Customer Reviews

Dating Can Be Murder: A Samantha Shaw Mystery (Samantha Shaw Mysteries)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This new series has potential. The problem with it is that the author is trying too hard to be Janet Evanovich and trying too hard to make Sam into Stephanie Plum...and moving too fast to make either work.

Stephanie's involvement as a bounty hunter makes some warped sense -- she's out of work, desperate, and forces herself upon her cousin in order to make what she believes will be fast money. Sam is a soccer mom who runs a dating service. While I can see her wanting to protect her boys, it didn't make much sense that she'd involve herself in the danger that went along with this case when she had so many people willing to help her. Also, it made no sense at all that this woman who's struggling so bad financially that she had to sell her house and her husband's vintage car and move in with her grandfather would use the money for a boob job and slut wardrobe, rather than putting it away to take care of these boys she's so concerned about.

The other problem is that Stephanie and her posse are characters we've gotten to know over time as the series has progressed, which has allowed us to feel for them and "pick a side" in the Joe/Stephanie/Ranger triangle. In this, the first book of the series, two men are vying for Sam and she ends up having sex with one of them. The whole thing just moves too fast without letting you get to know the characters, so it's hard to really care much about them or who Sam ends up with. And while it took three or four books for Stephanie's exploding cars to get old, it only took about 100 pages for Sam's ruining her clothes (and whining about it) to get old.

The author really does have the potential here for a fun series, but she needs to slow down and take her time, rather than trying to force nine installments of Stephanie Plum into one installment of Sam Shaw. Perhaps she could pick up Nancy Bartholomew's "Strip" series to see how it's done.

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.

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.

In some ways, this will remind you of the Janet Evanovich books. It's raunchy, funny and character driven. Samantha runs a dating service (her mother would like her to be a real estate agent). She had to sell her house after her husband died so now she and her 2 boys live with her retired magician grandfather. I have a feeling he's going to be one of the real fun characters in future books.

But back to this one-- It turns out that Sam's husband was running an illegal drug business and was murdered (by chocolate brownie). Now someone wants the half a million dollars he took. They give Sam until Friday to come up with the money.

Add to the mix, 2 very different and attractive men who prove to be a distraction, a probem with clothes and some "soccer moms" who want Sam to solve an embarrassing problem. Sam definitely has her hands full.

I'm looking forward to the next one.

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!

Dating Can Be Murder is a great start of the Samantha Shaw Mysteries. It has intrigue, a little romance, a little murder, and one hot,sexy P.I.named Gabe Pulizzi to help Samantha solve her problems with the killers who believe she has the money, her low-down,cheating dead husband stole; and all the while Sam just wants to get her dating service "Heart Mates" up and running.

Jennifer Apodaca's novel DATING CAN BE MURDER introduces a clever heroine named Samantha Shaw who after her husband's sudden death makes some "enhancements" to her life. What is soon to follow is a series of sometimes frightening, but hilarious events that takes the reader on an exciting roller coaster ride. DATING is a fun read with colorful characters and enough action, mystery, and romance for everyone. We'll be seeing much from Jennifer Apodaca.

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!

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...

When Samantha Shaw's no-good cheating husband dies, Samantha takes the insurance money, and does something useful with it. At least, useful in her terms. She buys an entirely new wardrobe, gets breast implants, and buys Heart Mates, the dating service that her deceased husband did business with. Everything is fine, until Samantha gets a disturbing note, and within a short time she finds out that her husband was doing business in an illegal drug trade, and there's a lot of money involved. Now she's juggling kids, a business, and trying to catch the thug who threatened her.

I picked this book up when I happened to stumble into the author, Jennifer Apodaca, when I was browsing at Barnes & Noble. Samantha is a fun new character, who is reminiscent of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum. A great new female-empowering detective, who will capture the hearts of fans the world over.

Erika Sorocco