So can Ms. Plum get any sillier? The beginning of this book starts with somewhat of a mystery. Apparently Stephanie has been to Hawaii and Ranger was there. Hmmm. But then we find out she ran away, and went home to New Jersey and won’t tell anyone any details. So we are left in the dark. Well we find out eventually but she definitely keeps quiet for a long time, much to the chagrin of Lula who tries to get any information out in any way possible. This book has the usual FTAs which our bounty hunter extraordinaire has to find and they are just as incredulous as ever. She actually has one who is morbidly obese but he still manages to not only get away from Stephanie and Lula but also to steal her car. Then we get to her love life and she is not speaking to either of her beaus. We don’t find that out for a while either but it is pretty interesting as Evanovich writes exactly what Stephanie is thinking most of the time and it is pretty messed up.

There is a reason this series is consistently in the top 10 of the best seller list. They are fun, quick reads which have a light story line that is easy to follow. Meanwhile back at the ranch or the home she grew up in, her mother is still trying to keep the peace along with great meals daily. Her father still grunts every time any of the women say anything and her grandmother has a new friend who is into potions including love potion. Grandmother thinks it is time for Stephanie to pick a man and settle down and she has just the potion for making that decision.

As you can imagine what ensues is hilarious and ridiculous all at once. Stephanie is once again taken to viewings at the local undertakers with her grandmother as well. It is the best entertainment in town apparently but this one is of interest to Stephanie too. They are trying to gather information about someone and actually attend a service. Grandma Mazur is used to crashing funerals so this is no big deal, in fact she relishes it. What a bunch of nutters!

As I write this the film based on the first book about Ms. Plum is due to be released soon and I am looking forward to seeing how well they do with that. Stephanie’s shoes aren’t that hard to fill but I think we all have an idea of how she looks and behaves and hopefully we won’t be disappointed with the way she is portrayed. Regardless report will follow the movie and we can dish about that.

This is the next installment in the Stephanie Plum saga. As is the case with some authors who are presumably expected to churn out book after book with less time in between, the story lines get pretty thin. This book is definitely an example of that. Now don’t get me wrong, I would love to be able to get started on a character who is fun and have loads of ideas on what happens next to him/her. I will also continue to read Ms. Evanovich’s books, it would just be nice to have her bring back some of the old characters who made me laugh out loud. This one centers around her boss who has been kidnapped. He runs the bond office where she is a bounty hunter, albeit a pretty bad one. Stephanie considers not going after him but realizes he is the source of her income for the time being. He is a revolting human being who brings new meaning to the word depraved. He owes money everywhere and his wife doesn’t want him back either. Meanwhile our heroine’s love life with her on again off again copper boyfriend is in an off pattern. Not much is going well for Stephanie and she is once again without a car – she is famous for destroying all her vehicles as well as setting fire to things. Even her usually hilarious side kick Lola isn’t as funny and Grandma Mazur has only a bit part. What can I say – this was a little disappointing.