High
Heels and Homicide
A Maggie Kelly
Mystery
Kasey Michaels
Kensington Books (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-7582-0880-4 (0758208804)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7582-0880-4 (9780758208804)
Publication Date: December 2005
List Price: $14.00
Synopsis (from
the publisher): When mystery author Maggie Kelly heads across the pond
for a movie shoot—accompanied by her once-fictional, now
all-too-real (not to mention sexy) hero, Alexandre, Viscount Saint
Just—she can only hope for a jolly good time. And
that’s exactly what she gets—if “jolly
good” is Britspeak for “totally
crazy”…
We are not amused… Don’t get me
wrong—there was plenty to laugh about when we first arrived
in Merry Olde England to watch one of my novels being shot as a major
motion picture. Alex was delighted with the location (a
seventeeth-century manor house), but horrified with the surfer-dude
mimbo playing him. I, personally, found the situation
hilarious…then the leading lady started rubbing up against
“my” hero, leaving me no choice but to start a
little flirtation of my own with the lord of the manor’s
nephew. It was all very Regency House Party until the scriptwriter
showed up…dead.
Lights, camera…action! No, not that kind of action. Well,
maybe a little… Okay, so things are suddenly getting hot and
heavy between Alex and me—and our timing is atrocious as
usual, what with the murder and mayhem. Suspects? Don’t get
me started. There’s Mr. Contemptuous Director, Ms. Man-Crazy
Production Assistant, Mr. Fancy Pants English Actor, Ms. Diva Leading
Lady, and…yours truly. Yep, I was seen arguing with the
victim right before his unfortunate demise, so I am, as the Brits would
say, in a bit of a pickle…
It was a dark and stormy night... No, seriously. Some truly nasty
English weather has flooded the property, cutting off the power as well
as access to the roads. Plus, someone’s stolen all the cell
phones. Oh, there’s also that second body we just found. And
did I mention the ghost? Mm-hmm—the place is haunted. You
know, it wasn’t too long ago that a scenario like this would
have had me reaching for a cigarette. Now, it just has me reaching for
Alex …
Review:
The latest book in the Maggie Kelly series, High Heels and Homicide,
is a delightfully funny mystery set largely in an atmospheric 17th
century English manor house during a dark and stormy night.
The unusual twist in this series is that mystery author Maggie Kelly
has created a fictional Regency-era character for her books, the
aristocrat-detective Alexandre Blake, Viscount Saint Just, who has
mysteriously come to life with all the characteristics that Kelly
imbued in him but without any knowledge or experience of modern life.
This premise makes for many comical situations, and Michaels takes full
advantage of them in her mysteries.
Michaels captures the essence of the movie industry very well with all
its personalities, egos, and insecurities. The action moves along at a
brisk pace, and the dialog is frequently funny and entertaining. The
fact that the author spends more time on “romance”
than “mystery” in this romantic mystery is
quibbling.
Don't judge this book by its cover … or its title for that
matter. The original title for this mystery, Maggie Gets Some Direction,
is not only more appropriate for the book and the series, but adds an
ironic element to the storyline and the interplay of the principal
characters.
Special thanks to Book Trends for providing an ARC of High Heels and Homicide for this review.
Review Copyright © 2005 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
Maggie Needs an
Alibi
Kensington (Hardcover), July 2002
ISBN-10: 1-57566-879-3 (1575668793)
Maggie by the
Book
Kensington (Hardcover), August 2003
ISBN-10: 1-57566-881-5 (1575668815)
Maggie Without a
Clue
Kensington (Hardcover), August 2004
ISBN-10: 1-57566-883-1 (1575668831)
High Heels and
Homicide
Kensington (Trade paperback), December 2005
ISBN-10: 0-7582-0880-4 (0758208804)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7582-0880-4 (9780758208804)
High Heels and
Holidays
Kensington (Trade paperback), October 2006
ISBN-10: 0-7582-0882-0 (0758208820)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7582-0882-8 (9780758208828)
Bowled
Over
Kensington (Trade paperback), November 2007
ISBN-10: 0-7582-0884-7 (0758208847)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7582-0884-2 (9780758208842)
Omnimystery keywords for High Heels and Homicide
...
Location(s) referenced: England.