Dying to Meet You

This second installment of the series is much improved from the first one.Sam is still no Stephanie Plum, but she's not nearly as annoying and unlikeable as the first book. Sure she still does stupid things that put herself and those around her in danger, but there seems to be a little more believability to the things she does. And her transformation from soccer mom to slut isn't beat over your head like it was in the last book.The supporting cast really should be fleshed out a bit more. I'm not wild about Gabe and think that Vance has much more potential as a suitor. Barney has the promise to be a terrific character, a more toned-down version of the over-the-top Grandma Mazur. And even Sam's mother has the potential to be fun.There were still some little things that bugged me in the book, but they were mostly from an editing standpoint. Early in the book, Sam tells us that she keeps pepper spray on her keyring. About three pages later, she gets herself into trouble and reaches for her keyring, "where I keep a canister of pepper spray." You just told us that...I can figure out why you're reaching for your keyring. I also found it highly annoying and lazy that throughout the book, the author misspelled "Acura" as "Accura."Looking forward to the next book in the series.

Samantha Shaw bought Heart Mates, a dating service, after her husband died of a peanut allergy as a tribute of their love. They'd met there. Then she discovered that for 13 years she'd been married to a drug dealer who collected women's panties. He was murdered by one of his mistresses. And he'd planned to run out on her and their two sons with a half-million dollars of stolen drug money.Now she is mentoring Faye Miller. She is helping her launch her business Faye's Printing and Design by having her design and print advertising brochures for Heart Mates. When Samantha shows up at Faye's motel room for their breakfast meeting, she finds Faye dead, murdered. Samantha did some investigating into her husband's murder and Detective Vance makes her promise she won't get involved in this murder.Adam Miller, Faye's husband, asks Samantha to look into Faye's murder. He is their number one suspect and he swears he didn't do it. He wasn't happy Faye had gone to Heart Mates, but they were separated and he now swears he finally agreed to the divorce. He was at Faye's the night she was murdered, but other cars were seen outside her room as well.With the help of Samantha's grandpa, he's a whiz on the internet, and working under her sexy boyfriend Gabe's PI licence, Samantha begins to poke around. Detective Vance is not happy and tries to stop her at every turn. But as Samantha gets deeper into the investigation, she puts herself and others in danger.This is one of the best new series around. I love the sexual tension between Samantha and Gabe. I wonder if this author didn't write romances before. It gives enough details, but doesn't go too far.Her grandpa is a great character too. He was a magician before he retired and has so many magician friends and can find out information from the computer. Samantha often doesn't want to know how or where he got the information!Her mother is another great character. She is always trying to get Samantha to sell the dating service and become a realtor like her. Samantha has no interest in becoming a realtor but her mother just doesn't get it. I highly recommend this book. It is a fun, fast read and leaves you wanting more!

Samantha Shaw stumbles into a murder investigation when she discovers Faye, a friend and client of Heart Mates, Samantha's dating agency, strangled in a hotel room. This is the second time Samantha has been involved in a murder investigation-the first was the murder of her husband, during which Samantha discovered some unwelcome truths about her marriage. Thrust into creating a new life for herself and her two sons, she runs a dating agency, reviews romance writers, and dabbles in private investigations. As part of this earlier investigation, Samantha developed an acrimonious relationship with the local police department, and gained a new boyfriend-a younger, handsome stud named Gabe.The plot of Dying to Meet You focuses on finding Faye's killer among the citizens of their small town. Suspects include Faye's estranged husband, the married man Faye had an affair with, his wife, and the partner of someone Faye met through the dating agency. Samantha becomes involved to clear Faye's husband of suspicion, and relies on Gabe's private investigation business to attempt to legalize her work. The romance between Gabe and Samantha is complicated by Samantha's growing attraction to a new police officer in town-one who writes romance novels in his spare time!Well written for the cozy genre, Dying to Meet You is a quick and easy read. Some unfortunate plot elements and awkward handling disturb the flow and are inconsistent with the characters personalities and intelligence. The Samantha Shaw character has great potential to develop into an intelligent, madcap heroine series.

Jennifer Apodaca's first foray into the writing world of light hearted mysteries, Dating Can Be Murder, was a rousing success. With heroine Samantha Shaw she had created a protagonist to whom we can all relate - by turns upbeat and angry, incorrigible and adorable. Readers were eager to see what Sam would be up to next - now we know. Remember that Sam runs a dating service, Heart Mates; she's divorced with a current heart throb named Gabe, a private investigator. Things are running smoothly or so she thinks until she finds a most unexpected surprise - the dead body of her once client, Faye Miller. Sam knows better than to get involved in the solving of this murder, but she does anyway because the media ties Heart Mates to the killing. After reading through Faye's files she finds several promising suspects: a jealous husband, and a former date, Dominic Danger. Bad enough that Sam has to try to defend her business but she also has to put up with the insufferably sexist, braggadocios Detective Logan Vance. She doesn't need antagonists, but she does need all the help she can get or she may wind up just as dead as Faye. Another mixture of crime and comedy from the promising Jennifer Apodaca. - Gail Cooke

After her husband's death, Samantha Shaw learns her deceased spouse was a two timing drug-dealing louse, who was planning to leave her and their two sons. Now Samantha is determined to make Heart Mates, her dating service, a success and never depend on a man for anything. She is involved in a relationship with private detective Gabe Pulizzi, but she is trying to do things her own way and though he doesn't like it he understands her insecurities. Murder is the last thing on Samantha's mind when she goes to consult with her friend Faye Miller about some advertising brochures she is creating for Heart Mates. After being let into Faye's hotel room, she finds her friend's body holding a brochure advertising Heart Mate in her hand. The police think Faye's estranged husband is the killer but after talking to him Samantha's positive he's innocent. He hires her to find the real killer and Samantha starts investigating, attracting the attention of the real killer who is determined to stop her any way he can.DYING TO MEET YOU is a terrific cozy starring a heroine who is smart, sassy, and sexy. The romance scenes between the protagonist and her boyfriend are hot and steamy, making this romantic mystery a novel that will appeal to both genres. Jennifer Apodoca has her heroine jumping from one dangerous action scene into another while she is taking care of her business, her children, coping with her cantankerous mother and worrying about the antics of her grandfather. Readers who like a light mystery without any gore will want to read this exciting who-done-it.Harriet Klausner