Notorious Nineteen

I always include major spoilers (hidden), to help with my memory  issues. Read them at your peril! 
A bail-skipper with a high tariff has vanished from a hospital ward, and Stephanie needs to get him back, dead or alive.  Ranger asks her to be his “date” at a security job, and it turns out that an ex-team member of his in the special forces is crazy and now determined to kill both Ranger and Stephanie. A second bail-skipper pledged an Hawaiian tiki as bail security and Stephanie ends up toting it around with her.

Another fun instalment, much the same as all the rest.

It's not fine literature but I love the characters and enjoy escaping into Stephanie Plum shenanigans.

Pretty standard for a Stephanie Plum novel. Predictable, but isn't that why we read them? I always know I will get a good giggle at some point in the book, and this one didn't disappoint. One of the better recent ones.

These books hold true to formula but never fail to make me laugh out loud at some point. A good, quick read with familiar characters.

Years ago, I realized I love the Stephanie Plum stories because they are an easy read, and they make me laugh out loud. This one was no exception. I would have given it five stars, but I really wanted to read more of Grandma Mazur's crazy antics. I'm glad Stephanie is keeping per promise to Joe regarding Ranger. If you are reading my review and you haven't read any of the other in this series, please go back and read One For The Money. Although you can pick up any book and understand exactly what is happening, there are many great, fun reasons to read them in order.

When this one gets serious and creepifying...it gets really serious and creepy. Even better, Evanovich restrains the goofiness. Leaving this a moderately suspenseful, witty and charming book. Even Grandma – who has a significant role here – isn't as cartoonish as she often is.

There are two major cases that Stephanie has to deal with – the Ranger case is pretty fun, if a little lean. The major case, dealing with the missing embezzler, is more intricate than usual. I don't know that I was convinced by Stephanie's methods to solving it, but I applaud the complexity of the case and hope that Evanovich is willing to stretch like that again.

Not much else to say at this point – it's a Stephanie Plum book, and a pretty good one. That's pretty much all that a Plum-head (Plumb-er?) should need.

I'm still not convinced this series needs to continue, but it was an alright read. At this point I'm only reading these books out of habit and duty.