Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,
Stephanie Plum is back and the forecast is calling for 100% Spooky with a chance of monkey business!
Plum Spooky is written by Janet Evanovich and is published by St. Martins Press. This "Between the Plums" novel takes place after the events of Fearless Fourteen, and serves as the official lead-in to the Lizzie and Diesel series.
This time around Stephanie Plum is on the hunt for Martin Munch, a genius who decided to one day beat up his lab's project manager, Eugene Scanlon, and steal expensive scientific equipment. Munch decided not to divulge the whereabouts of the equipment, and Stephanie's cousin Vinnie (who posted the bond) is beside himself (as usual) with the case since Munch has disappeared. Add to this the arrival (and first appearance) of Gerwulf Grimoire. Wulf is tall, dark, and likes to snap necks, while burning his hand imprint into his victim's flesh. Definitely not normal, even for Trenton, New Jersey.
Not far behind Wulf is Diesel, an "Unmentionable" (a person with extra-normal abilities) who has a history of making Stephanie Plum's life extra dangerous. Diesel informs Stephanie that the Munch case is a lot more complicated than she assumed. A dead body with burn marks around his neck has been identified by the police as Eugene Scanlon. And the victim's sister, Gail, is currently missing. He explains that Wulf is setting up an operation that needs Munch's expertise, which has Stephanie's fugitive and Diesel's fugitive in the same location. Once again the pair team up, and along for the ride is Carl, the Monkey.
You see, Janet Evanovich loves her character, Stephanie. So much, in fact, that I believe she throws crazy things at Stephanie, because she can handle it. But in this novel, Evanovich throws more at her than I could ever have imagined. Take for instance her latest FTAs (Failure to Appears). We have Gordo Bollo, who decided it would be a fine day to run over his ex-wife's new husband...twice. And Denny Guzzi, who decided to rob a store, but shot himself in the foot during the robbery. Gordo Bollo loves to throw produce at people (he works at a market) and Denny Guzzi loves to watch television with a shotgun in his hands (he is paranoid). But the fun for Plum does not end there, oh no, Stephanie also has to deal her boyfriend, Joe Morelli's, loafer of a brother, the brother's nail-gun-toting girlfriend, car explosions, kidnappings, a diabolical weather machine thingy, and probably the worst hair days of Stephanie's life.
With this book we also enter the Pine Barrens, the location of Gail Scanlon's monkey sanctuary and home to some rather odd characters that include a retired, chain-smoking Easter Bunny; a man with explosive (I am not exaggerating) flatulence; and the Jersey Devil. We also have the return Lula (who is suffering from bad Ju Ju after her breakup with boyfriend, Tank); Grand Ma Mazur and the Plum clan; and literal barrel of monkeys, as Gail's sanctuary monkeys are let loose upon New Jersey.
Plum Spooky was a fun read, however it seemed to serve more of a lead-in to the Lizzy and Diesel series, and serve as a continuation for other Plum books. It was chock-full of story arcs that seemed to pop in and out during the book, which is is a bit larger than previous "Between" novels. It definitely had a lot to tell. But the narrative was just as funny as always, delivering moments that made me laugh out loud.
I read Plum Spooky with the audio narration by Lorelei King. With a book this busy with characters, King was given quite the challenge. And she met that challenge head-on. Her voice work was amazing to the point I felt that more than one person was reading this book. I am a huge fan of King's voice-over work, and highly recommend novels narrated by her.
Plum Spooky was filled with a lot of story, and may have served as a lead-in to another series, but it was very entertaining. Evanovich never fails to make me smile, and always manages to keep me glued to her books. I gave this novel four out of five stars.
If you have read this novel or If you have a comment for me, please leave it below. I would love to know how your reading is going so far this year.
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Xepherus3
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