Killer in High Heels [Mass Market Paperback]

Gemma Halliday (Author)

Book Description

Series: High Heels | Publication Date: March 2007

When shoe designer Maddie Springer heads to Vegas to search for her missing father, she finds a world of show girls, dead bodies, and a sexy undercover cop who looks mighty familiar.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Drag queens meet the high-fashion mob in this fun, fast-paced follow-up to Halliday's delectable Spying in High Heels. A kids' shoe designer whose best creations end up in Payless, Maddie Springer is a down-to-earth blonde whose tough luck with men has her forbidding friends and family to mention her last boyfriend, LAPD detective Jack Ramirez. Her mom had similar luck with Maddie's father, Larry, who ran off to Vegas with a showgirl named Lola when Maddie was three. But when Maddie receives a cryptic plea from Larry on her answering machine—punctuated by a gunshot—she decides to investigate, trekking to Sin City with her voluptuous, well-armed best friend Dana and their gay cohort, Marco. There, they soon discover that Larry and Lola are one and the same, that an innocuous nightclub fronts an ingenious counterfeit shoe scheme and that—naturally—there's a murderer on the loose. This amusing whodunit scores big with inimitable characters like psychic Mrs. Rosenblatt, Maddie's tell-all mom and bad-boy Ramirez, who shows up with some surprises in tow. Maddie's winning return, with her bold comical voice and knack for thinking fast on her strappy slingbacks, will elicit cheers from fans of the growing chick mystery field. (Mar.)
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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 310 pages
• Publisher: Making It (March 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 050552712X
• ISBN-13: 978-0505527127
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #261,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sinful sequel!, March 25, 2007

By 

Erika Sorocco (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Killer in High Heels (Mass Market Paperback)

Since her brush with death last summer, when she got caught up in a scandal involving a slightly bizarre stabbing incident involving a breast implant and a sexy stiletto - not to mention a hunky detective named Ramirez - twenty-six-year-old Maddie Springer has wanted nothing more than to get back to her old life as an L.A. shoe designer, creating sketches of Spiderman flip-flops and Rainbow Brite jellies for her employer, Tot Trots Children's Shoes; avoid the hundreds of sit-ups that her health-obsessed best friend, Dana, has in store for her; and attempt to forget about Ramirez and the fact that he hasn't called her in over six weeks. Unfortunately, the constant calls from various tabloid reporters - namely Felix Dunn with the L.A. Informer - have made it quite impossible for her to forget her days as an amateur sleuth. And now, as she receives a crazy phone call from her estranged father, Larry, Maddie feels herself being dragged back in to the world of solving crimes. Maddie hasn't seen Larry since the day he took off for Las Vegas with a smoking redhead named Lola, and knows him only by his overly-hairy arms. However, when she gets the call, she grabs Dana and her "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"-wannabe pal, Marco, and heads for Sin City to search for her MIA dad. Within days, Maddie feels accomplished, for she has actually managed to locate her father. Unfortunately, accompanying her estranged dad is an organized crime ring working to smuggle fake Prada shoes into the country, along with a group of fashion forward drag queens looking to make some extra money on the side, and a killer obsessed with one very important thing...seeking revenge. As if that weren't enough, Maddie has just stumbled upon a dirty little secret involving her lover-to-be, Ramirez, and a little undercover moonlighting in Las Vegas. Now, as Maddie begins investigating the various crimes taking place around her, she begins to suspect whether or not she'll be able to keep her title of "Lady Luck," or kiss it goodbye along with one extremely substantial factor...her life.

I'll admit it, I'm not easily taken with chick lit novels that dabble in the crime world. However, Gemma Halliday reeled me in with her debut SPYING IN HIGH HEELS, and has managed to do the same thing with the sequel KILLER IN HIGH HEELS. As with the previous installment, Halliday has presented Maddie as a fun-loving struggling artist looking to make ends meat in a dead-end job that has her creating children's designs for Payless as opposed to styling stillettos for Prada. Her whiny personality, complaints about doing anything physical - namely sit-ups - and penchant for stopping at every drive-thru within a five-mile radius of her apartment for high-calorie shakes, fries, and burgers are entertaining, and make her stand out from the crowd. However, it's the slew of supporting characters who easily make Halliday's efforts memorable. From the 300-pound psychic, Mrs. Rosenblatt, who appears to accompany Maddie's aging mother everywhere; to the over-the-top femininity displayed by the flamboyant Marco; all the way to Maddie's best friend, and resident heat-packing tough girl, Dana; to her matronly-dressed mother who loves to nag. And, of course, we can't forget the irresistible Ramirez whose five o'clock shadow, and ability to swear non-stop in Spanish makes him humorous, as well as eye candy - or, rather, page candy - for the reader, as well as Maddie. Fans of Halliday's debut will love seeing these characters brought to life once more, and will undoubtedly enjoy the introduction of new quirky characters, from Maddie's estranged father, to a handful of his slightly strange Vegas friends. Once more, Halliday has created a can't-put-down tale that will have readers itching for the next installment. A sinful sequel!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 stars, March 2, 2007

By 

AK "Bro" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Killer in High Heels (Mass Market Paperback)

An urgent call punctuated by gunfire from her long missing father prompts Maddie Springer to break her vow to not call or think about Ramirez, who was last seen weeks ago and called away at a very inconvenient moment. When the handsome cop isn't overly helpful, Maddie takes matters into her own hands and packs up her two best friends for a road trip to Vegas to save Dad. Of course, things begin to go downhill fairly quickly, starting with finding out what her absent father's gotten up to; namely cross-dressing for fun and profit. Plus, there's the mob to worry about, a nosy reporter, and a murder charge. Maddie is up to her ears in alligators, and we aren't talking Prada shoes made of their skin!

**** With a breezy, fun style reminescent of Janet Evanovich, Ms. Halliday brings a grin to your face. If you love screwball comedy with a little bit of mystery thrown in, then you've found your book. ****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore, Freelance Reviewer.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars High heels should be called kitten heels, March 28, 2011

By 

Jackie Bicknell (Columbia, MO) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Killer In High Heels (High Heels Mysteries) (Kindle Edition)

High heels was some what interesting but nothing special. The story was far fetched but not to the point where I was annoyed. It was okay at best. Don't go into the book with high expectations and then you will not be let down.