Fans of Apodaca's first mystery to feature Samantha Shaw, Dating Can Be Murder
(2002), rejoice. The owner of Heart Mates dating service and single mother of two is back for more amateur sleuthing in the small town of Lake Elsinore, Calif. To promote her business, Sam hires former Heart Mates client and graphic artist Faye Miller to design a brochure. But when Sam stops by the motel where Faye is temporarily residing (after leaving her husband), Sam finds Faye dead at her computer table, the "glossy brochure stuck up like a flag in her loose fingers." The victim's meek and mild estranged husband emerges as the main suspect, but the more Sam delves into Faye's dating history the more complicated the murder investigation becomes. A newspaper campaign against her dating service doesn't help matters, nor does she entirely welcome the assistance of gorgeous hunk and ex-cop Gabe Pulizzi. Sam bumbles along good-humoredly and determinedly, until the plot reaches its knock-down, smashing climax. (May 6)
