Batteries Required by Jennifer Apodaca

Review by Dawn Dowdle

Samantha and her best friend Angel get given a box of sex toys at a local casino. Angel sells lingerie and receives the sex toys to consider selling. She asks Samantha to hold the box for her and then goes missing.

Samantha gets Detective Vance to look into her disappearance. But things aren’t what they seem, and soon Detective Vance is quit put out with Samantha. Samantha’s boyfriend and ex-cop turned PI, Gabe, helps her investigate.

Samantha owns and runs Heart Mates, a dating service. While investigating, she is also fending off a stalking fan trying to find romance writer R. V. Logan. Samantha has promised to not tell anyone that Detective Vance writes those romances, but can she keep that promise and solve the mystery, saving Angel at the same time?

I love this series. The characters are so well written. The story moves along at a great pace. Samantha gets herself in her share of sticky situations. She has to juggle family, work, and investigating. She is such a fun character.

Then there’s Gabe and Detective Vance. They really keep the story hopping. They’re both after Samantha and also kept busy keeping her safe.

I highly recommend this book.