On the surface, Samantha Shaw’s life looks pretty good—she
has a hot boyfriend, private investigator Gabe Pulizzi, and
her own business, Heart Mates Dating Service. But raising
two boys and keeping track of her ornery magician
grandfather is tricky business…especially when you add
murder to the mix….
Knocking down the wall between Samantha Shaw’s dating
service, Heart Mates, and her boyfriend Gabe Pulizzi’s P.I.
office seemed like a good idea. The construction dust is
causing chaos, but the real trouble is how Sam’s going to
handle her two sons, her grandfather, her business, and
training for her P.I. license—and squeeze in a relationship
with Gabe at the same time.
She hasn’t even begun to figure it out when her grandfather,
Barney Webb, winds up in trouble of his own—he’s been
accused by arrogant magician Shane Masters of hiring a hit
man to kill him. Sam knows it can’t be true, despite Shane’s
practice of exposing other illusionists’ secrets in a series
of popular “spoiler” shows. Proving Grandpa’s innocence is
priority number one, even though the old man is strangely
resistant to her offers to get to the bottom of Shane’s
accusation.
Then Grandpa’s protégé Fletch Knight shows up in Lake
Elsinore, asking Barney to help him videotape backdrops for
his upcoming performance at the House of Magic. Sam thinks
Barney should be focusing on clearing his name, but she
doesn’t have much time to push the issue since she’s just
landed a new case—discovering which magician’s secrets Shane
will expose for Shane’s ex, Nikki Eden, whose high-concept
illusions depend on secrecy.
With another of Grandpa’s former students in town, and
Gabe’s troubled brother arriving unexpectedly, Sam is up to
her ears in sleight of hand and whispered secrets when Shane
Masters’ murdered body suddenly appears. Detective Logan
Vance, Sam’s police connection, is furious that she’s
withheld information. With so many balls in the air, Sam is
tempted to throw in the towel and take up juggling, but
finding a killer comes first. There’s no shortage of
suspects, but with Sam’s own life at stake—again!—figuring
out whodunit is going to be the most spectacular trick of all…