Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,
Debuting in 1994, One For the Money introduced readers to failed-retail-employee-turned-bounty-hunter, Stephanie Plum. This constantly beat down woman was at the end of a bad retail job and failed marriage, leaving her penniless with only her hamster, Rex, to keep her company. In book one she began to work for her cousin, Vinny, in his Trenton, New Jersey bail bonds agency. Along with secretary, Connie and former hooker, Lula, Stephanie was introduced to some of area's criminals, almost getting herself killed. But Stephanie had a couple of heroes to help her out: Detective Joe Morelli, a past lover and Ranger, a mysterious bounty hunter with the nasty habit of turning Stephanie on. This well-written and often hilarious book was a bestseller. Later many books would follow continuing Stephanie's adventures and her constant internal struggle of whether to pick Morelli or Ranger.
Seventeen books later Stephanie Plum is having some bad issues popping up in her life. Having just returned from Hawaii after a heated encounter between Morelli and Ranger, Stephanie is no closer to figuring out her romantic dilemma than she was before. All she wants to do is put her less-than-peaceful vacation behind her and go home. But when a large envelope containing a picture of a man Stephanie has never seen before ends up in her bag, she is the target for criminals who want the photo...at any cost. Along the way she has to handle her car being stolen (repeatedly), a hoard of rats, Route 1 Sunrise (it's better you read about it), and her arch-nemesis, Joyce Barnhart. Twist, turns, and lots of hairspray lead up to quite the explosive finale..wham!
I read this book in one day due to the fact I could not put it down. It was filled with laughs, adventure, danger, and of course, Stephanie's hysterically dysfunctional family. I loved how the romance factor with Stephanie and her beaus was touched upon, leaving a slight resolution. This novel brought the adventure to the forefront, and weaved in a good amount of espionage. Many of the characters in this book played well off of Stephanie and her partner-in-crime, Lula, who was in rare form. Among the memorable skips this time were Buggy (a behemoth purse snatcher that gets his way...always), Lahonka (a working girl with the escape skills of Houdini), and Joyce Barnhart (who may or may have not killed a man, and who may or may not be the target of dangerous jewel thieves). Together they join the FBI, countless thugs, and would-be love guru, Annie Hart, in making Stephanie Plum's life a roller coaster ride that seems to not have an off switch.
Janet Evanovich put her gal, Stephanie, through the ringer in this book. I often felt just as defeated as Stephanie did, and hoped for something to make her day better. As always Lorelei King provided an amazing performance of the audio book. I honestly can say I never laughed as hard as I did at her accents, and skillful line delivery of Evanovich's humor as I did with this book. It was a fun time that made the hours just slip away (no worries, I can do my laundry next week).
I gave this book four out of five stars. If you are looking for a fun time with a story that provides laughs, adventure, and plenty of mystery, this is your book. Sit back and have fun! As for me, onward to Notorious Nineteen! Wham!
Because there is always time to read,
Xepherus3
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All written content and top logo (c) Copyright 2016 by Thomas Bahr II
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