Dating Can Be Murder: A Samantha Shaw Mystery

Samantha (Sam) Shaw - she of the PTA meetings and soccer supervision - cleans up after her recently demised husband Trent. In the trunk of his car she finds a cache of panties with adherent post-it notes ranking them. In belated revenge Sam sells her house and uses the proceeds to have her breasts brought up to popular standard, get a new and slinky wardrobe - and to buy Heart Mates, a seedy dating agency.And now things start to progress. Husband Trent was a traveling salesman, dealing with condoms. That does not mean that he should sleep around. Sam hires Blaine, Trents car mechanic, to be her assistant. Grandpa Barney, a retired magician, handles all the computer work. Gabe Pulizzi, ex cop. helped her with a security system. Part of that system is Ali, oversized German Shepherd with a fondness for beer. The police contributes detective Rossi who can not get enough view of the thongs Sam has taken to wearing.And then there are the bad guys. It seems that Trent has been dealing in drugs rather big time and started to skim the proceeds. The bad guys want their money back, and Sam is in serious trouble, not knowing anything about it all. The story develops into a free for all, everybody against everybody else. But the thongs remain within view, and the bad guys get caught and punished. Satisfying throughout.

I loved this book. It made me laugh. Samantha Shaw (Sam) used to be a happily married, PTA president, soccer mom. When her husband died from a peanut allergy, she purchased Heart Mates, the dating service where they met. Then she found out the life she had been leading was all a lie. Her husband left her broke and was cheating on her. So to get revenge, she sells his pride and joy, an antique Mustang that Sam was never allowed to drive, and gives herself a makeover, including a breast job.Determined to become a successful businesswoman, Sam does her best to make a go of Heart Mates. When her newest client turns out to be a thug who zaps her with a stun gun, threatens her life unless she comes up with half million dollars, Sam decides to fight back not just leave it to super handsome police detective Rossi to solve the case. With the help of sexy private detective Gabe, Sam sets out on a hilarious adventure to find the money and beat the thugs that threaten her and her family while the bodies keep piling up. This book reminded me a lot of the Stephanie Plum series. Sam had two hunky guys vying for her affection. Sam goes through designer outfits faster than Stephanie goes through cars. It was very funny and action packed. Sam kept finding herself in all kinds of messes she had to get herself out of. Gabe was a wonderful character who helped Sam learn what she needed to survive.

If you enjoy Janet Evanovich's character, Stephanie Plum, you'll love Jennifer Apodaca's new heroine, Sam. This woman is funny and feisty, struggling to get her life together after the death of her condom-selling slimeball husband. With help from a sexy private detective, Sam tries to unravel a tangle of troubles, including missing cash, a few dead bodies, and a suspicious detective who thinks she's holding back information. Highly recommended!

It took her husband's death for Samantha Shaw to find out what a lying, cheating pig he really was. She takes back control of her life by becoming a businesswoman (she buys the dating service that introduced her to her dead husband), and she gets breast enhancement surgery and takes Tae Kwon Do lessons. No longer the dowdy soccer/PTA mom, Samantha is ready to start her life over by being a strong, self-sufficient woman and the best mother possible to her two preteen sons. But when her husband's past misdeeds come back to haunt her and threaten her family, Samantha turns to her hunky detective friend Gabe Pulizzi for help. Samantha isn't a pushover anymore. She has to find out about all of her husband's many lovers and crimes so she can determine who is threatening the lives of her family. But as she untangles the web of lies and deceit, it becomes harder to know whom she can trust. Jennifer Apodaca is a fresh voice in the amateur sleuth genre. Samantha Shaw is laugh out loud funny, witty and a role model for jilted women everywhere. Samantha's family and friends are a hoot to read about as well. Her grandfather is a magician and computer wizard who manages to get online access to everything she needs. Her sons are realistic and wonderful and her mother is brash yet believable in her need to try to control every situation. Her best friend Angel is a hoot to watch as well as she does everything she can to make her ex-husband's life miserable. And even Ali, the beer guzzling family dog and protector is a blast to read about. I have no complaints about this great book, other than the fact that the second one isn't available yet to read. Fans of Janet Evanovich and Nancy Bartholomew take notice, Jennifer Apodaca is the newest talent in mystery for your must read list. A perfect treat!

I really enjoyed this book. It is great to find a new author!Sam Shaw is great take charge female character. The book has it all--Fast paced, strong heroine, sexy hero, great secondary characters, good mystery, humor, great sexaul tension.This was a very pleasant surprise!! I am looking forward for more in this series...