"Sex Toys, Murder, and A Stalker"

Samantha and her best friend Angel get given a box of sex toys at a local casino. Angel sells lingerie and receives the sex toys to consider selling. She asks Samantha to hold the box for her and then goes missing.

Samantha gets Detective Vance to look into her disappearance. But things aren't what they seem, and soon Detective Vance is quit put out with Samantha. Samantha's boyfriend and ex-cop turned PI, Gabe, helps her investigate.

Samantha owns and runs Heart Mates, a dating service. While investigating, she is also fending off a stalking fan trying to find romance writer R. V. Logan. Samantha has promised to not tell anyone that Detective Vance writes those romances, but can she keep that promise and solve the mystery, saving Angel at the same time?

I love this series. The characters are so well written. The story moves along at a great pace. Samantha gets herself in her share of sticky situations. She has to juggle family, work, and investigating. She is such a fun character.

Then there's Gabe and Detective Vance. They really keep the story hopping. They're both after Samantha and also kept busy keeping her safe.

I highly recommend this book.

Reviewed by Dawn Dowdle
Courtesy Mystery Lovers Corner
Posted July 9, 2006

Summary

If only life came with operating instructions. Samantha Shaw's dating service, Heart Mates, is barely paying the bills, and her relationship with private investigator Gabe Pulizzi isn't exactly a ringing endorsement of her knack for romance. And now Sam's friend Angel has disappeared just as she was about to launch a new lingerie business, leaving behind a ransacked, bloodstained house. Detective Logan Vance—alias romance novelist R.V. Logan—is busy fending off the advances of a lovesick fan so, with Gabe in tow, Sam questions Angel's ex-husband, Hugh Crimson. Sam knows her friend's divorce has been filed under "unpleasant" but she can't believe Hugh's capable of ex-wife-napping—or murder. If Hugh isn't a killer, who messed up Angel's house—and why? Where is Angel? And what's Sam going to say when Gabe insists she make a decision about their relationship? Solving this case will require every ounce of energy Sam's got, and she's going to unearth some high-voltage surprises along the way...