Author: Janet Evanovich
Publisher: Bantam
Publication Date: November, 2015
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: Something big is brewing in Trenton, N.J., and it could blow at any minute.
Stephanie Plum might not be the world's greatest bounty hunter, but she knows when she's being played. Ken Globovic (aka Gobbles), hailed as the Supreme Exalted Zookeeper of the animal house known as Zeta fraternity, has been arrested for beating up the dean of students at Kiltman College. Gobbles has missed his court date and gone into hiding. People have seen him on campus, but no one will talk. Things just aren't adding up, and Stephanie can't shake the feeling that something funny is going on at the college - and it's not just Zeta fraternity pranks.
As much as people love Gobbles, they hate Doug Linken. When Linken is gunned down in his backyard it's good riddance, and the list of possible murder suspects is long. The only people who care about finding Linken's killer are Trenton cop Joe Morelli, who has been assigned the case, security expert Ranger, who was hired to protect Linken, and Stephanie, who has her eye on a cash prize and hopefully has some tricks up her sleeve.
My Thoughts: I enjoy this series for the most part, though there are times that I find myself rolling my eyes…hard at the antics going on in Trenton. Lula never fails to surprise me and I always enjoy any time Ranger is on the scene. I think the eye-rolling stems more from the sense of the same old song and dance that seems to be going on with Stephanie. No money, no car, no life and still torn between Joe and Ranger. After 22 books, why can’t she keep a dang car in one piece through the whole book? Why do all the bad guys on the East Coast seem determined to force Stephanie into public transit or relying on Old Blue? How come nobody blows up Old Blue? When is Ranger going to get sick of giving Stephanie a loaner, only for it to get blown to smithereens? I shudder at what his vehicle insurance premiums are…yikes! Luckily for Stephanie, Ranger doesn’t seem to mind.
This story has a little bit of a twist with Joe sorta kinda maybe breaking up with Stephanie. Of course, we all know Joe and that isn’t how it actually translates, but still. I thought the moment I had long been awaiting was finally here! Stephanie is free to be with Ranger! Cue the happy-dance music, people! Wait, what? Why isn’t she grabbing Rex and beating feet to Ranger’s door? If I didn’t genuinely like Stephanie, I probably would have been beating my head against the wall and washing my hands of her. This series has characters that the reader can really relate to and like. You care about them so you share in their joys and successes and empathize with them in their setbacks and losses. This author does an amazing job of breathing life into these characters, so it’s easy for the reader to get pulled in on an emotional level. I really want to see Stephanie with Ranger…at least for longer than a chapter or two, but I also know her heart belongs to Joe and will probably always will. I guess I am OK with that. But hey, Joe broke up with her! Yes, it was stupid and he’s an idiot, but HE BROKE UP WITH HER! Girlfriend, what are you waiting for!!! Even your Grandma thinks Ranger is “totally hot.”
My Final Verdict: This story has a lot of interesting moments and I always enjoy the scenes Grandma Masur is in. Lula and Connie also bring a lot of entertainment to the mix and Stephanie is a lucky girl to have them in her corner. This series isn’t your hard-edged nail-biting edge of your seat suspense thrillers, but it’s wonderful for a few hours of fluff reading that can and often do entertain.
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