High Heels and Homicide
Grade : D+

I had waited for more than a year for the fourth book in what heretofore had been Kasey Michaels' charming Maggie series. Unfortunately, High Heels and Homicide was not worth the wait...at all.

Michaels introduced Maggie Kelly in Maggie Needs an Alibi as a failed romance writer who reinvented herself successfully as Cleo Dooley, author of a series of mysteries starring the Regency-era Alexander Blake, Viscount St. Just, only to receive the shock of her life when the real viscount, along with his loyal sidekick Sterling Balder, appeared in her apartment. The viscount, as described by the author, has Val Kilmer's lips, Paul Newman's eyes, Sean Connery's voice, Peter O'Toole's artistocratic nose, and the body of Clint Eastwood from his spaghetti western days The books are funny, not only in a fish-out-of-water sense, but feature an appealing satirical sensibility.

By book four St. Just decides that he must evolve beyond Maggie’s creation if he is to remain a real man in the contemporary world. He lives with Sterling in a condo across the hall from Maggie, and one of his means of support is to act as spokesmodel for a national perfume campaign. Sterling remains his loyal buddy, but has also discovered a love of the modern world - especially the television set. Sterling also contributes pages from his journal throughout the story and his take on the activities can only be described as charming and naïve. St. Just is in love with Maggie, but she is afraid that he will disappear if she let’s herself love him and so they are stalled at the "one" kiss stage.

Although St. Just killed a man at the end of Maggie By the Book in order to protect Maggie and Sterling, Maggie hasn't forgiven him (it was troublesome for me too and took a bit of the shine off him). The man was truly awful and powerful, and when this new book starts, she agrees to disagree with Alex and get on with her life. Getting on involves a trip to England to see one of her St. Just novels made into a film. Alex snags three first class plane tickets for them, and after a visit at Thanksgiving to her perfectly awful family - Maggie has a mother of whom nightmares are made - they are off to England. After their arrival, the book began to fall apart. Maggie and her off-beat group of friends have always been a tad over-the-top, but Michaels exercised a deft hand in keeping them amusing yet reigned in. Here her hand slips and everyone becomes an over-the-top character. The English Manor is so full of idiots, weirdos and egos that the whole soufflé collapses.

The Agatha Christie-like English manor setting for the film quickly becomes more so after all the cell phones disappear. Maggie, smarting about being introduced as "just" the writer, gets into an argument with the screenwriter, Sam Undercuffler, shortly before he is murdered. It appears that Sam committed murder on Maggie’s book, leaving little that she recognizes as her own, and as a result, Maggie is suspect number one. Alex determines to find the murderer among the film's crew and cast, which include: Mr. Contemptuous, Ms. Man-Crazy Production Assistant, Mr. Fancy Pants English Actor, Ms. Diva Leading Lady, the Mimbo playing St. Just, and also the nutty rich Lord of the Manor (and his newphew) who allowed filming in his home. These cutesy names are how Maggie thinks of the other suspects and again Michaels was just too heavy handed with the supposed humor . Their contemptuous names also summed them up. These are stock characters pulled from central casting, cardboard thin, with no detail that might make them seem more then just filler material for Maggie and Alex to create a mystery around. Also, none are the least bit likable, reinforcing the feeling that they were simply filler. And there are too many of them, which is one reason why this book is such a tasteless stew. Keeping track of who is who is tough, and after a while I didn't care because they were all so determinedly weird. This type of farce takes a really light and deft touch, and while Michaels has aptly displayed such ability in the past, here she has the heavy hand of Larry, Mo and Curly.

That policeman Steve, Alex's competition for Maggie, doesn't appear in the book was also a problem. Steve added a needed dose of reality to the other books that is sorely missing here. Then too, Alex's previously charming, clever, and indomitable manner, reads more like a supercilious jerk here; he's much less likable, particularly in his relationships with Maggie and Sterling. I just did not feel the love he has for Maggie in this book, and for its last half - at least - he was simply arrogant.

Even with the heavy hand, some of Michaels' wit shone through - her attempt to explain the finer points of Rocky and Bullwinkle, as well as his total mystification, were LOL funny. Maggie remains a lovable lady and even though Alex wasn't as divine as usual, his obvious horror at meeting the Metrosexual Bimbo (Mimbo) who is to play him in the movie is hilarious. I only hope that these two will return to their previous form in the next Maggie book.

For readers new to the series, I would recommend reading the first books in the series, skip this one and hope for the best on book five. My favorite for the series is book two - Maggie Needs a Clue. That book earned DIK status from me, and the author's deft handling of the farce and satire surrounding its RT-like convention made the heavy handed writing in High Heels and Homicide all that more difficult to understand. This one's an utter disappointment.

Reviewed by Linda Hurst
Grade : D+
Book Type: Mystery

Sensuality: N/A

Review Date : March 14, 2006

Publication Date: 2005

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Linda Hurst

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