Wow! What a fabulous first book for this very talented author!! I am so impressed that someone new can leap off the block with a first book and show this much talent! Gemma Halliday has a wonderful future ahead of her. This book is as well written..actually, better written than many experienced authors today. It is a very fun read, great comedy, a totally fresh and energetic character to follow through the dialogue, and so very likable. The who-dun-it was indeed a mystery until the end..so not who I expected!! I can't wait until the next one is out...I am soooo ready to read more by this inspired new author:) Spying in High Heels
Twenty-nine-year-old Maddie Springer has always lived her life based on three very important facts: Fashion. Fashion. And more fashion. Sure, she doesn't lead the most glamorous life, and her job leaves much to be desired - not surprising, considering she designs children's shoes complete with Strawberry Shortcake emblems, and the like. But she does have a great boyfriend, and a killer wardrobe, so things aren't so bad. At least, they weren't so bad, until Maddie stumbled upon the clever work of a brutal killer, and suddenly the latest Manolo styles are taking a backseat to murder. Then, the ultimate twist takes place - Maddie's boyfriend has pulled a Houdini, and is missing, along with $20 million in embezzled funds. Now, every step Maddie takes is being watched by the LAPD. Of course, Maddie doesn't mind too much, considering the cop is a hottie, and Maddie wants to make him hers - once she gets the boyfriend off her mind, that is. Now, with the help of her oversexed best friend, an over-the-hill bridezilla of a mother in the midst of planning her wedding to a man who could, quite possibly, be gay, and a 300-pound psychic, Maddie must strap on her most comfortable pair of stilettos, and hop on the trail of a murderer, in an attempt to clear her lying boyfriend's name, and stop the murders before anyone else ends up dead. But now she's beginning to wonder whether she'll be able to catch the killer before the killer catches her; and whether or not, even through all the lies, she can ditch her boyfriend, and make nice with the police officer of her dreams.
Maddie Springer is the Carrie Bradshaw of the amateur-detective world. The creme de la creme of high fashion, and high crime. The President of the United States of Manolos. She's also one of the most entertaining characters to hit fiction in years; whose fast-food cravings make you want to join her on her navigation through Los Angeles streets in search of the perfect hamburger. Gemma Halliday is, without question, one of the most hot-to-trot new authors to emerge in the writing world in years. Her dialogue is hip and trendy - as are the clothing designers she name-drops - while her plot is upbeat, fashionable, mysterious, and romantic - all rolled into one. An amazing first novel from a to-die-for new author. Readers will be tapping their heels anxiously as they await the next Maddie Springer novel.
Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer
I HAD A BIT OF TROUBLE GETTING GOING, BUT ONCE THE ACTION STARTED, SO DID MY PAGE TURNING. GEMMA HALLIDAY IS A VERY TALENTED WRITER, AND THE COMIC DIALOGUE AND SITUATIONS WERE LAUGH OUT LOUD FUNNY STUFF. IT WAS WHAT I WOULD CALL A GREAT BEACH READ, EXCEPT IT IS NOW AUTUMN AND I HAD TO DO MOST OF MY READING INDOORS. MY ONLY CRITICISM IS THAT IT BORROWED HEAVILY FROM JANET EVANOVICH'S STEPHANIE PLUM NOVELS. FROM THE SEXY COP/SEXY LATINO INTERPLAY BETWEEN MADDIE AND RAMIREZ, HER LOVE OF FRIED FOODS, TO THE KOOKY FAMILY RELATIONS, IT ALL SEEMED A LITTLE BIT FAMILIAR. STILL, THAT SAID, I ENJOYED THIS NOVEL JUST AS MUCH, IF NOT MORE THAN THE STEPHANIE PLUM ONES, PROBABLY BECAUSE OF THE NEW LOCALE AND THE NEW CHARACTERS. I LOOK FORWARD TO HER FOLLOW-UP BOOK DUE THIS SPRING.
This was like a bad combination of Evanovich's Plum and Kinsella's Bloomwood. Maddie who is a ditsy blond every self-respecting woman would want to strangle goes from chapter to chapter being either completely rude and oblivious to the needs of people she cares for and making stupid decision that only someone with a mental handicap would make.
I wanted to find it funny, like I did the entire series of Plum and like I did the first Shopaholic book, the difference between Ms. Evanovich and Kinsella is that Stephanie learns, grows and evolves as a character while Rebeca remains the same, either married, or mom, or as a TV personality or a personal shopper, she is always the same. I foresee the same for Maddie, who is so pathologically stupid I really cannot force myself to keep reading. I'm on chapter 9 right now and I can feel my IQ dropping. The sad thing is that the premise is good, the idea if not fresh, funny and the character has potential, but instead of making Maddie redeem herself and seem plausible and interested by at least TRYING to be less stupid, she insists on acting like a teenager, without regards of consequences.
UGH
I want to preface my review by first stating, that through no fault of the author, the Kindle version was poorly formatted, but not to the point of distraction, just not as well formatted as other Kindle offerings.
I wanted to review each book read, but it's far more fun doing it as a whole. I'd never heard of Ms. Halliday, but on a whim, I purchased all five (5) books at the same time. From the first page of the first book, "Spying in High Heels," I was hooked. Ms. Halliday has such a gift for portraying her characters, that I felt as though I were the one right in the middle of it all.
Her descriptions are vivid, her characters have depth and substance, and the storyline of each of the books was well written, crafted, described and believable. The last book, "Mayhem in High Heels" had laugh out loud funny spots, that truly sent me into gales of laughter. I'm afraid my family thought me slightly nuts as I'd sit outside reading a description of a character, and finding it so darn funny, that I literally couldn't stop laughing.
The main character, Maddie, lives in the Los Angeles area, and being a native Californian, I was able to relate to many of her descriptions and locales. That added a dimension for me that some of you might not be able to relate to, but it doesn't take away from the books being well written.
Each of the books has a great plot, storyline and they're written in a way that gets you involved and I can't say that I ever actually guessed "who done it," so that made it all the more fun.
The books certainly don't have to be read in succession; that's just how I like to do it so that I don't get hooked, then have to wait for months for the next installment. I bought them, and started reading them in order. Each book is its own freestanding story, so it's not like the second one is a continuation of the first one, but reading them in their numerical order makes it a little easier because things that happened in the previous book are referenced, but they don't have any bearing on each book, its storyline or its outcome.
The characters are truly funny, as are the predicaments they find themselves in and how they get into and out of them.
I enjoyed each and every one of these books, and enjoyed the writing style of Ms. Halliday so much, that I'm certainly going to read more of her offerings.
If you're looking for a fun, fast, interesting and funny "who done it" series, this is a must have. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Thank you for reading my review.'
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