Top Secret Twenty One by Janet Evanovich

Catch a professional assassin: top priority. Find a failure-to-appear and collect big bucks: top score. How she’ll pull it all off: top secret.

Trenton, New Jersey’s favorite used-car dealer, Jimmy Poletti, was caught selling a lot more than used cars out of his dealerships. Now he’s out on bail and has missed his date in court, and bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is looking to bring him in. Leads are quickly turning into dead ends, and all too frequently into dead bodies. Even Joe Morelli, the city’s hottest cop, is struggling to find a clue to the suspected killer’s whereabouts. These are desperate times, and they call for desperate measures. So Stephanie is going to have to do something she really doesn’t want to do: protect former hospital security guard and general pain in her behind Randy Briggs. Briggs was picking up quick cash as Poletti’s bookkeeper and knows all his boss’s dirty secrets. Now Briggs is next on Poletti’s list of people to put six feet under.

To top things off, Ranger—resident security expert and Stephanie’s greatest temptation—has been the target of an assassination plot. He’s dodged the bullet this time, but if Ranger wants to survive the next attempt on his life, he’ll have to enlist Stephanie’s help and reveal a bit more of his mysterious past.

Death threats, highly trained assassins, highly untrained assassins, and Stark Street being overrun by a pack of feral Chihuahuas are all in a day’s work for Stephanie Plum. The real challenge is dealing with her Grandma Mazur’s wild bucket list. A boob job and getting revenge on Joe Morelli’s Grandma Bella can barely hold a candle to what’s number one on the list—but that’s top secret

Sometimes I find myself wondering just how many more of these Stephanie Plum novels Ms Evanovich has in her.  My enjoyment of them seems to go up and down a little with some being better than others, and the previous one - Takedown Twenty - didn't do a lot for me.  However, I thoroughly enjoyed this one.  The focus in #21 shifted slightly to Ranger and I am a Ranger fan all the way to my toes.

Lot's of explosions again, with rockets in the picture this time around and lots of bad guys on the loose. Stephanie is helped by Lula as usual and also by Briggs - whom we've met in previous volumes.  He brings his own issues into the mix including some of those aforementioned rockets and a band of chihuahuas. 

There are some cheek warming situations - one in particular that includes Grandma Mazur and Ranger and had me laughing out loud,  and all in all, twenty one was fun. I doubt fans will be disappointed.

Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanocivh

Published: November 2013

Publisher: Bantam

Pages: 309

Copy: Library

Summary: Goodreads

New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum knows better than to mess with family. But when powerful mobster Salvatore “Uncle Sunny” Sunucchi goes on the lam in Trenton, it’s up to Stephanie to find him. Uncle Sunny is charged with murder for running over a guy (twice), and nobody wants to turn him in—not his poker buddies, not his bimbo girlfriend, not his two right-hand men, Shorty and Moe. Even Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, has skin in the game, because—just Stephanie’s luck—the godfather is his actual godfather. And while Morelli understands that the law is the law, his old-world grandmother, Bella, is doing everything she can to throw Stephanie off the trail.

It’s not just Uncle Sunny giving Stephanie the run-around. Security specialist Ranger needs her help to solve the bizarre death of a top client’s mother, a woman who happened to play bingo with Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur. Before Stephanie knows it, she’s working side by side with Ranger and Grandma at the senior center, trying to catch a killer on the loose—and the bingo balls are not rolling in their favor.

With bullet holes in her car, henchmen on her tail, and a giraffe named Kevin running wild in the streets of Trenton, Stephanie will have to up her game for the ultimate takedown.

I have been reading this series by Janet Evanovich since the first volume - One for the Money - came out in 1994.  So yes, that has been one book a year for 20 years.  She's become a little bit of a guilty pleasure. Generally I have thoroughly enjoyed them, and this one really wasn't an exception.  The only thing is, that after 20 years they are starting to sound just a little repetitive.  Not badly so, but there are only so many times that you can blow up/tow/steal a car, and only so many animals that you can add into the mix.  This time it's a giraffe!  Not as nearly as funny as the monkey a few years back, but Kevin the giraffe did add a few smiles this time around.

There is such a huge triangle in this series, that it's time Stephanie made up her mind.  Now me - I'm for the bad boy Ranger 100%, but I do understand that there are a lot of you out there who are on Morelli's team.  I don't agree, but I do accept that we can't all be right.  One of the things that Ms. Evanovich has done really well is that these books don't seem dated.  That a hard thing to manage after such a long haul, but she has succeeded admirably.  I still laugh out loud every time I read a new book, and when I reread the old ones (which I do fairly often) but it\s time to lay them all to rest.  I thought this one might be the last, but I guess not.  I wonder what will happen in the next one?

For laugh out loud escapism, you just can't beat this series, but don't expect something you can take seriously, or you'll be disappointed. Oh, and you really don't need to have read the whole series, but if you read and enjoy this one, then I guarantee you'll want to read them all.  Have fun.

PS don't let the disastrous movie put you off - they books are way better.  Babe!

The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

Published: June 18th, 2013

Publisher: Bantam

Pages: 320

Copy Publisher via Edelweiss

Summary: Goodreads

From Janet Evanovich, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum novels, and Lee Goldberg, bestselling author and television writer for Monk, comes the first adventure in an electrifying new series featuring an FBI agent who always gets her man, and a fearless con artist who lives for the chase.

FBI Special Agent Kate O’Hare is known for her fierce dedication and discipline on the job, chasing down the world’s most wanted criminals and putting them behind bars. Her boss thinks she is tenacious and ambitious; her friends think she is tough, stubborn, and maybe even a bit obsessed. And while Kate has made quite a name for herself for the past five years, the only name she’s cared about is Nicolas Fox—an international crook she wants in more ways than one.

Audacious, handsome, and dangerously charming, Nicolas Fox is a natural con man, notorious for running elaborate scams on very high-profile people. At first he did it for the money. Now he does it for the thrill. He knows that the FBI has been hot on his trail—particularly Kate O’Hare, who has been watching his every move. For Nick, there’s no greater rush than being pursued by a beautiful woman . . . even one who aims to lock him up. But just when it seems that Nicolas Fox has been captured for good, he pulls off his greatest con of all: he convinces the FBI to offer him a job, working side by side with Special Agent Kate O’Hare.

Problem is, teaming up to stop a corrupt investment banker who’s hiding on a private island in Indonesia is going to test O’Hare’s patience and Fox’s skill. Not to mention the skills of their ragtag team made up of flamboyant actors, wanted wheelmen, and Kate’s dad. High-speed chases, pirates, and Toblerone bars are all in a day’s work . . . if O’Hare and Fox don’t kill each other first.

Janet Evanovich is well known for her Stephanie Plum series, which is one of my absolute favourites, so I was really curious to see what this new collaboration would produce.  I'm very happy to say that I was not disappointed in the least. 

What can I tell you about The Heist that isn't already covered in the blurb?  Well, I don't think it's going to win any awards, but if you are looking for a laugh out loud,  romantic romp then look no further!  The characters are stellar - Kate, Nick and Willie - all slightly over the top, and totally loveable in their own oddball ways, as a team they work brilliantly.

There is some great action, including Evanovich's trademark explosions.  Add in some drug lords, embezzlers and a few pirates and the mix is volatile.  There is some wonderful dialogue that just crackles with sexual tension, and there are lots of laughs.

As the beginning of a series, The Heist was a beautiful set-up and I cannot wait to see the further adventures of Kate and Nick.  For fans of humorous improbability - you can't go wrong.  Well worth reading.

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Explosive Eightteen by Janet Evanovich

Published: November 2012

Publisher: Bantam

Pages: 305

Copy: Library

Summary: Goodreads

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum’s life is set to blow sky high when international murder hits dangerously close to home, in this dynamite novel by Janet Evanovich.

Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 from Hawaii to Newark, she’s knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, she’s flying back to New Jersey solo, and someone who sounds like Sasquatch is snoring in row 22. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he’s dead, in a garbage can, waiting for curbside pickup. His killer could be anyone. The FBI, the fake FBI, and guns-for-hire are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying.

Only one other person has seen the missing photograph—Stephanie Plum. Now she’s the target, and she doesn’t intend to end up in a garbage can. With the help of an FBI sketch artist Stephanie re-creates the person in the photo. Unfortunately the first sketch turns out to look like Tom Cruise, and the second sketch like Ashton Kutcher. Until Stephanie can improve her descriptive skills, she’ll need to watch her back.

Over at the Bail Bonds Agency it’s business as usual—until the bonds bus serving as Vinnie’s temporary HQ goes up in smoke, Stephanie’s wheelman, Lula, falls in love with their “largest” FTA yet, lifetime arch nemesis Joyce Barnhardt moves into Stephanie’s apartment, and everyone wants to know what happened in Hawaii?!

More of the usual fun and hijinx that is Stephanie Plum.  Explosive Eighteen was a little different this time around because of the flash-backs to the Hawaii situation, but other than that, it really was just more of the same fun and games. 

I've been reading about Stephanie Plum since the first story, One for the Money, came out in 1994.  This series has become one of my go-to series for when I need a quick book to throw into my bag, or I'm not feeling well and I don't want to think too hard. The plots are a little formulaic - something always blows up and at least one FTA manages to escape from Stephanie and Lula, but they are always good for a laugh and I look forward to each new episode.  This time I found myself thinking, come on Stephanie, make a choice - Ranger or Morelli.  I mean let's face it, we all know she's going to choose Morelli in the end (don't we?), but after keeping him hanging on for so long it would kind of serve her right if he told her to get lost.  Personally I'd live dangerously and go for Ranger, but that's just me :)

Is all this confusing to those of you who have not read the series so far.  Sorry about that.  Explosive Eighteen can be read as a stand-alone, but once you've done so, go back and read the others and see how much you've been missing. Do I think the series should be drawing to a close - absolutely, I'm thinking 20 would be a nice round number.  Will I continue to read them if Ms Evanovich writes another 10 - you betcha!

A quick fun read that's suitable for anyone from 15 to 85.

I'm sure many of you will recognise the title One for the Money from the new Katherine Heigl movie that came out this weekend.   Were the characters right?  Depends on who you ask.  Jason O'Mara grew on me as Morelli, but Daniel Sunjata just didn't cut it as Ranger and he talked to much, Babe!   Sherri Shepherd was too short for Lula, but the attitude was right, and Katherine Heigl was too tall and slim for Stephanie, but she too got the attitude.  I suspect though that fans of the books will watch it anyway, all the while moaning and groaning about its flaws.(Prime example here!) Was it fun - yes, was it Oscar material - never. Is it worth seeing, sure on half-price Tuesday.