Batteries Required — Jennifer Apodaca

If only life came with operating instructions. Samantha Shaw's dating service, Heart Mates, is barely paying the bills, and her up-and-down relationship with private investigator Gabe Pulizzi isn't exactly a ringing endorsement of her knack for romance. The last thing she needs is to add murder to the mix...again.
Samantha Shaw should have known a sample kit of sex toys would lead to trouble. But when Mitch St. Claire offers the kit to Sam's friend Angel, who's launching a lingerie business, the girls think the naughty playthings inside will be good for a laugh. Finding a time to look over the samples in privacy is easier said than done, however. Before the weekend is over, Sam's wrestled them away from her two inquisitive sons, a fervent romance fan named Zoe Cash has shown up demanding to be introduced to novelist R.V. Logan, whom she's heard Sam knows--and Angel is missing from her ransacked, bloodstained house.

Sam has more important things for Detective Logan Vance--aka R.V. Logan--to do than deal with a lovesick fan, such as finding her best friend. With Gabe in tow, Sam questions Angel's ex-husband, Hugh Crimson, who admits he and Angel argued two days earlier. Sam knows her friend's divorce has been filed under "unpleasant" but she can't believe Hugh's capable of ex-wife-napping--or murder.

If Hugh isn't a killer, who messed up Angel's house--and why? Where is Angel? And what's Sam going to say when Gabe insists she make a decision about their relationship? Solving this case will require every ounce of energy Sam's got, and she's going to unearth some high-voltage surprises along the way...