Twenty books into the Stephanie Plum series, and the word that most springs to mind is formulaic. If you’ve read one, you’ve read them all – yet millions of readers keep on reading, including this one.
I think it all comes down to the characters. I am invested in Stephanie and Ranger and Joe, not to mention Lula, Stephanie’s parents and Grandma Mazur. Picking up any book in this series means Grandma’s going to a funeral, Lula is wearing some crazy spandex outfit and there will be a surefire stop at Cluck in a Bucket, and guaranteed Stephanie’s car of the moment will go up in flames. And of course Stephanie is torn between Joe, the love of her life, and Ranger, the lust in her life.
This time out, the world’s most inept bond enforcement agent is after Uncle Sunny, a beloved local Mafia don who also happens to be Joe’s Godfather. She’s also helping Ranger look into the death of one of Grandma Mazur’s bingo playing contemporaries. And just to make things interesting, there’s a giraffe on the loose in Trenton, New Jersey.
I can’t help but enjoy these books even though I know everything that’s coming. If you’re an Evanvich fan, then you know what to expect and no fair complaining when you get exactly that. If you’re new to the series, do yourself a favor and start at the beginning with One for the Money. All the books are still in print and I think the first five or six were the best – but I’m still reading, and laughing.
1/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
TAKEDOWN TWENTY by Janet Evanovich. Bantam (November 19, 2013). ISBN 978-0345542885. 320p.
Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™ 