NEWS ! Janet Evanovich - Smokin' Seventeen

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

Now this year is already starting out good .... have a look what I found in my mail box today:

June 21 is the publication date for Smokin' Seventeen. We'll start posting chapter one on the site in March. Can't wait that long, and want a hint as to what it's about? Here's a little teaser from the publisher's catalog. If you don't want to know anything about Seventeen, skip the following paragraph...

"Where there's smoke there's fire, and no one knows this better than New Jersey bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum. The bail bonds office has burned to the ground, and bodies are turning up in the empty construction lot. To make matters worse, Stephanie is working out of a motor home she shares with a dancing bear, and Joe Morelli's old world grandmother has declared a vendetta against her. And just when Stephanie decides it might be time to choose between the two men in her life, Morelli and Ranger, a third man from Stephanie's past moves back to Trenton...Break out a cold drink and slap on some sunscreen, this summer is sure to be a scorcher with Smokin' Seventeen."


CAN'T WAIT !!!!
 

Smokin' Seventeen: A Stephanie Plum Novel

Janet Evanvovich - Motor Mouth

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 9780060584054

My rating:  3/5

It's the last race of the season, and the wheels are smoking and the temperature is rising at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Alexandra Barnaby is NASCAR driver Sam Hooker's raceday spotter, his eye-in-the-sky, telling Hooker when to pass and when to get off the gas. From her vantage point high above the grandstand she's also seeing things going on in the infield that will change her life. Things that will lead to a stolen racecar hauler, a kidnapped Saint Bernard, a bizarre murder, some restless nights under the covers with Hooker, and a reunion with super cigar roller Rosa Florez and the queen of wholesale fruit Felicia Ibarra.
From Miami, Florida to Concord, North Carolina and back to Miami this is an action-packed multi-car crash of shady dealings, stolen technology, drive-thru windows and destruction of personal property. Everything you always wanted to know about righteous indignation, stealing an eight-wheeler, stashing a dead body, and sex in the fast lane. (www. evanovich.com)


 
My thoughts
 
I had my hopes up with this series, but .... hmmm .... the second installment didn't really live up to the first one and any of my expectations. It was a good book, great story, great plot, I love Sam Hooker, but it was long and drawn out.

Alex Barnaby and NASCAR guy Sam Hooker are back solving a murder or two within the racing community. All very technical and sometimes way beyond my understanding, but not to the point where I was completely lost. I honestly believe if Janet Evanovich would give this series a little bit more thought and time it could turn out really really well - I like the pair! I like the dialogue and I especially like Hooker's witty verbal come-backs. It's a real treat.

Obviously I have been comparing the books to the Stephanie Plum series, but just because they are from the same author doesn't necessarily mean that we, as readers, should do that - quite the opposite. And as such, I still believe that this series has potential, soI am a bit disappointed that book three is a graphic novel.

Janet Evanovich - Sizzling Sixteen

Publisher: St Martins Press

ISBN: 978-0312383305

My rating: 3/5


Trenton, New Jersey, bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has inherited a “lucky” bottle from her Uncle Pip. Problem is, Uncle Pip didn’t specify if the bottle brought good luck or bad luck....

BAD LUCK:
Vinnie, of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, has run up a gambling debt of $786,000 with mobster Bobby Sunflower and is being held until the cash can be produced. Nobody else will pay to get Vinnie back, leaving it up to Stephanie, office manager Connie, and file clerk Lula to raise the money if they want to save their jobs.
GOOD LUCK:
Being in the business of tracking down people, Stephanie, Lula, and Connie have an advantage in finding Vinnie. If they can rescue him, it will buy them some time to raise the cash.
BAD LUCK:
Finding a safe place to hide Vinnie turns out to be harder than raising $786,000. Vinnie’s messing up local stoner Walter “Moon Man” Dunphy's vibe and making Stephanie question genetics.
GOOD LUCK:
Between a bonds office yard sale that has the entire Burg turning out, a plan that makes Mooner’s Hobbit-Con look sane, and Uncle Pip’s mysterious bottle, they just might raise enough money to save Vinnie and the business from ruin.
BAD LUCK:
Saving Vincent Plum Bail Bonds means Stephanie can keep being a bounty hunter. In Trenton, this involves hunting down a man wanted for polygamy, a Turnpike toilet paper bandit, and a drug dealer with a pet alligator named Mr. Jingles.
GOOD LUCK:
The job of bounty hunter comes with perks in the guise of Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, and the dark and dangerous, Ranger. With any luck at all, Uncle Pip’s lucky bottle will have Stephanie getting lucky---the only question is . . . with whom?
 
Sizzling Sixteen . . . so hot, the pages might spontaneously combust!Nothing really sizzling about Sixteen! (http://www.evanovich.com/)


My thoughts
The plot is slightly more interesting than Fifteen (which wasn’t all that hard to achieve I assume), but still very confusing!

So here the short version: Steph is still on a break with Morelli so we get to have lots of Ranger. That has to be good – right? But for once Steph showed a bit of backbone and I respect her more by not jumping into Ranger’s bed just because she’s on a break with Morelli – though the reasoning was quite odd.

The plot? Not sure. Vinnie gets kidnapped because of gambling debts. Steph, Lula and Connie first try to find him and then to pay the debt.

And finally; what was it with all the hobbits?

Janet Evanovich - Finger Lickin' Fifteen

Publisher: St Martins Press

ISBN:  9780312383299

My rating: 3/5


UNBUCKLE YOUR BELT AND PULL UP A CHAIR. IT'S THE SPICIEST, SAUCIEST, MOST RIB-STICKING PLUM YET.


Recipe for disaster:
Celebrity chef Stanley Chipotle comes to Trenton to participate in a barbecue cook-off and loses his head --literally.
Throw in some spice:
Bail bonds office worker Lula is witness to the crime, and the only one she’ll talk to is Trenton cop, Joe Morelli.
Pump up the heat:
Chipotle’s sponsor is offering a million dollar reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the capture of the killers.
Stir the pot:
Lula recruits bounty hunter Stephanie Plum to help her find the killers and collect the moolah.
Add a secret ingredient:
Stephanie Plum’s Grandma Mazur. Enough said.
Bring to a boil:
Stephanie Plum is working overtime tracking felons for the bonds office at night and snooping for security expert Carlos Manoso, A.K.A. Ranger, during the day. Can Stephanie hunt down two killers, a traitor, five skips, keep her grandmother out of the sauce, solve Ranger’s problems and not jump his bones?
Warning:
Habanero hot. So good you’ll want seconds (http://www.evanovich.com/)


My thoughts

Another bad day for Evanovich, but a slight improvement on the previous book

Lula is a witness to a murder. Promising? Well, I thought so, because I love Lula. So with the help from Steph and Grandma Mazur, she tries to figure out the “whodunit”.

The other plot is Steph helping Ranger (Yes, I got to get lots of Ranger in this one!), but this time with his security business. Some clients’ house and businesses have been broken into and Ranger’s reputation is on the line.

Joyce Barnhard is around, too, but honestly I have no idea what is she doing in the story.

And what is it with the farting? Call me old fashioned but I didn't think that was funny, not even a wee bit.

Apart from that I had problems with following the actual "crime" in this plot, I couldn't really understand that someone "like" Ranger couldn't solve the problem that was slowing ruining his company's reputation - I thought he was the "ueber-guy"!

Yes I know Evanovich throws in scenes which are sometimes stretching the imagination, and mostly they have been funny - but the barbeque at the end was simple cheap.

C'mon Janet, we know you can do better!!!!