Romance and cozy fans will welcome this cross-genre sequel to Michaels's Maggie Needs an Alibi
(2002), with its original premise, sympathetic if reluctant heroine and lively supporting cast. New Yorker Maggie Kelly, a former author of Regency romances who now writes historical mysteries, has an unusual house guest, her fictional Regency-era hero, Alexandre Blake, Viscount Saint Just (aka Alex Blakely). What's more, he has registered her for the annual conference in Manhattan of We Are Romance (WAR), a romance writers' group with whom she's had past differences. Maggie grudgingly attends and fronts Alex and his friend, Mary Louise, in the cover-model contest. Tensions run high, and participants head for home as a series of increasingly dangerous pranks culminates in the death of one of WAR's most notorious members. Alex, a sleuth in his own fictional world, is determined to unmask the killer at the fancy dress ball, with or without the help of his creator, who's distracted by the reappearance of her NYPD detective heartthrob, Steve Wendell. Michaels, a romance writer herself and a pro at juxtaposing unlikely characters, keeps the sparks flying between Maggie and Alex, who serves as an admirable foil for her irritation. A surfeit of amusing secondary characters slows the action in the middle, but the plot picks up at the end with the unmasking of the surprise culprit. (Aug. 5)
