Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!
Beginning in 1994, Janet Evanovich introduced millions of readers to Stephanie Plum. This klutzy, gutsy bounty hunter became an unlikely heroine bringing in some of New Jersey's most dangerous criminals for her cousin Vinny's Bail Bonds office. Of course she did have some help from a few friends. Ranger (a sexy ex-military man whose arsenal of gadgets and vehicles qualify him to be Batman), Joe Morelli (Stephanie's police detective boyfriend, whose patience for Stephanie's shenanigans borders on the saintly), Lula (an ex-prostitute with a sassy mouth, outrageous wardrobe, and the uncanny ability to always get her way), and Connie Rosolli (Bail Bonds office secretary with a scary knowledge of firearms, and the knack for getting you information faster than you can ask for it).
Put it all together and you have the recipe for a fun-filled series of novels that can often be impossible to put down. And this entry into the series is no different.
Takedown Twenty is the twenty fourth novel in Janet Evanovich's bestselling Stephanie Plum series. Published by Penguin-Random House under their Bantam imprint, Takedown Twenty pits Stephanie Plum against everyone's favorite Mafioso, Salvatore Sunucchi, who just happens to be godfather to Stephanie's boyfriend, Joe Morelli. After skipping out on his bail, Sunny is in hiding with the help of Morelli's crazy, old-world grandmother, Bella. As she investigates Sunny's whereabouts, Stephanie is pulled into another case involving the murder of elderly women throughout New Jersey. With the help of Ranger and her Grandma Mazur, Plum begins to get closer to finding the killer only to have Grandma Mazur become the killer's next target.
This installment changed up the formula of the series by focusing more on the murder mystery rather than Stephanie's attraction to Morelli and Ranger. There was a lot of soul-searching for Stephanie, whose near-death experience in Takedown Twenty begins to make her reconsider her current job title. The story was a gradual unfolding of details that built up to a great finale. Of course it had many laughs, but I found this book to be a bit more serious and more focused on the cases than worried about delivering one-liners. This was refreshing to me. The laughs came from the supporting cast and situations that genuinely delivered humor (Lula's fight with an elderly woman at a Bingo parlor; Stephanie's inability to fire a gun with a broken finger; Grandma Bella's cursing of Stephanie to Hell; and a cross-town hunt for an illusive Giraffe, named Kevin).
And of course the Failure to Appear folders are not getting any smaller. This also sends Stephanie on the hunt for Mary Treetrunk (a pot-growing dealer who always smells of dead fish) and Antwan Brown (a 19 year old wanted for armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon). This is my favorite part of the series. Stephanie's skips always are entertaining to read about, and sometimes provide her with some needed help. In this book they add to the frenzy of near-misses for Stephanie since Uncle Sunny not only is protected by Grandma Bella, but also by a shotgun-toting girlfriend and numerous henchmen.
Takedown Twenty delivers another page-turning adventure with many thrills and laughs. Many have said that this series is losing steam, but I disagree. Janet Evanovich always delivers a great read that takes you away to another place. And with the added narration of Lorelei King to the mix, you can always count on a good time reading. King's voices are fun to listen to, and often I forget that only one woman was reading this book. She enriches the series and makes each character more realistic. Even if I read a Stephanie Plum book without audio narration, I would still hear Lorelei King's voice.
I had a great time reading Takedown Twenty and I gave it four out of five stars. I look forward to the next three in the series.
Have fun reading this week. Let me know in the comments below what you are reading.
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