What do you think?
Rate this book
High Heels #5.5
Honeymoon in High Heels
New York Times, USA Today, and number-one Kindle best-selling series!
Fashion designer Maddie Springer has just tied the knot and is on her way to honeymoon paradise in Tahiti with her hot new husband. Warm sand, cool surf, and a romantic suite all to themselves - what could possibly go wrong? That is until Maddie stumbles on the dead body of a Tahitian dancer, strangled with her own flower lei. Now suddenly her husband is spending more time consulting with the local police than cavorting in their private hot tub for two. If Maddie wants to have a honeymoon at all, it's up to her and her friends to track down the island killer before paradise turns deadly again.
Fashion designer Maddie Springer has just tied the knot and is on her way to honeymoon paradise in Tahiti with her hot new husband. Warm sand, cool surf, and a romantic suite all to themselves - what could possibly go wrong? That is until Maddie stumbles on the dead body of a Tahitian dancer, strangled with her own flower lei. Now suddenly her husband is spending more time consulting with the local police than cavorting in their private hot tub for two. If Maddie wants to have a honeymoon at all, it's up to her and her friends to track down the island killer before paradise turns deadly again.
74 pages, ebook
First published August 13, 2012
149 people are currently reading
959 people want to read
About the author
Gemma Halliday
95 books1,892 followersGemma had a hard time figuring out what she wanted to be when she grew up. She worked as a film and television actress, a teddy bear importer, a department store administrator, a preschool teacher, a temporary tattoo artist, and a 900 number psychic, before finally selling her first book, Spying in High Heels, in 2005 and deciding to be a writer.
Since then, Gemma has written several mystery novels and been the recipient of numerous awards, including a National Reader's Choice award and three RITA nominations. Her books have hit both the USA Today and the New York Times Bestseller lists.
Gemma now makes her home in the San Francisco Bay area where she is hard at work on her next book.
Since then, Gemma has written several mystery novels and been the recipient of numerous awards, including a National Reader's Choice award and three RITA nominations. Her books have hit both the USA Today and the New York Times Bestseller lists.
Gemma now makes her home in the San Francisco Bay area where she is hard at work on her next book.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
February 16, 2013
Not as good as the full-length books, but better than the Christmas short story. The fact that the police figured out who the killer was right around the time her plan to capture said killer worked, in a back-handed-dumb-luck-dumb-criminal way, made it harder to buy her involvement with the investigation in the first place. I did find it kind of insulting to the Tahitian police that they would need/let some random, visiting US police officer help with the case. I do find it amusing that when Maddie refers to "the girls" she means Dana and Marco both.
April 25, 2021
Earns 5/5 Mai Tais...Entertaining Fun!
Gemma Halliday has penned a clever short story, “Honeymoon in High Heels” (audio 1:53), with Maddie Springer Ramirez and her new husband, LAPD Detective Jack Ramirez (surprisingly sans his cell phone), soaring off to Tahiti for their long anticipated honeymoon. However, romance among swaying palms, tropical floral breezes, and sandy beaches includes a dead Tahitian 'ote'a dancer! There are few homicides on the island, so Jack’s offer as a consultant is welcomed by the local police...Maddie, not so much, but it does allow her some relaxing solitude and shopping providing perfect eavesdropping and snooping opportunities...but then uninvited Calvary arrives! A delightfully fun mystery enriched by the talented voice artistry of Caroline Shaffer: pleasant narration of tone and emotions, some dialect variations including a Tahitian-French accent, and a good effort on age and gender. Perfect respite...you bring the rum!
Gemma Halliday has penned a clever short story, “Honeymoon in High Heels” (audio 1:53), with Maddie Springer Ramirez and her new husband, LAPD Detective Jack Ramirez (surprisingly sans his cell phone), soaring off to Tahiti for their long anticipated honeymoon. However, romance among swaying palms, tropical floral breezes, and sandy beaches includes a dead Tahitian 'ote'a dancer! There are few homicides on the island, so Jack’s offer as a consultant is welcomed by the local police...Maddie, not so much, but it does allow her some relaxing solitude and shopping providing perfect eavesdropping and snooping opportunities...but then uninvited Calvary arrives! A delightfully fun mystery enriched by the talented voice artistry of Caroline Shaffer: pleasant narration of tone and emotions, some dialect variations including a Tahitian-French accent, and a good effort on age and gender. Perfect respite...you bring the rum!
September 28, 2020
AUDIO EDITION review: Maddie is a bit silly and naive, and she’s definitely got a one track mind to get to the bottom of a murder she has literally stumbled upon, so that they can get on with festivities of celebrating their honeymoon!. Her brand new husband is a cop, and us helping with the case, and they barely have time together. Then Maddies 2 ”girlfriends” show up at the resort to help. This is definitely not feeling like a honeymoon, BUT, it ain't over ’til it’s over!
Narrator did a good job with characters.
Narrator did a good job with characters.
June 28, 2012
Unlike anyone else who has given this a rating, I have actually read it, and it's fabulous! Maddie lovers will not be disappointed.
September 13, 2021
Good distraction from heavy books I normally read.
March 24, 2024
Short, sometimes funny, overall a good story for weekend reading.
September 1, 2012
As a High Heels series lover, I am sad to report that this short novella was disappointing. The numerous spelling and grammar mistakes took away from the overall story and quality of this book. It was if the book was published without ever being proof read. If you download on Kindle, it's not even a full "100%" book, at about "64%" the story ends. It's fine, since it's a short story, but just make sure you know that before purchasing. Unlike the other books in the High Heels series, I didn't find the story to be well developed at all. If you're a High Heels lover you may enjoy a little time with Maddie and Ramirez, but cheers to hoping that Gemma's next full length story will be much better.
December 20, 2022
This was the first high heels mystery that I read by Gamma Halliday, it was enjoyable, humorous and silly...Maddie was quite intriguing and a bit nosey at the same time, instead of enjoying her honeymoon with her handsome husband, she was more interested in solving a murder....
I highly recommended these series of books for a lite, fun, relaxing time.
I highly recommended these series of books for a lite, fun, relaxing time.
March 7, 2013
I have said this before, this series is very similar to the Stephanie Plum series! I like it even more because the characters actually progress in their relationships! The main characters actually marry!
August 14, 2016
Short sweet novella. Like reading a long chapter.
August 8, 2024
Short sweet novella, it was okay.
March 8, 2025
𝜗𝜚⋆₊˚ rating: 3
ˋ°•*⁀➷ plot:
maddie springer and her detective fiancé find themselves in tahiti for their honeymoon, except on their first night, the unexpected happens. after a trip to the bathroom, maddie finds one of the dancers she had just been watching on stage, wrapped up and dead. who would want to kill the tahitian dancer? what secrets were hidden behind closed doors?
ˋ°•*⁀➷ my thoughts:
for a somewhat dull story, i can’t lie and say i wasn’t intrigued—like i had to finish this story no matter how tired i was.
i had never read or listened to a gemma halliday book before, and i didn’t mind it! obviously, as this was a short story, i wasn’t fully able to get a grasp on her writing style, but i do plan to continue with the other short stories in this series that are free on audible.
now, a few things about the story. i’m sorry, but i would be so mad if i went on my honeymoon and my husband went into detective mode to solve a murder. in retrospect, it does sound pretty hot, but maddie expressed at the beginning of the story how she and her man rarely spend time together because he is so beyond busy with work. i’d feel really unappreciated if we went on such a far trip just for him to play detective—and then not even solve the murder because maddie did???
now, for who the killer was... i feel so stupid for literally not suspecting it to be him. i honestly thought he was just a dickhead employee (and i’m also not saying “he” to avoid spoilers; i quite literally forgot his name because he was that irrelevant to me). but once the story finished up, i was like, right, that would make total sense because literally who else would it have been?? 😭😭
i did appreciate how quick of a listen this was, though, and i do hope i can read one of gemma’s longer books in the future :)
ˋ°•*⁀➷ plot:
maddie springer and her detective fiancé find themselves in tahiti for their honeymoon, except on their first night, the unexpected happens. after a trip to the bathroom, maddie finds one of the dancers she had just been watching on stage, wrapped up and dead. who would want to kill the tahitian dancer? what secrets were hidden behind closed doors?
ˋ°•*⁀➷ my thoughts:
for a somewhat dull story, i can’t lie and say i wasn’t intrigued—like i had to finish this story no matter how tired i was.
i had never read or listened to a gemma halliday book before, and i didn’t mind it! obviously, as this was a short story, i wasn’t fully able to get a grasp on her writing style, but i do plan to continue with the other short stories in this series that are free on audible.
now, a few things about the story. i’m sorry, but i would be so mad if i went on my honeymoon and my husband went into detective mode to solve a murder. in retrospect, it does sound pretty hot, but maddie expressed at the beginning of the story how she and her man rarely spend time together because he is so beyond busy with work. i’d feel really unappreciated if we went on such a far trip just for him to play detective—and then not even solve the murder because maddie did???
now, for who the killer was... i feel so stupid for literally not suspecting it to be him. i honestly thought he was just a dickhead employee (and i’m also not saying “he” to avoid spoilers; i quite literally forgot his name because he was that irrelevant to me). but once the story finished up, i was like, right, that would make total sense because literally who else would it have been?? 😭😭
i did appreciate how quick of a listen this was, though, and i do hope i can read one of gemma’s longer books in the future :)
July 31, 2022
I found this when shopping a big sale on Audible for a bunch of their "short stories". Unfortunately, I realized once I started that this was part of an existing series. That is a big pet peeve of mine as I really REALLY dislike starting a book in the middle of a series. With that being said, it was pretty easy to pick up from the beginning and I didn't feel like there was too much that I was missing.
The characters were not fleshed out that well - but that also makes sense since it is the 5th or 6th book in a series. The characters felt pretty superficial and now I know why. I couldn't understand the relationship between the female and male MC. It was supposed to be their honeymoon, but I didn't get any feelings of a relationship between the two.
On the good side, I did enjoy the story. It seems like this is one of those fun and quirky series where the female heroine ends up getting herself into crazy situations. It did peak my interest and I think I might go back and find the first book in this series to start the right way.
All in all, this was a very easy read/listen that had some laughs and also had some quirkiness. If you have an hour or two, it is worth it.
The characters were not fleshed out that well - but that also makes sense since it is the 5th or 6th book in a series. The characters felt pretty superficial and now I know why. I couldn't understand the relationship between the female and male MC. It was supposed to be their honeymoon, but I didn't get any feelings of a relationship between the two.
On the good side, I did enjoy the story. It seems like this is one of those fun and quirky series where the female heroine ends up getting herself into crazy situations. It did peak my interest and I think I might go back and find the first book in this series to start the right way.
All in all, this was a very easy read/listen that had some laughs and also had some quirkiness. If you have an hour or two, it is worth it.
August 25, 2022
A honeymoon in Tahiti. For most people it is a time of beautiful beaches, palm trees, and getting freaky with your new spouse. However, Maddie Spinger is not your typical newlywed, because wherever she goes murder follows, often with her getting kidnapped, knocked out, shot at, and/or other crazy adventures often with outrages characters and hilarious situations. So, why would her honeymoon be any different?
This novella follow Maddie and her new husband Jack on another murder adventure. Of course, what is Lucy without Ethel? Maddie's friend Dana comes along for the ride.
The story is quick and since this is a novella the murder is solved and wrapped up quickly with very little detective skills or clues. Yes, the murder was solved with a plot point that came out of left field like a Sherlock Holmes story. But that's okay, because it is a short an enjoyable romp for Maddie and Jack, before they get down to some much needed private newlywed activities. Wink, wink. LOL.
As usual the narrator Caroline Schaffer does an excellent job.
This novella follow Maddie and her new husband Jack on another murder adventure. Of course, what is Lucy without Ethel? Maddie's friend Dana comes along for the ride.
The story is quick and since this is a novella the murder is solved and wrapped up quickly with very little detective skills or clues. Yes, the murder was solved with a plot point that came out of left field like a Sherlock Holmes story. But that's okay, because it is a short an enjoyable romp for Maddie and Jack, before they get down to some much needed private newlywed activities. Wink, wink. LOL.
As usual the narrator Caroline Schaffer does an excellent job.
January 30, 2018
I like the easiness of this series but I’m starting to get over the formula. Maddie is a fun character, but I find myself getting more and more annoyed with Ramirez.
So basically a book reads something like this: Maddie is lounging about, chatting with Dana, getting butterflies watching Ramirez. Somehow, Maddie finds a dead body. Ramirez may become involved in his cop capacity. Maddie and her posse then start to investigate. In between sleuthing, Maddie designs shoes, eats, tries to have sex with Ramirez. Towards the end of the book, Maddie often gets kidnaped by the killer...usually just as the police have worked it out. There is a monologue and then Someone comes to her rescue. Then she and Ramirez finally get to have sex (most attempts for intimacy during the book are thwarted by Ramirez and his cop duties).
To be honest, I love mad Maddie, but Ramirez just doesn’t strike me as good boyfriend /husband quality - he is always on the job and poor Maddie gets left alone, a lot!!
So basically a book reads something like this: Maddie is lounging about, chatting with Dana, getting butterflies watching Ramirez. Somehow, Maddie finds a dead body. Ramirez may become involved in his cop capacity. Maddie and her posse then start to investigate. In between sleuthing, Maddie designs shoes, eats, tries to have sex with Ramirez. Towards the end of the book, Maddie often gets kidnaped by the killer...usually just as the police have worked it out. There is a monologue and then Someone comes to her rescue. Then she and Ramirez finally get to have sex (most attempts for intimacy during the book are thwarted by Ramirez and his cop duties).
To be honest, I love mad Maddie, but Ramirez just doesn’t strike me as good boyfriend /husband quality - he is always on the job and poor Maddie gets left alone, a lot!!
September 11, 2022
Honeymoon in High Heels is a cozy mystery novella set in Tahiti during the honeymoon of the main character. This is book 5.5 in the High Heels series, but can be read as a standalone. I haven't read anything else from this series and it was fine. I wasn't lost or confused at all. It is your basic run of the mill short cozy. It was fine. It didn't blow me away, nor did it bore me, so overall I give it 3 stars. The narration was good too. The french accents made me smirk a bit but everything that needed to be conveyed was.
July 14, 2024
I really like cozy romances and I understand this is a novella, but this is genuinely lazy writing. There's massive plot holes, exceptionally unlikely interactions even for this particular series, and a lot of it is reworked and near copies of the writing from various other books in this series. Also, at this point, do Maddie and Jack even actually like each other? There's not really any evidence to that stance outside of we are told they do. I remember believing in their relationship a lot more when I originally read these years ago.
August 16, 2021
Honeymoon In High Heels by Gemma Halliday is an Audible short story. It is a who done it. It was just okay in my opinion.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
@GemmaHalliday
#GemmaHalliday
#HoneymoonInHighHeels
#HoneymoonInHighHeelsByGemmaHalliday
#Bookstagram
@BooksPaigeRead
#BooksPaigeRead
⭐️⭐️⭐️
@GemmaHalliday
#GemmaHalliday
#HoneymoonInHighHeels
#HoneymoonInHighHeelsByGemmaHalliday
#Bookstagram
@BooksPaigeRead
#BooksPaigeRead
September 29, 2024
Very meh. This is the first of this series I've read, and I listened to it because it's free on audible. The main character was annoying. And right at the beginning, she's in an airplane and states that she's 35,000 *miles* above earth. Not feet. Miles.
February 23, 2025
Dana and Marco showing up for the honeymoon and Jack leaving her for a homicide … good grief. Did not enjoy this one. I’m kind of afraid this series is going to keep going down the annoyingly ridiculous path and I’ll not be able to continue it. Disappointed
December 30, 2018
Fun, quick read.
December 30, 2018
Too contrived
December 14, 2019
Excellent!
As always, Maddie Springer gets herself into hotwater....no spoilers! Grab this book along with the others and enjoy your read!
As always, Maddie Springer gets herself into hotwater....no spoilers! Grab this book along with the others and enjoy your read!
November 1, 2020
Short
Love the story just short. Wished it had more content. The Honeymoon set in such a romantic place. Shame no picture s of the island.
Love the story just short. Wished it had more content. The Honeymoon set in such a romantic place. Shame no picture s of the island.
May 15, 2021
Cute little novella. A quick, fun mystery.
June 15, 2021
A quick little mystery with some romance.
September 9, 2021
Best I could say about this book is that it was short.
October 7, 2021
Hmmm.
Getting a tad too predictable.
Getting a tad too predictable.
November 10, 2021
Quick short and sweet
December 16, 2021
Maddie’s Honeymoon goes crazy
A fabulous and entertaining storyline of Maddie, Dana, Marco and how Maddie finds a body and her friends come to help solve the murder mystery.
A fabulous and entertaining storyline of Maddie, Dana, Marco and how Maddie finds a body and her friends come to help solve the murder mystery.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews