Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!
To say that Stephanie Plum has been put through hell on a regular basis by Janet Evanovich would be the understatement of the decade. Car bombings, poisonings, apartment destruction, being stalked by killers, and even tumbling down the stairs attached to criminal is only a handful of examples. Just when you think that the Trenton, New Jersey bounty hunter has seen it all, Evanovich cracks a smile and shows us she is not done with her popular character just yet.
Tricky Twenty- Two is written by Janet Evanovich and is the twenty-sixth book in her popular series. It is published by Penguin Random House under their Bantam Books imprint. In it we see that Stephanie Plums is still surviving her day-to-day bounty-hunting gig at her cousin, Vinny's, bail bonds office. And to join her in her misery are Lula and Connie. Lula is a former prostitute befriended by Stephanie whom she had managed to get a job with Vinny. And Connie is Vinny's sassy secretary that takes crap from no one, especially her boss.
But what could possibly happen to Stephanie in this latest adventure? Plenty.
When Dean Mitner of Kiltman College is assaulted by a student, the youth is bonded-out by cousin Vinny's office, who promptly disappears. Vinny sends Stephanie out to investigate the student's possible whereabouts. But Ken Globovic (AKA Gobbles) is a popular student with a network of friends and fans that are keeping him hidden. And after being pelted with balloons filled with beer and having yet another car of Stephanie's ruined (this time by angry geese), it is time to head out and look for other skips.
Among the skips Stephanie and Lula search for are Billy Brown and Ernest Blatzo. Brown is known as Billy Bacon. Apparently Billy greased himself up with bacon grease, shimmied down a millionaire's chimney and robbed him. Unfortunately for Billy he encountered a pack of bacon-loving dogs who proceeded to chase him down. And then there is the high-ticket bond of accused rapist and possible serial killer, Ernest Blatzo. Two failure-to-appears, and two opportunities to wreck Stephanie's life. But her policeman boyfriend, Joe Morelli, had already started her day with disappointment by breaking up with her. But it is always a bad idea to ask, "What else could possibly go wrong?"
Stephanie's other love interest (or is it lust interest?), Ranger, also hires Stephanie to guard a business partner of a dead man, named Harry Getz. The partner, Doug Linken and his wife, Monica, wish to attend Getz's funeral. But since they are the prime suspects in the community's eyes in Getz's homicide, it is unwise to arrive at the service unprotected. With a tussle that ends with Stephanie's Grandma Mazur firing off her gun, the Linkens are escorted away from the funeral home. But later on Doug is gunned down in his yard. And his wife seems either cold and uncaring, or his shooter.
Stephanie must track down her skips, wrestle with her now-defunct relationship with Joe Morelli, and watch her back as mysterious packages arrive addressed to her. Who killed Getz and Linken? How are they related to Kiltman College? And just what is in Ernest Blatzo's freezer that has Trenton policemen sick to their stomachs? The answers are tricky, but Stephanie is up to the task.
Tricky Twenty-Two is a fun-filled installment in this long-running series of novels. I was happy to return to Stephanie Plum and her crazy life. It was a fast read with some twists and surprises that had me smiling and laughing. I have always said that if you are in a reading slump and need a boost in your reading, Evanovich is the author to go to. Her mysteries are fun. Her adventures are mad-cap. And Evanovich writes some of the nuttiest characters around. A Plum novel usually ends with me laughing, and the feeling like visited an old friend.
Lorelei King returns to narrate the audio book edition of this novel. I love her work and hysterical box of voices that she carries around for all of Stephanie's goofy skips and crazy side-kicks. I hope that she never stops narrating Janet Evanovich novels.
All-in-all Tricky Twenty-Two was a fast, comedic mystery with some fun adventure that left me happy that I had returned to this series. I gave Tricky Twenty-Two four out of five stars.
Have fun reading this week. Let me know in the comments below what you are reading.
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