Quickstep to Murder
A Ballroom Dance Mystery
By Ella Barrick
Paperback, 293 pages, $6.99

Talk about perfect timing. One, two, three. One, two, three. Let the happy dance begin with “Quickstep to Murder,” by Ella Barrick, the first in a new series about ballroom dance.

With the new season of “Dancing with the Stars” underway, and “So You think You Can Dance” just completed, this is no “B-List” cozy. You’ll tango through the pages getting to know Stacy Graysin, as well as her D.C. dance studio students and instructors.

The spins and turns keep pace with the ever-changing music, and dance fans will love this new series; perhaps learning a step or two about the lucrative pro-am dancing lessons and competitions.

This is a smooth tale, with lots of neat insider dancing information and from the first step; you’ll love Stacy, who thinks of herself “as a quickstep sort of person, full of joie de vivre, zing, and fun” — like the writing and storyline of this book.

In the opening pages, she’s found her fiance in her bed with one of the studio’s dancers. “He had the fidelity of a mink,” she says, as their business, Graysin Motion, teeters on a pointed toe.

“Rafe might have fewer morals than a feral cat, but up until now he’d been a conscientious businessman, scrutinizing the books, finding ways to cut costs, charming the customers into buying packages for multiple lessons.”

Stacy’s ended their engagement, but their business arrangement and dancing partnership is not as easily severed — until her ex-fiance is found dead on the dance floor.

With a competition about a week away, she’s now a suspect in a murder, without a dance partner and minus a male partner for a number of her amateur female students.

There’s a testy Congresswoman, a student who wants his relationship with Stacy to be more than just on the dance floor and a young student who’s unexpectedly pregnant. And Stacy’s got her hands full with more than just footwork, choreography and correct holds.

Enter Rafe’s sexy half-brother, Octavio, aka Tav, who arrives in town to fly the body back to Argentina, and Stacy finds out her ex has left half the business to this stranger.

I guarantee you’ll root for Tav and Stacy’s evolving relationship — it’s very sweet and sultry at the same time. As the two team-up to find the murderer, there’s just enough intrigue in Tav’s background to keep everyone guessing.

This is a terrific debut; I can’t wait for ‘Dead Man Waltzing’ due out in June, 2012.

For more information about the author, visit her website.

Lisa Allmendinger is a regional reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. In addition, each Wednesday she reviews a cozy mystery in her column called “Cozy Corner.”