"fantastic entry"

Samantha Shaw, owner of Heart Mates dating service, and her boyfriend former cop turned private investigator Gabe Pulizzi tear down the walls that separate their businesses as he mentors her so that she can legally work his cases. However, her next investigation does not come from her teacher, but from her grandfather, Barney Webb, accused by acclaimed magician Shane Masters of hiring someone to kill him.

Shane was once a magician's apprentice learning the trade under Barney before becoming a traitor to his profession, exposing the master tricks of other magicians. He comes to Lake Elsinore to perform his latest "debunking," that of his former lover Nikki Eden. Attending his performance is many who loath him and that includes Nikki and other students of Barney. All share in the belief that the world would be a better place if Shane was dead. One takes the wishes to heart killing Shane. While family troubles explode for Sam and Gabe, Detective Logan Vance follows up on Shane's accusation that Barney arranged the homicide; Sam figures she better prove her grandfather did not commit the homicide; someone else she probably knows rather well possibly did the deed.

Sam has come a long way from NINJA SOCCER MOMS and it shows in this tale as she still errs, but moves on with confidence in her self; she knows what she wants and she goes out to get it. Solving the case of the dead magician proves difficult because the prime suspects besides being friends are expert sleight of the hand illusionists so red herrings abound. This is a fantastic entry as Sam hopes to soon practice under her license not that of her lover.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted July 9, 2006

Summary

Magic and murder bedevil Samantha Shaw, the spunky owner of Heart Mates Dating Service, in the fifth installment of Apodaca's delightful light mystery series (Batteries Required, etc.) set in Lake Elsinore, Calif. Performer Shane Masters is revealing the secrets behind magic tricks in his "spoiler shows," which are upsetting many magicians, including Barney Webb, Samantha's grandfather. This is a tense moment in Samantha's life as well, as she and her boyfriend, ex-cop and PI Gabe Pulizzi, are moving their two businesses into the same office. But the conflicts caused by the office construction, Gabe's irritating brother and her own anxiety about getting her PI license take a back seat when Samantha's grandfather is accused of hiring a hit man to kill Shane Masters. The discovery of the Shane's body pulls Samantha into a life-threatening investigation that calls her PI aspirations into question. But her devotion to her grandfather outweighs all risks, and slowly she's able to put the puzzle pieces together. This hard-to-put-down cozy will please committed fans and attract new ones.