Take some Chick Lit, add a touch of fantasy, throw in a mystery, a bit of satire and a tiny hint of romance. You have Maggie Needs An Alibi, a very funny book that looks like the beginning of a series. It’s one I plan to follow.

Maggie Kelly was the author of mid-list romances. Her numbers were not what her publisher wanted so she was dropped. Maggie simply re-invented herself as a writer of historical mysteries, so she could continue to use her knowledge of the Regency period. Her series featuring the Regency gentleman, Alexandre Blake, Viscount Saint Just and his sidekick Sterling Balder was a big hit with readers. Because of her success, her old historical romances are back in print, she is on the New York Times bestseller list, and bound for even bigger things, according to her agent. One day, as Maggie is deep into the resolution of her latest Saint Just mystery, the man himself – along with Sterling – shows up in her apartment.

Maggie thinks the two are actors, friends of her doorman Argyle (Socks) Jackson, but they really are Saint Just and Sterling just as she has described them, and with all the personality quirks she has given them. Maggie’s imagination and her description of them was so vivid that they actually have become real. An arrogant, pampered, know-it-all Regency gentleman may be very nice to read and fantasize about, but living with him is something else and unfortunately, Maggie’s characterization of Saint Just’s valet was not vivid enough for him to become real. So here she is, stuck with a couple of Regency gentlemen, one of whom expects to be waited on hand and foot.

Luckily the two of them have lived in Maggie’s head for so long that they are not total fish out of water (Saint Just is a big Mets fan, and Sterling loves Nick At Night), but they do retain the personalities that Maggie has given them. A pose-striking, quotation-quoting gentleman may have been all the crack back at Almack’s, but he gets some odd looks in New York. Maggie passes them off as her visiting cousins. It looks like Saint Just may be in the right place at the right time, when Maggie’s ex-boyfriend dies of mushroom poisoning right after a dinner with her. Can the real Saint Just solve the crime as easily as the fictional Saint Just?

Maggie Needs An Alibi looks like the beginning of a wonderful series. There is a lot of satire in it, mostly directed at the publishing industry and too many funny lines to quote here. I especially like the answer to the question, “When are you going to quit writing romances and write a real book?” Some of the lines and characters are uncomfortably true to life; I’d be willing to bet there are a number of fictionalized real-life incidents in this book.

I liked Maggie as a character despite myself. I would normally give any woman who is a chain-smoking, neurotic, chained-to-her-therapist, Republican-basher a wide berth. But darned if I didn’t like Maggie a lot. Despite all her neurotic tics, she respects her craft, and she is a good friend. The opening chapter, where Maggie is into her writing, is one of the best opening chapters I have read, and it would be a rare reader who could read the first couple of paragraphs and then put the book down.

Now for a few quibbles. The police officer who investigates the poisoning is a charming fellow who is interested in Maggie. He kicks Saint Just’s arrogance into full gear. Saint Just constantly refers to him as left-tenant. That’s exactly how the word appears in the book. After, oh about the 200th appearance of left-tenant, I was about ready to scream and throw things.

Also, the satire turned a bit cruel when Maggie encountered one of her fans. Maggie had been musing about how she is uncomfortable writing love scenes and now that the books are best-sellers, she’d like to replace the bedroom scenes with more sexual tension. Right then, she meets a fan who is middle-aged, not very attractive, and dressed from Wal-Mart. The fan compliments Maggie, tells her how much she loved her book, and how hot she thinks Saint Just is. Maggie thinks that she has gotten better since her first book, and she really wants to ditch the sex. “Please don’t tell me I’m writing for her.” I know that successful writers have odd fans, but this seemed unnecessary.

But all things considered, Maggie Needs An Alibi is fast, fun and looks like the beginning of a delightful series. There are enough characters and plenty of hints dropped to keep me looking forward to the next book.