Maggie Without A Clue (Hardcover)

by Kasey Michaels (Author)
Key Phrases: plasma television machine, quizzing glass, nicotine inhaler, Saint Just, Kasey Michaels, Holly Spivak (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Romance bestseller Michaels delivers more fantasy and fun in her third witty, well-plotted cozy (after 2003's Maggie by the Book) to feature Maggie Kelly, a former author of historical romances who now writes historical mysteries. When Maggie's editor, Bernice Toland-James, awakens in bed to find herself covered in blood and next to the dead body of her ex-husband, Benny, whom she assumed drowned almost seven years before, she phones Maggie in hysterics. Accompanied by her own fictional creation—Alex Blake, Viscount Saint Just, the tall, handsome, astute and somewhat arrogant Regency detective—Maggie rushes to the rescue. Having two quirky characters, Saint Just and his sidekick Sterling Balder, enter the real world and help Maggie solve mysteries lends an amusing metafictional twist to the series. (At the start, Saint Just points out to Maggie the favorable press on "their" latest novel on Amazon.com: "A starred review from Publishers Weekly, a quite flattering review from Booklist, and Kirkus was its usual damning-with-faint-praise self.") Meanwhile, somebody breaks in and ransacks Saint Just and Sterling's newly sublet apartment. Further complications ensue as Maggie tries to balance her attraction to Saint Just with her relationship with NYPD Lieutenant Steve Wendell, while Saint Just discovers feelings and thoughts not written into his original character. A surprising conclusion will leave readers wanting more.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
This is Michaels' third pleasurable mystery about neurotic author Maggie Kelley and her two fictional Regency characters, Alex Blake and Sterling Balder, who have come to life and moved in across the hall. Maggie hopes for peace and quiet, but her friend and publisher, Bernie, wakes up with the bloody corpse of her second husband, and becomes the primary suspect in his murder. Bernie has been drinking heavily and is subject to blackouts, so she hasn't a clue as to what happened. To further complicate matters, the former tenant of Alex and Sterling's apartment has something the Mob wants; the Mob expects them to hand "it" over, only they don't know what "it" is. Being the take-charge kind of hero that Maggie loves to create, Alex begrudgingly involves Maggie's friend Lieutenant Steve Wendell in trying to solve both mysteries. New characters and old make this a fun series to follow as the Regency characters grow more complex, and Maggie herself changes under their influence. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (August 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575668831
• ISBN-13: 978-1575668833
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,326,329 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fine paranormal amateur sleuth , July 28, 2004

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When Maggie Kelly's romance writing career tanked, she started authoring Regency mysteries starring Viscount St. Just Alexandre Blake and his loyal and gentle sidekick, Sterling. She became a bestselling author, winning many awards until the unbelievable happened. St Just and Sterling popped out of her mind and into her apartment as real people who others see and talk with. She allowed them to stay at her apartment but now they are moving next door to her neighbor's apartment.

While she is dealing with the empty nest syndrome, even if its only a few yards away, Maggie's closest friend Bernie calls her up in a panic. Her husband believed lost at sea is in her bed, dead and covered in blood from a knife wound. Maggie and St Just arrive on the scene to see that Bernie is soaked in blood, the murder weapon is one of her own knives, and she has no memory of the night before. The DA, who is running for reelection, believes Bernie is his ticket to another term in office while Maggie, St. Just and Sterling, along with a police officer attracted to Maggie, try to find the evidence that will clear Bernie.

Readers will find themselves believing that the heroine thought St. Just and Sterling into existence. They are very believable because they act as if they came from Regency England. It is impossible to figure out who the real killer is until the author chooses to reveal him and it will come as a total shock. Kasey Michaels, known for her upbeat and charming amateur sleuth mysteries, has written another winner, one that will garner her more fans then she already has.

Harriet Klausner

5.0 out of 5 stars Another terrific book by Kasey Michaels !, April 24, 2007

By	Bonnie H. Simpson "book lover" (West Memphis, AR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Maggie Without A Clue (Zebra Regency Romance) (Paperback)

I've read and enjoyed a lot of different genres in fiction, but Kasey Michaels' "Maggie" series truly has it all. The heroine is a writer who combines Regency romance with mystery, and "somehow" her characters, Alexandre, Viscount St. Just, and his sidekick have come to life! Plenty of murder mysteries to solve, romance between Maggie and Alex, humor, and a peek inside what it's like to be a writer. I'm collecting the entire series in paperback.

4.0 out of 5 stars Maggie Without a Clue, February 15, 2006

By	Amanda Killgore (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

When Maggie Kelley's agent, Bernie, calls tearfully informing her that Buddy is dead, Maggie thinks her friend is simply drunk again, at first. To the best of Maggie's knowledge, Bernie's ex-husband has been dead nearly seven years. However, when Maggie, along with Alex and Sterling, the two characters who have made her a best selling author and come to life literally, arrive at Bernie's, they find that yes, Buddy is in the bed, with his head almost taken off thanks to a deep knife slash. Fortunately, Alex, the Viscount St. Just is one of the best detectives ever invented and has a cool head on his shoulders. Taking charge, he sets things in motion for Bernie to be capably defended and starts his own investigation. If only Bernie's problems were all Maggie and Alex had to face! Recently, St. Just and Sterling agreed to housesit for Maggie's neighbor, and it looks like the old lady did something to get the mob afer her. First, they trash the house, and St. Just's big screen TV, then they kidnap Sterling, his valet. Yet, St. Just is as amazing as Maggie invented him to be, and can handle two cases at once and perhaps further his pursuit of Maggie along the way.

**** This series is just plain fun. St. Just, Sterling, and Maggie are easy to love. Ms. Michaels deftly shifts the voices telling the story, smoothly covering all the bases. Humor, drama, romance, what more could a reader want in one book? Easily, this is one of the best romantic mystery series in the land. ****

Amanda Killgore