After a long and arduous adventure in England, Alex, an amateur sleuth and hero in Maggie's 19th century mystery writings, discovers a specially delivered package containing a dead rat and a strange poem meant for Maggie. Alex opts to investigate further before letting Maggie know that she's a possible target in an elaborate scheme.

In the course of his investigation, Alex learns that Maggie isn't the only author to receive such a package. In an attempt to solve the mystery threatening to end all of their lives, a small circle of authors and some of Maggie's friends gather to collect the pieces to the puzzle before they, too, become victims.

This was a difficult book to read. The characters lacked a real chemistry; even the main characters, who are supposedly in love, have a loose connection. I definitely suggest reading the first four books in this series (MAGGIE NEEDS AN ALIBI, MAGGIE BY THE BOOK, MAGGIE WITHOUT A CLUE and HIGH HEELS AND HOMICIDE) before attempting HIGH HEELS AND HOLIDAYS, as there are too many references to situations that occurred in the previous installments to allow an enjoyable flow of this story as a stand-alone book.