Deadly in High Heels

High Heels #9

by Gemma Halliday

New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Kindle Bestselling series!

When fashion designer Maddie Springer is invited to help style contestants in the Hawaiian Paradise Beauty Pageant, she jumps at the chance! The fantastic publicity coupled with a weeklong vacation with her best friends Marco and Dana, is a win-win. But trouble follows her to paradise when one of the beauty queens winds up dead. Is it a case of a personal grudge, a jealous contestant...or a jealous lover? Between a pageant director on his way out, a soap star dazzling his way in, a violent anti-fashion protester, and a whole pageant full of competitive beauty queens, Maddie has her hands full sorting through suspects! Luckily for Maddie—or unluckily?—her wacky cast of friends and family, including LAPD Detective Jack Ramirez, are there to help her wade through motives more plentiful than pineapples at a luau. With the televised crowning approaching, the danger escalating, and a killer on the loose, this is one beauty pageant that's about to turn ugly.

Other Books in the High Heels
#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

What critics are saying about The High Heels

"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*

“Smart, funny and snappy…the perfect beach read!”
- Fresh Fiction

"A roller coaster ride full of fun and excitement!"
- Romance Reviews Today

"Gemma Halliday writes like a seasoned author leaving the reader hanging on to every word, every clue, every delicious scene of the book. It’s a fun and intriguing mystery full of laughs and suspense."
- Once Upon A Romance

Genres: Mystery, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Cozy Mystery, Romance, Ebooks, Fiction

215 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 2, 2015

About the author

Gemma 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.

Reviews

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining mystery listening 🎶🔰

This novella e-book is from my local library book nine in the series.

Maddie is in Hawaii at a big fashion week show by herself. Her husband and children are back in LA. Then one of the contestants is found dead by Maddie. Her husband and mother with a friend show up and the fun begins leading to the arrest of the killer.

I would recommend this novella series and author to 👍readers of romantic family and friends relationships mystery novels 👍🔰. 2024 👒😀😡💘🏡

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not a bad little cozy mystery. The characters are fun although, now in the 9th book, a little too predictable. My main complaint is that the heroine was way too stupid too often. Still, it was an entertaining light read.

[Reni · Rating 3 out of 5]

mmmm, same old, same old just different city.

[Lester Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The wonderful world of high fashion meets murder.

Maddie and her gang are back with more fashion at a beauty pageant. They are in beautiful Hawaii on a girls only trip. What could be better? Maybe a pageant without a murder. I bet you can guess who found the poor dead girl? Yes none other than Maddie. If only she can keep her hulk of a husband from finding out. Another fun filled mystery in the most peace place in the world.. I enjoy getting a behind the scenes of pageant and their secrets.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maddie and Dana go on a working vacation to Hawaii, Marco comes just to hang out/flirt with every surfer dude that comes within his line of sight. The beauty queen premise reminded me a lot of Miss Congeniality movies. With the babies and Ramirez back on the mainland, Maddie and crew get into the investigation. I could of done without Maddie's mom and her BFF stupid side plot to cleanse Maddie's aura. Everything else in this story was great.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy this series and was anxious for the release date of this book. Unfortunately I was disappointed. I had to practically force myself to finish.

[Marla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably my last High Heels books. My dislike of Ramirez has finally grown greater than what I do like about the series.

[Angela Verdenius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Light, easy to read, great 'whodunnit', and meeting up again with characters I've grown to be so very fond of since the first High Heels mystery. Looking forward to the next one!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I was a bit disappointed in this one.

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couple of inconsistencies right in the beginning:
+ Maddie says she’s 5,1 3/4 but I thought she has always been 1/2 (or maybe that’s just me lol)
+ Dana was described as Ricky’s girlfriend, but aren’t they engaged?

I was getting Paris novel vibes. I wondered if/when that flashback piece will be shared.

I still want to yell to Maddie to take different approaches to her investigating, but she has become less annoying about it. And Mrs. Rossenblat just makes me laugh - literally out loud."

3 out of 5 stars.

[Joye Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read. I love Maddie and her gang. Hawaii was a great setting for this one. Awesome names Last Aloha Shack tiki bar and the drink Babbling Mermaid! I want a Babbling Mermaid! Any who, everyone gets involved and catches a psycho who has lost their freakin' mind. Great beach read. I hope we get more! Please write more!

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy these easy breezy books but there are always comments that stick out as mean girl comments. this time Halliday went full racist. Making fun of a Hawaiian police officer's long name and calling him Officer Whatshisname isn't a cute look in 2015 when this was published and certainly not in 2023.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual, the books in this series do not disappoint. Some very humorous moments as well as a good whodunnit.

[Terri Purcell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh, it was a fun, fluff read. Nothing too exciting.

[Karl Hakimian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plenty of humor. An enjoyable read. Not quite as much depth/growth as some of the others.

[Amy Dong · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending ruined this one. Not 1 but 2 TSTL moments from Maddie 🫤

[Kay Dee (what is your storygraph name? mine is in my bio. join me!) Meadows · Rating 3 out of 5]

i reread this series because some of the newer ones came on sale recently for 99 cent and i bought them.

i like this as a candy book meaning it's a fun quick read. the murder mysteries are not that easy to solve with lots of suspects. the amateur detective and crew -Maddie, Dana, & Marco are fabulous and funny. the scary tough guy cop is dangerous and sexy. plus her mom and her mom's best friend are funny as well as insightful (they give ya clues if you look for them.)

what i don't like is how Maddie keeps putting herself in danger by going to check out clues or people who she suspects are KILLERS by herself. she gets hit on the head A LOT. when you reread almost an entire series you can see she does this in each book. like OK in the first 3 books i get the stupidity but in books 7-9 she does this as well. she does this even AFTER sexy cop Ramirez tells her not to in EVERY single book. he warns her to not investigate. then when he gives up on that he says do not go anywhere alone. but does she listen??? nope and how many times can one get concussions or knocked on the head almost to point of a conclusion without getting some serious damage. it affects athletes; they have made movies about it.

so besides that huge annoyance i enjoy the book series. definitely a read alike for Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plumb series, Sarah Strohmeyer's Bubble series, Lisa Lutz's Spellman series, and Leslie Langtry's Greatest Hits series. BTW i got these readalikes from Novelist and Amazon recommendations like a long time ago. they were absolutely correct about them being readalikes. i enjoyed all of these series.

[Julesy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good entry in this incredible series by Gemma Halliday. A big plus is that it takes place in Hawaii! I can just feel those trade winds when Maddie is walking outside.

One thing I have to complain about is the inclusion of Maddie's mother and her mom's BFF Mrs. Rosenblatt. I do not like the character Mrs. Rosenblatt!! When that said, there really was absolutely, positively, without a doubt no reason to include these 2 characters. The mystery could have stood on its own and the plotline that involved juju and mojo was downright silly (not the least bit funny). In fact, I fast forwarded through those parts because I cannot tolerate Mrs. Rosenblatt and was disappointed she had to ruin to the Hawaiian experience.

Despite this big complaint, I enjoyed having Dana and Marco along in the pageant. I did like the mystery a lot and how Maddie was investigating the case.

Mystery: 4 stars
Narration: 5 stars (Caroline Shaffer is always perfect!)

[Lacey Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this series! This is one of the few I follow and make sure I grab a copy as soon as it's released. Maddie Springer always finds herself in the middle of something. Dead bodies always seem to pile up with Maddie is around. This one focused on a "girls trip" with Dana and Marco. Something in my gut told me that her mom and crazy Dorothy would be joining her and I had hoped her hottie husband would join her too. Together, the clan works to solve another mystery; this one centered around beauty pageant contestants that seem to be dropping like flies. Of course, Maddie always finds herself at the wrong end of a gun. Can her friends and family save her before the killer makes her his next victim? This book was hilarious, dramatic, and entertaining. I loved it! Bring on more Maddie & Jack!!!

[Elizabeth Graf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maddie Springer has done it again...found a dead body. Maddie has been invited to help with the shoes for the Hawaiian Paradise Beauty Pageant. Even better is that Dana is one of the judges and Marco came along to make it a girls get away.

With a list of possible suspects from the pageant director on his way out, protestor on beauty pageants, a soap opera star, and dozens and dozens of other beauty pageant contestants keeps you wondering who the killer is.

Toss in Maddie mom in Hawaii with her best friend Mrs. Rosenblatt and the two of them working on bad juju and you have a story.

I do enjoy this series and it is nice to see Maddie as she has gone from single to dating to marriage to motherhood while still managing to find dead bodies without trying. I hope this series continues on for a long time and I can not wait to read the next book.

[Brandy Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all Gemma Halliday books. This one didn't disappoint. Maddy and friends are in Hawaii for the Hawaiian Paradise Beauty Pageant. Just when you think they can get away with a girls holiday/workcation someone has to get killed. I was one my toes thinking I knew who it was but of course it changed halfway through. Got to love mom and Mrs.Rosenblatt. But, am starting to miss her husband and her relationship obstacles they have had in the past. And was looking for a little more twins in the story. Now that they are getting older and she has such great/funny babysitters. Anyway, no worries. It was a great book and would recommend the whole series to friends and family that I thought would enjoy it.

[Lillian I. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read all of Maddie Springer's mystery adventures and always look forward to a new one. This latest from Gemma Halliday doesn't disappoint. Maddie's in Hawaii with her best friend Dana and Marco to actually do something with her business of designing shoes as she provides her designs for the contestants of a beauty competition. Dana is one of the judges and Marco is along for the fun. But of course, things don't go smoothly because Maddie has a knack for finding dead bodies. It's a crazy romp set against the competition and beautiful Hawaiian skies that involves all of them. As always, the story moves quickly and with a lot of humor. Ms. Halliday keeps the reader engaged with action, humor and a nicely told story. Don't miss this one.

[Sparkymom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed

Although I have really enjoyed this series in the past, since Maddie had the twins, the story lines have gone downhill for me. The plots have been relegated to improbable convoluted mysteries with very little action and even less of the steamy chemistry between Maddie and Ramirez. The toddlers, who could make excellent additions to the stories, are relegated to simple mentions with no real appearances. Most of the interaction between familiar characters seems sort of "been there done that". I found myself disappointed and wishing I hadn't spent the money.

[Morghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, so this is one of my favorite series and I love Gemma Halliday...which is why it got a five star rating. That being said, the book did feel a little weak in comparison to the other books in the series. There was so little interaction between Maddie , Dana, and Marco that it made the story feel a little off. I also like the action of the story was a little rushed at the end. The characters were all their usual delightful selves though! I still really liked the book and hate the thought of the series ending someday:/

[Linda Vance · Rating 5 out of 5]

What could be more fun than providing designer shoes or judging a beauty pageant? Marco answers that as he shows us the right way to wear hot pink booty shorts, jellies, & pleather while he helps Maddie investigate another murder in his Fablock Holmes persona. While dead bodies are turning up, Mrs. Springer & Mrs. Rosenblattt cleanse juju's, auras, & Tiki Mojos. Gemma Halliday has written another wonderful killer mystery. I love those High Heels, high fashion, & killer beauty pageants.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why do I still love Maddie Springer after 9 books? Because, unlike another heroine who is at 21 and counting, there is growth and development. Stephanie Plum lives in the same place, has the same job, and is still torn between the same two guys. Maddie got married, had kids and her career moves forward. Same for her friend Dana. Things actually PROGRESS in this series. Adored this story and have to say love the Brady Bunch reference.

[SandyL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maddie Springer goes to Hawaii to provide shoes for a beauty pageant. Her BFF Dana is a judge and her other friend Marco comes along as her pseudo-assistant. It doesn't take long for a murder to occur - the front-runner of the pageant is found dead by none other than Maddie! I did like the location (who doesn't love Hawaii!) and her mom and Mrs. Rosenblatt were hilarious. Also, I did not suspect who the murderer turned out to be. But overall the book was silly.

[Renee Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutley the best!

If you've never read any of these books... now is the time to start. Maddie is brilliant and stubborn ...and in Love with the greatest guy! These mysteries are full of humor... start with number 1 and see how Maddie, Dana, and Marco change. And how life goes from being single to meeting Ramiriz, to being a new mother..to finding time to design shoes and care for children and family. I highly reccomend this series to everone.

[Tammy Kenney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've enjoyed reading this series in the past. The storyline of this one was fine but I found myself getting irritated by the editing of the book. Missing words, wrong words used which made me think someone ran through it with spell check and didn't actually edit the book.
Overall it was a fun read but I'm not sure if I will continue with the series.

[Sandy Bartles · Rating 5 out of 5]

High Heels in Hawaii

Maddie heads to Hawaii to feature her shoes in a pageant, while her friend Dana comes along as a judge. While going for an early morning swim in the hotel's swimming pool, Maddie comes across a dead contestant. How many more people will die before Maddie solves the case? This is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it.