#1 Amazon, New York Times & USA Today Bestselling series!Death at an antiques show has this fashion designer turned amateur sleuth on the case again…When Maddie Springer—shoe designer turned amateur sleuth—tags along with her mother to the Antiques Extravaganza road show, the last thing she expects to have to do is pull her mom off of a celebrity appraiser after he calls her prized antique … appraiser after he calls her prized antique hatpin a phony. But things go from harried to homicide when the same appraiser is found dead just moments later—killed by Mom’s hatpin! Now not even Maddie’s husband, LAPD Detective Jack Ramirez, can save Mom as the force’s two most bumbling detectives are assigned to the case.
As if Maddie doesn’t have enough on her plate, her best friends, Dana and Marco, enlist her help to plan the most over-the-top Hollywood surprise party ever for Dana’s fiancé (who has a little surprise of his own up his sleeve), Maddie’s adorable twin toddlers are always up to no good, and the only thing that can calm her fashion-challenged and suddenly-a-suspect mom down are aura cleansing from her favorite Venice Beach psychic, Mrs. Rosenblatt. Whether they help or hurt, Maddie’s friends assist her in wading through a slew of murder suspects—none of whom are telling the truth and all of whom have ample motive to want the appraiser dead. Was it the frigid business partner with questionable ethics? The clown-collecting fan-turned-stalker? The auction house owner with a grudge? Or was the appraiser’s real business something much more sinister than his TV personality let on…and much more deadly? Maddie and her eccentric gang of unlikely sleuths are under the gun to find out before the real killer strikes again…and Mom takes the fall!
The High Heels Mysteries:
#1 Spying in High Heels
#2 Killer in High Heels
#3 Undercover in High Heels
#3.5 Christmas in High Heels (short story)
#4 Alibi in High Heels
#5 Mayhem in High Heels
#5.5 Honeymoon in High Heels (novella)
#5.75 Sweetheart in High Heels (short story)
#6 Fearless in High Heels
#7 Danger in High Heels
#8 Homicide in High Heels
#9 Deadly in High Heels
#10 Suspect in High Heels
What critics are saying:
“Ms. Halliday is the undisputed queen of the genre: she knows how to blend fashion, suspense, laughter, and romance in all the right doses.”
~ Fresh Fiction
“A saucy combination of romance and suspense that is simply irresistible.”
~ Chicago Tribune
“Stylish… nonstop action…guaranteed to keep chick lit and mystery fans happy!”
~ Publishers’ Weekly, starred review
“A roller coaster ride full of fun and excitement!”
~ Romance Reviews Today
Rating: This story does not contain any graphic violence, language, or sexual encounters. Its rating would be similar to PG-13 or what you would find on a Hallmark Channel movie or TV series.
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Gemma does it again!
Grab your best friend and settle in to enjoy this behind the scenes look at our favorite treasure hunting television shows. Maddie Springer is truly juggling life between her job as a designer, her tougher job as the mother of twins and spouse to a detective, and not neglecting her extended family and social life. Mixing romance and mystery, murder, lies and secrets, this fast paced novel will keep you on your toes. Maddie’s mother is in the wrong place and becomes a top suspect when she is the owner of a murder weapon. Conflict of interest means having a son-in-law on the force can’t protect her from being in the spotlight.
Even after a killer is caught the surprises continue.
Enjoyed this book so much! Have read the entire series and gone back and read them again. Love the characters and plots. Thank you again for an amazing read. Thanks!!
Oh my gosh, TEN STARS for Gemma Halliday and Suspect in High Heels! I absolutely love this book. This is my first Maddie Springer cozy mystery and I will definitely be backing up to read ALL the others. Still, I had no problem enjoying this charming cozy from an author who never disappoints. There are laugh out loud moments, charming characters, an excellently plotted mystery, and an overall purely entertaining read. This book contains the perfect mix of all the ingredients I look for in a cozy mystery. Well done Ms. Halliday!
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher for my unbiased review.
Maddie Springer is back in Suspect in High Heels, another great mystery in this long running series. Events go from bad to worse when an appraiser tells Maddie’s mom that her family heirloom hat pin is a phony, Mom attacks the appraiser and a short while later the appraiser has been murdered – with the hat pin! With the usual sparkling cast of characters, too many clues and too many suspects, will Maddie survive long enough to prove her mom is innocent?
The High Heels series was the first cozies I had ever read. I love em. I’m sorry it took me so long to finish the series. On to the next…
Suspect in High Heels by Gemma Halliday is a fast-paced, hilarious whodunit. The mystery unravels with Maddie and Dana doing the funniest things to get to the truth.
An antique hatpin and Maddie’s mom are wrapped up in a murder? Will Maddie figure it out before the murderer strikes again?
Maddie Springer
Maddie is our sleuth. She tries to hide her investigation from her husband, LAPD detective, Jack Ramirez, but her friends are prepared to assist her. Maddie won’t allow her Mom to go to jail for something that she didn’t do. In the process, Maddie, with the help of Dana and Marco, dive into the world of antiques, and auction houses. They learn more about the trade then any of them wanted to learn.
Jack and Maddie have these adorable two-year-old twins. The twins hide cell phones in the darnedest places and have food fights at the craziest times. It was a perfect mesh with the other eccentric characters running amok throughout the story.
I like Maddie; she is down to earth with a touch of high maintenance crazy. I would be friends with her, and I might even babysit for her (maybe).
The Mystery
I enjoyed the way that Ms. Halliday lays out the clues and all the subplots that also help keep it going. The detectives assigned to this murder are nicknamed” Laurel and Hardy.” They proved their nickname was correct every time they tried to use their cellphones for notes, pictures, or to make a call. I seriously wonder how those two still have jobs. I also liked the way characters from past books were brought back for a brief moment.
Surprise Ending
I won’t tell you much about this, but it’s adorable and that one should never underestimate the power of a couple.
Four Stars
Suspect in High Heels by Gemma Halliday is a fantastic read. I enjoyed the humor, family, friendships, and of course, the mystery. Seriously, the things that people will do to help their family. I am giving it four stars and recommending it to all you cozy readers out there.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Suspect in High Heels by Gemma Halliday.
Anyways, until next time,
Karen the Baroness
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.
Always a delightful, quick and enjoyable read.
Gemma Halliday continues to bring the humor in book 10 of the High Heels Mysteries. You will find yourself laughing out loud at some of the antics taking place in Suspect in High Heels.
The characters are well developed and each brings their personality to the story. In addition to the healthy dose of humor, there is just a touch of romance. Nothing too overt, but enough to make the story quite interesting.
Suspect In High Heels finds Maddie and her mother attending an Antique Roadshow. After being insulted by the expert appraiser who claimed the heirloom hat pin was nothing more than costume jewelry, Maddie’s mother quickly becomes number one suspect when the appraiser is murdered at the Antique Roadshow. Maddie instantly goes into undercover/investigator mode trying to find who the real killer is.
Suspect in High Heels is the perfect cozy mystery to brighten anyone’s day.
I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book, and this is my volunteered review.
“Suspect in High Heels” earns 5/5 Murderous Heirlooms…Engaging Fun!
Entertaining in High Heels! Gemma Halliday’s tenth cozy in her High Heels Mystery is another entertaining adventure following the traditional cozy formula that I love. She starts right off with the conflict and murder implicating a “close to home” person, then delving into the various alternative suspects and motives. Maddie tags along with her mother to the Antiques Extravaganza show with a vintage pair of Chanel two-toned pumps in hand that she’s not sure will make the trip personally rewarding. However, her mother, with a priceless family heirloom, is sure it will be considered a fantastic find garnering her an on-camera appraisal. Unfortunately the professional appraiser impatiently yawns at her retelling of the family providence on a jewel encrusted hat pin detailing its century-old history and connection to Josephine Bonaparte. His less-than-convinced opinion is, “It’s a reproduction.” Maddie had to intervene as her mother took a swing at him with her purse; she’ll regret her loss of control when the offending expert ends up dead by her hat pin! The murder mystery is quite clever with a wide range of suspects, and of course, there’s Maddie’s mother and her anger over the insulting appraisal, but what about the ethically-challenged partner, fan turned stalker, begrudged auction house owner? Greed, jealousy, and revealed secrets are engaging, but it’s Halliday’s sense of humor that keeps me entertained…just plain challenged detectives, aura cleansing, surprise party planning, and twin toddlers. Well written using an enjoyable first-person narrative from Maddie’s perspective, the setting and characters come alive with descriptive language and the tone and personalities are well illustrated with the dialogue. Clever story! Great characters! Wow ending!