Stacy Graysin is the co-owner and manager of Graysin Motion (it took me awhile to get the pun), a ballroom dance studio. The other owner is her dance partner and former romantic partner Rafe Acosta. What broke them up? When Stacy found him in bed with another woman. Unfortunately, Stacy is stuck with Rafe as her business partner since she isn't financially able to buy out his half of the business, but she has successfully managed to distance herself from him personally.

Stacy thinks Rafe has been acting a little odd, and she wants to discuss both that and his recent ideas about which classes to add and which demographic groups to try to attract. But before they can have that conversation, Stacy finds Rafe's dead body in the studio, which is in the same building as her apartment. Because she was alone at night when she discovered the body, a suspicious detective begins investigating Stacy. The investigation heats up when Stacy can't find her gun, which is suspected to be the one used to kill Rafe. And things really heat up when Stacy reveals she didn't know Rafe hadn't changed his will -- so she thought she was inheriting his half of the business.

Although she needs to find a way to continue teaching, prepare for the upcoming dance competition, and figure out what will happen to Rafe's half of the business, Stacy soon begins doing what she can to figure out who had a motive for killing Rafe. While she's doing this, she's trying to prove her own innocence, ready herself and her students for a competition, and keep Rafe's reputation clean when a local Congresswoman (one of Rafe's students) threatens to air his dirty laundry should Stacy not do some favours for her.

QUICKSTEP TO MURDER is a great mystery that I zipped through quickly. Stacy is a great character, and she is such that I wished I could take dancing lessons from her (although I have the proverbial two left feet). I kept thinking that I knew who Rafe's killer was, but then a sprinkle of doubt would be thrown in, and I'd start over from scratch with my theories. Looking back, the author gave me everything I needed to solve the mystery, but she did it so artfully that I was kept guessing the entire book. I see that this is the first book in a new series, and I've marked this as a series that I definitely want to keep reading!

Book Summary

What if your dance partner, business partner, and fiancé was stepping out with another woman? That's exactly what happens to Stacy Graysin, who shares ownership of a ballroom dance studio with the man who broke her heart, Rafe Acosta. But when Stacy discovers Rafe's dead body in the studio one dark night, the police suspect her of killing him.

To clear her name and save her studio, Stacey teams up with Rafe's estranged cousin from Argentina, Tav, to find the real killer. And if Stacy doesn't watch her step, the killer may make this dance her last.

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