She is shocked to find he favors the same Raspberry Perfection lip gloss she wears. He did not run off with a showgirl named Lola -- he IS a showgirl named Lola. Six feet tall with a red wig and a bit of a paunch, her father is not what she expected. And things are not going well for dad Larry-Lola and his aging drag queen friends.

Maddie heads to Vegas in response to a phone message ending with a sound very much like a gun shot. Her friend Dana, an exercise instructor with a highly noticeable 36DD chest, accompanies her. So does the gay and amusing Marco. She also leaves Los Angeles with specific orders not to from hunky LAPD cop Jack Ramirez.

It seems Maddie and Ramirez have been trying to get together since the first book, Spying in High Heels. He’s a bit sexist and controlling, but he does light her fire. Maddie, of course, doesn’t follow directions and encounters the mob, murder, and a smuggling scheme involving knockoff designer shoes. She also manages a lot of highly enjoyable silliness.

Her mom has a 300 pound semi-psychic friend who also gets involved in the madcap Vegas action.

There are numerous references to the earlier book, but this stands alone well. Maddie is strong-willed and highly fashion conscious. Shoes are her world, but she designs for children, not haute couture. And she has a rather endearing and unfashionable knack for getting wrinkled, rumpled and torn in the course of her adventures. Ramirez is a no-nonsense guy who keeps unsuccessfully trying to get Maddie to leave the crime fighting to him.

This is a fun excursion into a wacky Las Vegas subculture.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Mildly sensual

Reviewer: Lynn Bushey
March 27, 2007