Stephanie Plum, Book 31
From the publisher:
INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The latest Stephanie Plum novel from #1 New York Times bestseller and “the most popular mystery writer alive” (The New York Times) Janet Evanovich.
She said yes to Morelli. She said yes to Ranger. Now Stephanie Plum has two fiancés and no idea what to do about it. But the way things are going, she might not live long enough to marry anyone.
While Stephanie stalls for time, she buries herself in her work as a bounty hunter, tracking down an unusually varied assortment of fugitives from justice. There’s Eugene Fleck, a seemingly sweet online influencer who might also be YouTube star Robin Hoodie, masked hero to the homeless, who hijacks delivery trucks and distributes their contents to the needy. She’s also on the trail of Bruno Jug, a wealthy and connected man in the wholesale produce business who is rumored to traffic young girls alongside lettuce and tomatoes. Most terrifying of all is Zoran—a laundromat manager by day and self-proclaimed vampire by night with a taste for the blood of pretty girls. When he shows up on Stephanie’s doorstep, it’s not for the meatloaf dinner.
With timely assists from her stalwart supporters Lula, Connie, and Grandma Mazur, Stephanie uses every trick in the book to reel in these men. But only she can decide what to do about the two men she actually loves. She can’t hold Ranger and Morelli at bay for long, and she’s keeping a secret from them that is the biggest bombshell of all. Now or never, she’s got to make the decision of a lifetime.“Stephanie Plum’s 31st adventure shows that Trenton’s preeminent fugitive-apprehension agent still has plenty of tricks up her sleeve, and needs every one of them . . . As usual, Evanovich handles the funny stuff better (much better) than the mystery stuff.” Kirkus Reviews
I stopped reading this series a while ago but picked up the last book, the thirtieth in the series, just because it was such a milestone, and I really enjoyed it. This one, not as much, so not sure I’ll continue. Not that anyone has asked, but to be honest, this would be a good book to end the series on.
For the past thirty books, Stephanie has been going back and forth between the hunky former Special Forces now private security company owner Ranger, and her childhood sweetheart, the hunky good guy, Morelli. This is ostensibly a mystery series, and every book has at least one madcap mystery and usually more than one. I think the readers keep coming back for the laughs more than the mystery, but most importantly, for the romance. Who will she choose?
Thirty-one On the Run opens with Stephanie engaged to both Morelli and Ranger, so business as usual has taken a step up. She also thinks she’s pregnant, and is willing to marry whoever the father is. The mysteries involve picking up bail jumpers for various crimes and are usually more silly than scary, but there is always a sense of danger.
By the book’s end, the bail jumpers have all been rescheduled and Stephanie is married, (NO SPOILERS HERE!) so what is the point of going on after this?
1/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
NOW OR NEVER by Janet Evanovich. Atria Books (November 19, 2024). ISBN: 978-1668003138. 320p.
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