Killer In High Heels - Review

What happens in Vegas doesnt always Stay in Vegas.

L.A. Shoe Designer, Maddie Springer hasn't seen her father since he reportedly ran off to Las Vegas with a showgirl named Lola. So she's shocked when he leaves a desperate plea for help on her answering machine ending in a loud bang. Gunshot? Car backfire? Never one to leave her curiosity unsatisfied, Maddie straps on her stilettos and, along with her trigger-happy best friend, makes tracks for Sin City in search of her MIA dad.

Maddie hits the jackpot, all right. She finds not only her dad, but also a handful of aging drag queens, an organized crime ring smuggling fake Prada pumps, and one relentless killer. Plus, it seems the LAPDs sexiest cop is doing a little Vegas moonlighting of his own. In a town where odds are everything, Maddie bets it all on her ability to out-step a vicious murderer. She just hopes her gamble pays off... before her own luck runs out.

About the Author

Gemma Halliday, author of the High Heels Mysteries, has received numerous awards, including a Golden Heart, a National Readers Choice award and three RITA nominations, as well as hitting both the New York Times and the USA Today bestseller list. She currently lives in San Francisco Bay Area where she is hard at work on several new projects including more books in the Maddie Springer Stories.

What do you do when you love the first book in a trilogy? You instinctively go for the next one, hoping to derive the same thrill and joy out of it that you gained from Part – 1. Your expectations rocket sky high, since you trust the author has added a lot more flavour, and spiced up the concoction to your overly salivating reading mind. And then, comes the moment, when you finally pick up the book. If your expectations are met, well and good. If not, go grab a drink, and better luck next time.

So, if you would like to fall into the second category, “Killer In High Heels” is just not for you, ‘cause like its prequel – “Spying In High Heels” – this book too comes loaded with just the right amount of ingredients to keep you fully occupied on a warm winter Sunday.

Gemma Halliday returns with her protagonist Maddie Springer, and this time, it’s her relationship with her estranged father, Larry, that forms the backdrop of the story. She receives an unexpected call from Larry, which, cut short by a loud bang, makes her believe that her father is in some sort of danger. She packs her bag, and along with her best friends Dana and Marco, hurriedly rushes to Las Vegas in search of her father and to help him out. Little did she knew that the events would be murkier, and darker, than she had expected them to be.

What I really liked about this series till now is that even though the plots are grave and serious, they are beautifully adorned with the right dosage of humor. You are never weighed down. Rather you flow along with the story in perfect sync, at times even witnessing the words come alive, and the characters living out the pages just right in front of your eyes. The narration is crisp and sleek, and irrefutably fun. Oh, what a master storyteller Gemma Halliday has turned out to be, and the numerous awards she has received justifies her potential. Not only will you love with the story, you will also find yourselves drawn towards the characters.

You can’t write a review for the High Heels series without talking about its prime characters. Maddie, as always, is the ever inquisitive girl, who lands up being at the wrong place at the wrong time. She wants to be in the thick of things, carrying investigations on her own, but she isn't a James Bond, and that’s what makes her so real. Maddie is a normal person, trying to sort out the problems of her life, when fate lands her in these sorts of mazes. However, that’s not always a wrong thing ‘cause it gives her the chance to come face to face with the LAPD’s sexiest cop, Ramirez. Together they form a tangled pair, neither are they in a relationship nor are they out of it. Confused? Don’t be, just read the book and you will know what I mean.

And what can I say about Dana? I just love her ‘ohmigod’. She is one of the funniest characters I have ever come across in any story. She will make sure you do not suppress a laugh, whenever she is around. Marco, Mrs. Rosenblatt and Maddie’s mother form the rest of the mad cap bunch, and all of them put together does provide you with a memorable journey.

I loved the KILLER as much as I had loved SPYING. Time to go UNDERCOVER, perhaps (‘Undercover in High Heels’ is the third part of the trilogy)!

Title: Killer In High Heels

Author: Gemma Halliday

Publisher: Jaico Publishing House

Publication Year: 2013

Language: English

Binding: Paperback

Genre: Fiction

No. of Pages: 258

Price: Rs 299

My Rating: 4/5