Thrilled to Death by Jennifer Apodaca

Kensington
320 pages
ISBN: 0758209886
February 2006
Hardcover

In Jennifer Apodaca's newest installment of the Samantha Shaw mystery series, Thrilled to Death, Sam manages to be just as entertaining and just as impetuous as she has in the past, but she also manages to show growth along with very real, very human feelings.

This is one of Apodaca's strongest gifts. Making us believe in--and love--her very real characters.

And in this book we get to learn a lot about magicians. Sam's beloved grandfather Barney is acting mysterious, and Sam soon learns that he is a suspect in the murder of a magician he--once upon a time--mentored. A magician who became a "spoiler," or someone who made his money, and his entire act, upon revealing the secrets of other magicians. In short, a magician who made a lot of enemies. Sam knows her grandfather could NOT have killed anyone, and so, as is usual, she must investigate and see if she can find out just WHO the murderer is--before it's too late.

This extremely readable author offers up a great, fast-paced read, complete with witty dialogue, fast-paced suspense and tension, and of course, hot sex.

Apodaca has a gift with the creation of the romantic triangle, and she makes you wonder just who Sam should end up with, even if you are mostly pulling for her hunky younger boyfriend Gabe Pulizzi.

A series is sometimes hard to hold up, and I'm thrilled to say I was not even slightly disappointed in Thrilled to Death, and I know that fans of this series will feel the same. I also think that Apodaca can bring in some new readers who will learn to love Sam, and hunky Gabe, just as much as this reviewer does.