The Usual Cast of Characters - A Good Thing
Smokin' Seventeen (Bantam Books, New York; 2011) brings back Stephanie Plum, a so-so bounty hunter, along with her usual set of offbeat friends, Lula (a former "ho") and Moonie (a loveable pothead) and a cast of characters you will not soon forget. Between her own grandmother Mazur's bizarre dream and the curse (the "vordo") put on her by Joe Morelli's scary, Sicilian Grandmother Bella, Stephanie has her work cut out for her.
Joe Morelli, a Trenton cop, is Stephanie's main squeeze but Ranger, the dashing and somewhat dangerous owner of a security firm provides just the right sexual tension in the mix to make this such a fun romp, you won't know whom to root for. And, of course, Stephanie's mother has not given up her bad habit of introducing her daughter to other men, maybe "the one". Add to that, a body, the first of several, is discovered partially buried in the ruins of the old bail bonds office and the fun begins.
The Same Story but Different
Stephanie does have a job and even though she is trying to puzzle out who may be leaving bodies too close for comfort, she still has to round up bail skips. Stephanie never has just ordinary people to pursue. A possible vampire (Lula's becomes convinced she is turning into one) and a very large robber who doesn't have enough to do at home so must entertain himself in the buff at home, keep the action hopping and will keep you rolling around on the floor.
A lot of the usual mishaps occur but always with enough of a twist, you can still enjoy them all over again. It's fun to see which car, SUV or truck Stephanie will end up in and what could possibly happen to it. The fact that she has three people who want to do her serious bodily harm means that she must constantly be on the alert. You will probably figure out who the murderer is early on but that does not spoil the story in the least.
This book has mystery, love, sex and hilarity and all your favorite characters if you've read the Plum books. If you have never read the Stephanie Plum series, you can still read this installment and enjoy it enough that you will be hooked and will have to go back to the others. And the only way you may learn what the "vordo" curse is will be to read this marvelous book.
An interesting note about this book is that there are two stickers in the back. "I (heart) Morelli" and "I (heart) Ranger". Now who could make that choice? There is also the promise of the next Stephanie Plum, Explosive Eighteen due in November, 2011
Janet Evanovich; www.evanovich.com; Smokin Seventeen; ISBN 978-0-345-52768-4
Iris Gallagher - Writing has been a passion for as long as I can remember. I still have poetry I wrote as an eight year old. I was born in Tennessee, grew ...
