Rating: 
Summary: Bring back the narrator!
Review: Stephanie Plum novels are my favorite to listen to. This is my way of avoiding road rage and getting through the drive every day. I've grown accustomed to the sound of Steph and Lula and Grandma, but now after six perfectly read books we switch narrators! Not only are all of the accents different, pronunciations of names have changed. Am I the only one who listens? If the book gets and editor so should the CD. We've got a new reader for the eigth novel and it's waiting for me in the car. Let's hope for better listening on that one.
Rating: 
Summary: Rockin' and Rollin' in Trenton.....
Review: Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter from hell, is trying to bring in Eddie DeChooch, a semi-wiseguy who got nailed trafficking contraband cigarettes and missed his court date because, he says, he's depressed. Picking him up shouldn't be that hard. He's almost eighty (Grandma Mazur won't even date him), practically blind and is driving around in an easy to spot, white cadillac. Unfortunately, he's also carrying a gun and likes to use it and after being shot at several times, Stephanie figures she's going to need some help bringing him in and turns to her mentor, Ranger. Ranger's more than happy to oblige, but wants a little payback in the form of one long night, in bed. What's a girl to do? She needs the help, big time, needs the money, car payment due and in all honesty, Ranger is hot! But then so is Joe Morelli, her now fiance, sort of, and she's not so sure she wants to screw that up. If that's not enough, potheads Dougie and Mooner go missing, two old goons, also looking for DeChooch are continually breaking into her apartment wanting information she doesn't have, perfect sister Valerie's husband runs off and Val comes home to Trenton bringing her two not so perfect children with her and Bob, the wonder dog, is eating just about everything in sight..... Janet Evanovich is back with a high speed, manic romp through Trenton that will have you rooting and cheering for Stephanie, all the way. Her marvelously unique cast of characters are wacky, quirky and larger than life and her scenes, vivid and doubled over, laugh out loud funny. But it's her crisp, witty writing and unrivaled dialogue that really makes this book stand out and nobody does it better. Even though the plot is a bit thin and some of the antics and thrills (another car disaster, another cliff hanger ending...) overdone and getting tiresome, it just doesn't matter because spending time with Stephanie and company is, as always, pure joy. For those new to the series, begin with One for the Money and read them all. For those who are already fans, you won't be disappointed this time out...it was worth the wait!
Rating: 
Summary: Hot and Humorous
Review: Stephanie Plum, inept bounty hunter and New Jersey fashionplate, is having trouble nabbing her latest skip. Eddie DeChooch, an elderly criminal suffering from depression, keeps slipping through Plum's grasp. This wouldn't be a huge problem except DeChooch seems to be involved with a cigarette theft ring, the Mob, several kidnappings and murder.In the latest humor/mystery by Janet Evanovich, Plum continues to land in a mess of trouble. Her stoner friends seem to have disappeared. Her mother thinks she's getting married to her sometime-boyfriend, vice-cop Joe Morelli. Two guys keep breaking into her apartment and doing the dishes. And then there's Ranger, a dark and sexy colleague who's offered to help her catch DeChooch, but only if she promises to spend the night with him -- a prospect that's playing hell with her hormones and conscience. Plum has been a bounty hunter in the 'Burg for seven books now, and she seems to become less capable with each story. Her errors place her in harm's way, but these situations never feel truly dangerous. Instead, she bounds from one screwball moment to another, meeting a host of interesting characters along the way. Plum's love triangle between Morelli and Ranger heats up again, and both men seem appealing in their own way. Normally I'd be rooting for Morelli, but in this book, he seems to have become even more Italian than normal; he's constantly urging her to give up her job and just become his wife. Unfortunately, his
reasons never seem to include that fact that he's in love with her. Ranger, on the other hand, makes his interests quite clear, he wants her body, and damn if her body doesn't react with the urge to comply. Favorite characters from past books return, including ex-hooker Lula (who has a great scene at a mud wrestling bar) and Grandma Mazur (who is forever peering into caskets at the local funeral parlor). Plum's "perfect" sister from California also makes an appearance, and manages to bring along some interesting antics of her own. The dialogue in "Seven Up" fairly crackles with each exchange, leaving the reader laughing so hard that gasping for air is necessary. The plot is fairly predictable, but the "heart" of the story does add a neat twist near the end. Evanovich has a talent for light-hearted mysteries. Plum is far different from her female contemporaries (such as Sue Grafton's headstrong Kinsey Malone and Patricia Cornwell's tough-as-nails Kay Scarpetta) in that she doesn't always have every situation under control. Readers won't mind though. The change of pace
is not only hysterical to read, but offers some much needed, light-hearted fare.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing to say the least
Review: The writing is as weak as the plot in this book. There are a few moments of humor found within and those are the only saving grace. Very disappointed in this book from cover to cover.
Rating:
Summary: Run of the Mill
Review: This is a run of the mill Evanovich, but that does not it make it a bad book. It fits the mold well, with nothing to distinguish it from her other Plum novels.
Plum is after an elderly bail jumper and can't get the geezer, which leaves to some humorous action and some fairly funny lines from Stephanie's grandmother. There is a what appears to be a side plot with a couple of druggie high school chums that is also amusing - mostly due to the druggies. As always there is the bountiful sexual innuendo - and at times more. She's engaged but still haunted by her commando bounty-hunter colleague. Lula is her usual self, which leads to laughs. Stephanie's sister tries her hand at lesbianism, there's a lost heart - literally, etc.
You get it - the light-hearted fun escapades from Ms Evanovich and her main character, Stephanie Plum. I would suggest reading at least one of the earlier novels in this line, just to have a handle on the characters. Also, if you listen on tape, the actress reading has a terribly grating voice and accent. Reading it is the way to go - on a beach, a plane or a bus where you do not need extreme powers of conversation.
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