All the Wrong Moves (Samantha Spade #1) by Merline Lovelace

All the Wrong Moves (Samantha Spade #1) Reviews

• 
  Dallass

  On the fence with this one.
  
  It sounded like a great premise, and I enjoyed this, but there was just something that kept me from loving it.
  
  Sam and Mitch work well together and we get a brief glimpse into the baggage they’re carrying around from life. However, we don’t get a huge amount of personality from them and that’s a shame as I did like the spark that crops up between them. The other characters are pretty bland and two dimensional. Perhaps if the book was longer the author could have expanded on characters and events.
  
  The circumstances that bring Sam and Mitch together was certainly unique, and I did love Sam’s initial reaction when she realizes just what EEEK stepped in 😁. The mystery surrounding the murders unravels at a fairly fast clip, but it was too down pat. No real wrong assumptions or avenues of investigation which made the investigation a tad boring at times.
  
  Still I will be checking out the next book to see if I like it any better.
  
  3 stars ⭐️
• 
  The Honest Book Reviewer

  I enjoyed this book, and found the protagonist to be a perfect first person POV character. There was the right mix of wit, cynicism, and knowledge to make Samantha Spade seem believable. This book had a lot of things lacking in Janet Evanovich novels, and I think most if it has to do with the author knowing what she is writing.
  
  While I did like the Samantha character, I do with she would have been more of an engineer or technically minded, like the rest of her team. It would have tipped this into a higher level, and made it even more enjoyable. Still, I'd definitely read more in the series, because I think it has a lot to offer.
• 
  Sharon Falduto

  First of all, I refuse to believe that "Merline Lovelace" is anybody's actual name. Also, it should be noted that I chose this book mostly for its size--it was a paperback, handy for holding in one hand while snuggling a drowsing toddler with the other. That said, it was a very servicable action story about a young military officer (Samantha Spade--get it?) who discovers a body in the desert while testing out a sort of exoskeleton for the Air Force and of course gets sucked into the mystery.
• 
  Pamela Tracy

  Really liked the book.
  Solid heroine
  Likeable Hero
  Interesting murder
  
  Loved the first person voice and setting
  
  Touching moments, the hero's partner and the loss of a ten year old
  
  
• 
  Renee

  I'm not a big mystery reader, but I LOVE Merline Lovelace's romance novels and I LOVE her characters. Esp. her military heroines. This auther was in the service, so she knows of what she writes. I love snarky heroine first-person POVs. I want the snorts and the eye-rolling and irreverence. So I thought I'd try her "other" genre.
  
  THIS BOOK HAD IT IN SPADES. (Pun intended)
  
  USAF Lt. Samantha Spade is NOT a gung-ho career-military type. She has authority issues, which makes for a rocky life in the military, and gets her banished to the backside of beyond. What saves her is her brains, and she leads of team of techno-geek misfits testing possibly beneficial new technologies for military applications. EEEK is featured in this book - an Ergonomic Exoskeletal Extension, which is just a fancy word for a robotic suit you put on and take off that enhances human abilities.
  
  Samantha is taking the suit for a jaunt out in the TX desert when she steps into murder and mayhem and government conspiracies - literally. Soon everyone and their cousin is involved in the investigations, and jurisdictional turf wars between several government agencies ensues. It's enough to give a poor lieutenant a major headache.
  
  Her partner in crime-solving is US Customs & Border Patrol agent Jeff Mitchell. They have a definitely unprofessional attraction, but don't let it get in their way...much. Both of them have relationship and commitment issues, both of them acknowledge that it has NO place in the workplace. But they're only human, and it's there. Adds a nice layer of subtext throughout every exchange.
  
  The infighting and lies and coverups keep you turning the pages. Sometimes you want to laugh at Sam, and sometimes you want to shake her. Writer's done a good job if her characters come across as real people. Samantha Spade is one of those characters you can stick with in a series - I have Catch Her If You Can to read next!
• 
  Allisyn

  A mystery novel written by one of my old favorite romance authors. The book was set in a military funded research station with a mixed team of military and civilian. The military head of the team Lt. Samantha Spade finds a pair of bodies on a jog out testing some equipment and gets drawn into a giant jurisdictional battle which she seems to think she needs to be in the middle of. After an arsonist targets her lab, she makes finding the murderer a personal goal despite having no jurisdiction herself. All in all, I think that I'll stick to reading her romance novels which generally contain a suspense element but seem to be better developed and make more sense logically.
• 
  Marci

  Sam Spade is a fresh voice in the mystery world. Joining the Air Force after finding her husband cheating on her, she ends up heading a project that tests DARPA (military research & development) gadgets. When she stumbles across two dead bodies while testing an exo skeleton. She gets pulled into an investigation of big importance. Of course, it doesn't hurt that there's a cute FBI agent involved.
• 
  Jeannie and Louis Rigod

  I really enjoyed this book. Not only is it a wonderful mystery and takes you to the end to find the culprit, it gives you a wonderful understanding of just how the military works within itself.
  
  I look forward to more Samantha Spade novels.
• 
  Angela

  I'll try another one before I decide about the series. I was hoping for more of a scientific/nerdy lead character but she is actually the normal one heading up the nerd group---sort a Eureka-like situation. It had it's good points but the mystery was a little too contrived.
• 
  Amelia in PDX

  This is supposed to be the first of a new series. I liked it and look to see more in it. Lt Samantha Spade is the head of a little company of techie type people - each of them odd balls in their own way. It will be interesting to see what will happen in future books.
• 
  Karen Desmond

  
  The story of a Vegas cocktail waitress turned USAF scientist (sort-of) I started this series in the wrong order when I read book 2 first - oops.
  
  Wanted to go back and start the series properly and I'm glad I did.
• 
  Kara

  Lovelace has a way with words! The plot of a USAF officer working with DARPA and having run ins with the law really had me interested. I was able to stay engaged, read the book quickly, and I found myself not being able to put it down!
• 
  Donna

  I loved this book! It was laughout-loud funny! Sam is a perfectly flawed heroine! I can't wait for the next book!
• 
  Elissa

  Eh. That's how I felt about this book. Nothing special.
• 
  Julie Johnson

  A very enjoyable mystery that I read while on holiday & was perfect as a holiday read. Very funny in parts, likeable characters, and also an interesting venue & premise. Also a bit of romance. Great!
• 
  Melanie

  A good first book. The author needs a little time to develop her craft, but I'm in for the next one in this series when it comes out.
• 
  Karen

  This was a little bit sci fi, a little bit romance and some mystery to solve. Enjoyed it. Would read another in this series.
• 
  Barb in Maryland

  A breezy mystery--nothing spectacular. I read it on a plane trip and it was perfect for that.
  First in a series and I'll track down the next one.
• 
  Colleen

  A light, quick read. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon. Fun characters!