High Heels And Homicide [Paperback]

Kasey Michaels (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2005

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 seventeenth-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. 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...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...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The drop-dead gorgeous hero ofMaggie Kelly's popular mystery series, Alex Blakely (aka the Viscount Saint Just), came to life in Michaels's Maggie Needs an Alibi; the two return to face more murder with wit and a certain kind of almost accidental panache in a locked-room caper plopped inside a romantic comedy. Maggie and crew (Alex's butler, Maggie's editor, etc.) head to England to watch the filming of her latest murder mystery and get trapped on location in a creepy mansion when a major rainstorm floods the grounds and the power goes out. People start turning up dead, and Alex and Maggie try to figure out whodunit while engaging in ongoing rounds of double entendre as they consider their mutual infatuation. Michaels's lively characters and skewering of all sorts of types—the overreaching actor, the studio jerk—provide much of the fun, since the murders and the schemes behind them are nothing special. Light and funny, if overlong, Michaels's latest should please her many fans. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In the latest installment in her entertaining series about mystery writer Maggie Kelly and her popular characters, the debonair viscount Saint Just and his trusty companion Sterling Balder, who mysteriously leap from the pages of her Regency novels to her living room, Maggie is invited to England to watch the production of a made-for-TV movie based on her books. The production turns out to be a farce, and Maggie argues with the screenwriter after watching a blond surfer boy cast to play the urbane Saint Just and learning that the ending has been changed. Then, when a real murder takes place during the production, the real Saint Just and his pale imitation take turns trying to solve the case as Maggie tries to keep up with her creations. Michaels' trademark wit and humor abound as she lampoons the movie industry while providing her devoted fans with another outstanding mystery with a unique cast of characters. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (December 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758208804
• ISBN-13: 978-0758208804
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,205,250 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!, February 24, 2006

By 

Ellen "avid reader" (Washington State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: High Heels And Homicide (Paperback)

I'm a huge Kasey Michael's fan--if I see a new release with her name on it, I grab it immediately. But especially, I've devoured the Maggie series--just LOVE them--and High Heels and Homicide is no exception. As the other reviewers have said, this story largely takes place at an English country estate where Maggie's book is being made into a film, and it's one entertaining ride!

So often, Michaels' stories take on the quality of a good Shakespearean comedy, where nobody is who they seem, and they're all a little bit whacky. With the lovable cast of secondary characters who appear throughout the series--naive Stering, 12-stepping Bernie, and Maggie's agent, Tabby--the reader feels like they've come home to their flawed, but wonderful family. Speaking of family, we finally get a glimpse of Maggie's in this book, which helps to explain some of her charming idiosyncrasies.

The sexual tension heats up between Maggie and Saint Just in this book; while at the same time, she's afraid to allow herself to love him (in the event he goes *poof* one day). She also struggles with Alex's 21st century behavior, and tries to reconcile his sins by having his 19th century character atone for them--which fails miserably. So, the line between fiction and reality blurs, which makes the story even more interesting.

Michael's voice is lively and witty. The story premise is unique. The characters are unforgettable. Five stars all the way!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars High Heels & Homicide, April 23, 2006

By 

M. Nix - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: High Heels And Homicide (Paperback)

Maggie has written a series of books, the Saint Just Mysteries, one of which is now being made into a TV movie. Alexandre Blake, the Viscount Saint Just, is the main character in her books and Sterling Balder is his sidekick. Somehow they have come to life and are currently residing in her apartment building in New York City.

Maggie, Alex and Sterling head to London where the movie is being filmed. Arriving at the movie set, a manor that has been chosen for the filming, they meet the cast and crew. Alex immediately decides that Troy, the young man playing him in the movie, needs lessons on how to be an English gentleman. Perry will be playing Sterling and he decides that gluing himself to the real Sterling will help him get into character. The screen writer is a brown nose, the director is annoyed, no one is impressed with Maggie even though she wrote the book, and everyone else is just complaining and stomping around waiting for the rain to stop. Maggie decides after spending some time with the colorful lot, that once the rain stops she, Alex and Sterling are going back home and getting away from this disaster.

Alex is Maggie's dream man and he is trying to get her to admit it, but Maggie is afraid she will lose him, along with her heart, if he ever returns from wherever it is he came from.

Things get even more bizarre when someone is murdered and everyone is a suspect. The rain has caused a flood and has made it impossible to leave, so true to his characters form, Alex intends to solve the crime with Maggie as his new sidekick and Sterling stumbling along behind them.

High Heels and Homicide is hilarious and suspenseful. The witty one-liners, the comical characters, and the fact that Alex and Sterling are from Regency England and are currently residing in the 21st century, combine to make this story great fun to read. Maggie is delightful; she is witty and down to earth. Alex is a true storybook hero; he is charming, handsome, polite, courageous, and always impeccably dressed. My only disappointment is that Maggie and Alex never even kiss. They will someday though, I just know it! I would recommend reading the previous books in this series before this one. I don't think its necessary but it would answer some questions you'll have right off the bat. High Heels and Homicide is a modern day 'who done it'. It's so entertaining you won't want to put it down!


Nannette
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not disappointed, December 22, 2005

By 

Lyndsey H. Tice (NC,USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: High Heels And Homicide (Paperback)

When i saw this book i bought it right away and i wasn't disappointed. Maggie and Alex again make sparks fly in this one. Alex is like always his cocky self and Maggie is Maggie. I loved this book so much that i finished it in one night. If you are reading the collection i highly suggest you by this one now. It was maybe the best one that she has come out with for the Maggie series.