Notorious Nineteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel
Nineteen books means you have a predetermined plot, repeat characters repeating their tired shtick, familiar clues on the same page number as the last book, and déjà vu chase scenes. If it were written by any other author, that would be a bad thing. In the hands of Ms. Evanovich, it’s like catching up with an old friend.
The book opens with a rocket attack on Stephanie Plum’s car. I believe this is a variation from the standard formula because she usually doesn’t lose it for twenty or thirty pages. This time it’s right up front on page eight. The scene reads like a cartoon and will make you laugh. And that’s why we read Ms. E’s work, is it not?
This one is funnier than ever.
Yes, Stephanie and Lulu eat doughnuts and cake and visit the Cluck-in-a-Bucket and have dinner with Grandma Mazur, while mom reaches for the flast, and arrest Trenton’s whackos. Standard stuff. But with a couple new twists. For example, they find one skip at a nudist colony:
“I’m not going out there naked,” I said.
“Yeah, I see the problem. It’s sort of awkward trying to arrest someone with your hoo-ha showing. Kind of takes away the dignity of the apprehension procedure.”
Stephanie Plum and dignity. Imagine that.
Of course, they have to try apprehending him naked. Think that scene will make it into the next movie?
This book does not break new ground, but it will satisfy that basic human need to laugh. And it will deliver more laughs than most of the previous eighteen. How does Ms. Evanovich keep us laughing at the same old plot with all new jokes? I don’t know—but it works.
The only issue I had with this book was the ebook price. $13.99 for a Kindle version? Really? I bought the hardback, which I now OWN*, for a couple dollars more and got Ranger/Morelli stickers to boot. My wife and I are both Evanovich fans and, had we followed ebook licensing regulations, would have been forced to buy the ebook twice ($27.98 if you’re not a math wiz). That pricing is ludicrous. Bantam and other publishers should be ashamed of themselves for gouging their customers. They are begging indie authors and publishers to take over their business.
Peace, Seeley
* You don’t own an ebook. You license it from Amazon. You do not have the right to give it to your library, sell it, bequeath it to your kids or anything.
Sock Puppet NOTE: MY REVIEWS ARE MY REACTIONS TO THE BOOKS I READ and not a response to the voices in my head because all they talk about are those awful shoes you’re wearing. But I digress. I have no relationship, financial or familial, with the author. I do not expect, but would not refuse, any reciprocal reviews or recommendations. Just sayin.
