Book Review: Look Alive Twenty-Five by Janet Evanovich

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!

  Taking a character that has been on the book shelf since the early 1990s, and breathing new life into her is a daunting task. Readers may grow weary and lose interest in the character and move on. But bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has survived twenty-nine adventures under the pen of Janet Evanovich. This hapless, train-wreck of a woman has taken on fugitive apprehensions at a nude beach, a casino, and an exploding building to name a few. And Stephanie comes out relatively unscathed thanks to luck and the two men in her life. But Evanovich did not only bring Stephanie back for her latest novel, she added a few surprises, as well. 

  Look alive Twenty-Five is Janet Evanovich's twenty-ninth Stephanie Plum adventure. It is published by Putnam Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. It in we are introduced to the Red River Deli. Its hygiene is debatable, its turkey is green at times, and the daily oregano shipment may not be oregano. The owner, Ernie Sitz, skipped out on a racketeering charge leaving the deli in the ownership of Vincent Plum, Stephanie's cousin. While they are sitting out trying to capture a big ticket skip, Vinnie puts Stephanie in charge of the deli. She keeps it running and Vinnie does not lose his new investment. But there is a catch... every manager of the deli has disappeared, leaving behind one shoe. While Stephanie runs the deli she is also to investigate what happened to the previous managers.

  But things get out of hand at the deli and the establishment becomes a viral hit online. With business doing better than it has in years, the investigation grows even more complicated. But Stephanie has her trusty gal-pal, Lula, on the scene to keep the peace. And her protectors, cop boyfriend Joe Morelli, and enigmatic Ranger are available to make sure Stephanie keeps both her shoes. Along the way several skips pop up for Stephanie to bring in her down time (if there is such a thing with her). My two favorites began with Annie Gurky (who refuses to get re-bonded unless Stephanie steals her cat back from her ex.) and Darren Boot (would-be chicken farmer and food truck owner, whose elderly mother likes to dress up like Minnie Mouse.. no seriously, she even wears Disney Princess dresses).

  With Stephanie on the brink of a nervous breakdown due to her life in general, this series of events are the icing on the cake. Plus her mother has arranged a birthday dinner for Stephanie's sister, Valerie, that includes all her odd children and husband. But Stephanie's got this, right? Enter the mysterious Wulf from Plum Spooky and the Lizzie and Diesel series. This sets everything into another spiral as he informs her that they are both investigating the deli disappearances. It's a race to the finish to find several missing managers, and to apprehend a knife-wielding psycho skip.

  Look Alive Twenty-Five was a jammed-pack novel that had me taking my time as I reveled in the zaniness of this story. Per usual Stephanie and Lula are in true form. The laughs come fast and the adventure is a lot of fun. I loved the workers of the deli, with their odd-ball antics. The whole crazy bunch gathered together to give me one of the best Stephanie Plum books of the series.

  Lorelei King is back to once again offer up her voice talent. Many voices. Many accents.These are her calling card. You can always recognize this talented actress' work. She always makes this series even better with her presentation. Welcome back!

  I had a great time revisiting Stephanie Plum and her wacky cast of characters. Janet Evanovich really knows to make reading a lot of laughs and mystery. I recommend this book with a warm blanket and hot beverage. Sit back and have fun. Four stars.        

Have fun reading this week. Let me know in the comments below what you are reading.

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