beside Meg as the story unfolds. In addition, Kathryn's inside info of the entertainment industry provides a wonderful fleshing out of the story.Her descriptions of driving the highways of Los Angeles gave me a nostalgic memory of years past.Quirky characters and weird situations combined with just the right amount of humor or sarcasm when needed, kept me amused. My only request to Ms. Scott is to change the tag line to, "a MEG BARNES mystery". Jinx is the character, but, Meg is the actress living through all of the twists and turns. A wonderful story, written expertly. Can't wait for the next one!

This is one of the best cozies I've read! Moves fast and shows a depth of character with humor (very hard to accomplish), all with a great plot. The icing on the cake: the reader gets a birds-eye view of how a television series is produced. I'm looking forward to the next Jinx Fogarty mystery.

Likable Hollywood characters -- including a former star who's been homeless -- are involved with a show revival. They encounter artistic and familial ties that complicate getting on with the project and the rest of their lives. First- and second-generation players mysteriously disappear until a screen sleuth follows her instincts to a conclusion.

I am loving this series, a bit of an insight behind tinseltown with a great mix of humour, romance, and intrigue. Cannot wait for the next one!

Tremendous fun - it is a sequence to "Down and Out in Beverly Heels" which I think is also a must read.I hope Kathryn is a little busy beaver and work on the next Jinx book already :-)

I loved Down and Out in Beverly Heels so when I heard about this book I got it straight away. It didn't disappoint - there's a great story, wonderful characters, plenty of mystery, and I honestly didn't see who could have been the murderer right until the end. Brilliant :-)