cover image Thrilled to Death

Thrilled to Death

Jennifer Apodaca. Kensington Publishing Corporation, $22 (256pp) ISBN 978-0-7582-0988-7

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.