The Big Kahuna

The Big Kahuna by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The 6th installment of the Fox and O'Hare series is just as much of a fun romp as the first 5. Very fast-paced and story-driven, with very little character development (OK, none), but it made me laugh out loud several times, so I'm rounding up to 4 stars. Some swearing, sexual innuendo, and violence (especially blowing things up), but none of it is graphic.

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Wicked Charms

Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

Lizzy and Diesel are back, this time on the hunt for the Avaritia stone--the third of the powerful SALGLIA stones. Their search is complicated by an insane billionaire and his rabid acolytes, pirates, fires, kidnappings, obsessed treasure hunters, Diesel's cousin Wulf, and Wulf's loony minion Hatchet.

Fun romp of an adventure. Someone called it a "palate-cleansing" book, and I totally agree. It's just silly fun with ridiculous characters, rapid-fire patter, and fast-paced action.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, language (humor) secondary. Plenty of sexual banter and innuendo, but no explicit sex scenes. Also plenty of mild swearing. The violence comes off as more slapstick than anything, even when people die.

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Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

FBI Special Agent Kate O'Hare has been hunting down the elusive con artist Nick Fox for three years. She's almost 87% sure she's located his latest scheme, and she is determined to catch him this time. Kate believes Nick is pretending to be Merrill Stubing, wedding planner for the King of Hostile Takeovers and his sexy fiancee. Question is, will she get permission to raid the wedding before Nick's crew makes off with the valuables? Or will Nick glide past her team yet again?

Turns out I'd already read this novella, but listening to it was just as fun and took less than an hour--perfect for commuting. Mostly it's a quick chase story that plays in the mind like an action movie (only with fewer bullets and no car crashes).

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary. No sex or violence. Don't remember any swearing, although there might have been a stray "damn" somewhere or something similar. As suspense/action stories go, this one is light and humorous.

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The Caper

The Caper by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Super-duper short story. The entertaining tale of one of FBI Special Agent Kate O'Hare's many attempts to capture con artist extraordinaire Nick Fox--one that failed by just a whisker. This one is set in old town Seattle, and is particularly fun for anyone who's taken their Underground tour. Easily readable in just a few minutes. Available online only: http://www.evanovich.com/books/the-caper/.

For readers' advisors: story doorway. Very fast-paced, quick read for fans of the Kate O'Hare/Nick Fox series. No sex or violence, and the only swearing is "Holy crap!"

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The Scam

The Scam by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

AUGH!! Cliffhanger ending, and I was reading an advance copy courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (many thanks), so who knows how long I'll have to wait to find out what happened! I sure hope Ms. Evanovich & Mr. Goldberg are nearly ready to release book #5 in this series ASAP.

This time around, Kate and Nick are leading their team in a con to bring down Evan Trace, a corrupt casino owner who gladly allows his businesses to launder money for some pretty nasty folks. Our intrepid duo first meet up with Trace at his hotel/casino in Las Vegas and then join him later in Macau, where much of the story takes place, aside from some side trips to (and smaller cons in) Hawaii. Not everything goes quite as planned, forcing Nick and Kate to think on their feet...or while dangling above a tank of piranhas.

Book #4 in the Fox and O'Hare series is a fast-paced, funny adrenaline ride. Everyone's favorite characters return to help pull off the latest complicated scam to bring down criminals regular law enforcement can't touch.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, character secondary. Writing style is witty. Some mild swearing and reference to (but no on-screen) sexual content.

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The Job

The Job by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

FBI Special Agent Kate O'Hare once again teams up with Nick Fox, world-class thief and con man, this time to figure out who is framing Nick for crimes he's not actually committing. What they discover leads them to set up a complicated con to catch a sadistic drug lord who has bought himself a new face, making it impossible for authorities to identify and capture him. To pull it off they'll need the help of Kate's dad and his former covert ops pals, actor Boyd Capwell, their favorite driver Willie Owens, custom builder Tom Underhill, and CGI specialist Rodney Smoot.

Book #3 in the Fox and O'Hare series is just as fun as the first two. It's fast-paced and humorous, picking up where the previous novels left off. There isn't much in the way of character development, but the characters are fun to spend time with. It's escapist literature, perfect for reading on the beach or tucked up on the couch with a quilt and some hot chocolate, depending on your vacation venue.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary. There is no sex or graphic violence, but there is some mild swearing.

I received a free ebook copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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The Chase

The Chase by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Master thief Nick Fox and FBI Special Agent Kate O'Hare have returned, teaming up to steal back an ancient Chinese statue from former White House Chief of Staff, Carter Grove, who stole it years ago from the Smithsonian Museum--a fact only a select handful of people know. China wants their statue back now, though, so Nick and Kate have only a couple of weeks to break in to Grove's heavily guarded and wired mansion, grab the statue, sneak in to the heavily guarded private airplane of the Chinese playboy sent to retrieve it, and swap the real one for the fake one in the safe. What could go wrong?

Carter Grove is a Bad Guy (patterned a bit after Karl Rove, perhaps?)--he's manipulative, greedy, unscrupulous, controlling, and runs a private security forces company staffed by mercenaries chosen because they enjoy killing. He feels entitled to have whatever he wants, including a wide variety of expensive artwork belonging to other people. When he realizes he's been robbed, his fury knows no bounds, and he sets out to destroy everyone who tricked him.

Luckily, Kate and Nick have backup: Kate enlists her dad--a retired black ops agent--and a couple of his old cronies. Nick finds a disgruntled Geek Squad techie willing to put his hacking skills to use for the greater good. Plus Boyd and Willie make encore appearances as well.

Whereas the first book in the series reminded me of a combination of the TV shows White Collar and Burn Notice, the second book also reminds me of the movie Ocean's Eleven. Nick manages to merge Matt Bomer's (White Collar) intelligent con artist with that of Simon Baker's (in The Mentalist) and add it to Jeffrey Donovan's (Burn Notice) and George Clooney's (Ocean's Eleven) strategic thinking. Special Agent Kate strikes me as a blend of Mary McCormack's character in In Plain Sight and Sandra Bullock's character at the beginning of Miss Congeniality, albeit less frumpy.

I think I liked this one a little better than the first one, mostly because all the setup was out of the way. Once you accept the basic premise of a straight-laced FBI agent sacrificing some of her principles to work with the very criminal she's dedicated her career to putting behind bars, then you can just sit back and enjoy the wild ride. What I don't understand is why this book is called The Chase and the first is The Heist, when really it would make more sense the other way around.

For readers' advisors: it's a fast-paced adventure with no sex and very little swearing. Story doorway is primary.

I received a free ebook Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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Takedown Twenty

Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The whole gang is back and up to their usual tricks. Stephanie gets herself into dangerous situations, causing Ranger to race to the rescue. Lula develops a new obsession with a runaway giraffe she names "Kevin." Grandma Mazur is on the prowl for hot dates. This time around, Ranger enlists Stephanie's aid in scoping out bingo parlors & funeral homes in the hopes of turning up clues as to who keeps murdering little old ladies & leaving them in dumpsters. Stephanie is having no luck bringing in her big-ticket bad guys. And she still has commitment issues, despite her resolve to have A Talk with Morelli.

As always, it was a fast-paced read, thanks to Evanovich's signature style of dialogue and narration. Some chuckle-worthy moments in this volume. No real progress on the love triangle front, but that's no surprise.

For readers' advisors: story and language doorways. The usual swearing and sexual references, but no actual sex scenes.

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The Husband List

The Husband List by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Caroline Maxwell's life as a human pincushion is as confining and uncomfortable as her corsets. The life of an heiress in 1894 New York City looks glamorous from the outside, but Caroline longs for adventure and secretly harbors a crush on her brother's best friend, Jack Culhane. Jack is rich enough, but her parents (particularly her mother) consider his money to be "too new," so her list of prospective suitors has been narrowed to one name: Lord Bremerton. Unfortunately, the new heir to a dukedom has a few unsavory secrets that put her happiness--and her safety--in jeopardy.

This book was so much better than I expected! I anticipated a light, fun read and was delighted to discover well-developed characters and a much more exciting plot than usual. For some reason, the historical setting was also a surprise. Apparently I put the book on hold out of habit (I always put Evanovich's books on hold as they come in), and by the time it was my turn to check it out, I'd forgotten what it was about. I love happy surprises!

My only quibble:  when the authors use the term "waiter" to describe the footmen who serve the food at mealtimes.  There was no such thing as a "waiter" in upper class homes!  Such an anachronism stood out like a sore thumb.  Oy.

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways, also setting. Some heavy petting but no sex, and I can't recall any bad language either, although there may be a salty word or two somewhere.

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Notorious Nineteen

Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Explosions abound in the latest installment of The Adventures of Stephanie Plum. This time she's on the hunt for an embezzler who vanished from his hospital room without a trace in the middle of the night. She's dodging the attempts of a nutty homeless man to steal back the tiki statue he used as collateral for his bond. And Ranger has asked for her assistance in protecting the fiancee of a buddy of his from a crazed former Special Forces soldier they used to work with. Acres of pink taffeta are no match for the determination of a madman bent on exacting revenge, however, and Stephanie has some very close encounters of the lunatic kind.

There is still no character development, so don't expect anyone to make any declarations or commitments. But it's a fun, quick read. I read the first half in one lunch hour alone, thanks to the fast-paced, snappy dialogue that makes up probably 80% of the text.

For reader's advisors: story doorway. It's got a lot of funny bad language, as usual, and some sexual content, although nothing explicit.

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Wicked Business

Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Just when Lizzy's life is calming down, Diesel returns. He needs her help in locating another SALIGIA stone--the Lust stone this time--before his less-scrupulous cousin Wulf or the mysterious Anarchy find it. In no time flat, Lizzy is off saving the world again, a madcap romp through dark tunnels with giant rats, posh houses Diesel breaks into so they can gather (i.e. steal) clues, and a natural history museum visit with Carl-the-Monkey. Explosions, fires, kidnappings, and threats abound, so it's no surprise when both friend and foe alike begin accumulating injuries. Good thing Lizzy bakes cupcakes! Baked goods make everything seem better. And they can be used to pacify a loony minion in medieval garb.

Ms. Evanovich had me laughing out loud a few times in this one, and I appreciated that she gave a bit more depth to her secondary characters, particularly Wulf. This offshoot series is as zany as her Stephanie Plum books, with a dose of the paranormal thrown in for extra fun. It's not going to win any literary prizes, but it's great entertainment.

For readers' advisors: story doorway (character secondary), no actual sex, just sexual innuendo, a little bad language, and a monkey who gives people the finger.

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The Grand Finale

The Grand Finale by Janet Evanovich

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I checked this one out as a downloadable audiobook when I was testing our new service (OneClick Digital) and needed something to practice with. I love Janet Evanovich's books and thought this one sounded like a light, fun thing to listen to in the car on my way home. Well...it is light and fluffy...and utterly, teeth-grindingly idiotic. I listened to the first half hour, and it didn't get any better, so I will not be listening to the rest.

Reading the print version might have been better. At least that way I wouldn't have to listen to the narrator simper through Berry's dialogue and attempt to smolder through Jake's. Then again, the characters and story itself are ridiculous. She's a dingbat, and he's unrealistic in the extreme. I mean, really? I'm supposed to believe he gave up a lucrative chemist/inventor position for the glamorous world of teaching first grade because he hated the corporate life, just "happened" to have a degree in elementary education AND a teaching certificate, and he wanted to use students as his guinea pigs? Oh, and he has a perfect body, etc. Riiiiiiight. I nearly went blind from rolling my eyes so much in that excruciating half hour drive home.

Likewise, Berry's character made me gag. She's supposed to be all independent and self-sufficient, pulling her life back together after her divorce from her philandering husband, but...she's an immature adolescent in an adult's body. A flighty airhead. Vapid. I can buy that she's nervous about delivering a pizza to an isolated, dark, creepy old house. I can even buy that she climbed a tree to rescue a kitty and was distracted by the sight of a gorgeous male stripping out of all of his clothes in his bedroom. Her internal dialogue about it makes me cringe, but OK, whatever. What put me over the edge, though, was 1) her idiotic conversation with Mr. Large Pizza (Jake) and 2) that after protesting being saved from going over a cliff with her Jeep, she insists on walking home (from the middle of nowhere!) WITHOUT first climbing down to salvage her purse and other important personal items and documents from her crushed vehicle. Really?!?

*sigh*

For Reader's Advisors': skip this one. Or only suggest it to someone wanting total fluff.



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Explosive Eighteen

Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It's really 3.5 stars, but she made me laugh out loud several times, so I'm rounding up to 4.

Stephanie is back from Hawaii and avoiding both Morelli and Ranger...since the last time she saw them was after she'd stun-gunned both of them and dropped them off at a Hawaiian hospital. A variety of folks are hounding her for a photo she accidentally arrived home with and then threw away, and at least one of the people is scary-violent. Meanwhile, Stephanie teams up with Lula to chase down some more skips so she can pay her bills. Lula + rocket launcher = disaster (and belly laughs)

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways, minimal sexual content (one sex scene that "fades to black")



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Love in a Nutshell

Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Recent divorcee Kate Appleton needs money to fix up her parents' rundown lake house and turn it in to a B&B. When she loses her job at the Tavern, she insists Matt Culhane give her a job in his brewery/restaurant. He hires her to snoop around and figure out who is sabotaging his business with a series of "accidents." However, the vandalism turns dangerous, forcing Kate and Matt into a closer relationship, much to Matt's delight.

This book is fun to read: fast-paced and humorous. The dialogue and style is reminiscent of Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, but with no swearing or sex (the latter thanks to a canine chaperone).

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways



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Smokin' Seventeen

Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Meh. I'd give it 2 1/2 stars, maybe. The whole Stephanie/Morelli/Ranger triangle is getting really stale. I think Evanovich wrote herself into a corner when she based so much of the humor and sexual tension of her earlier books on those relationships. Who can Stephanie choose, and who gets the shaft? And would either choice be believable, or would it kill the series? I understand Evanovich's dilemma, but if she continues to do nothing, she's going to alienate readers by the droves.

There were a few chuckles in this book, but no belly laughs. The bail bonds office hasn't yet been rebuilt since it burnt to the ground, so Vinnie, Connie, Lula, & Stephanie are sharing "office space" in Mooner's bus. Then a backhoe uncovers a body where the dumpsters used to be, and the search is on to figure out who did it and why. (I actually guessed really early on who the killer was.) More bodies turn up. Business slows down. Vinnie comes up with some...creative advertising.

Meanwhile, Stephanie's mom decides Stephanie will never get married at the rate she's going, so she fixes Stephanie up with Dave Brewer, recently returned to the Burg to live with his folks after his divorce and a scandal over foreclosure fraud. Now Stephanie has three men, not just two, vying for her attention.

For readers' advisors: story doorway. The character development is virtually nonexistent in this one.



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Wicked Appetite

Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I enjoyed this first installment of Evanovich's latest series. This one features Diesel beginning his search for 7 stones of power, racing to find them before his (evil) cousin Wulf does. Evanovich makes me laugh with her wacky characters and their equally wacky antics, and I laughed out loud numerous times. The only thing that wore a little thin occasionally was Carl the Monkey (familiar to Stephanie Plum fans) and the sexual-tension-going-nowhere theme (also familiar to Stephanie Plum fans). Does Evanovich not know how to write stories in which people have healthy, long-term romantic relationships?

Otherwise, it was a light, fun read.

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways



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Sizzling Sixteen

Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The latest installment in the Stephanie Plum series is pretty much the same formula as the others: Stephanie & Lula bumble their way to rescuing Vinnie from the very angry bad guys who kidnapped him for ransom. A few appearances by Ranger, Morelli, Grandma Mazur, Connie, etc. Standard Stephanie Plum fare. The big laughs in this one come from Mooner & the Hobbits. :D

I wish there were more character development, but...oh well.

For reader's advisors: story doorway


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Finger Lickin' Fifteen

Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich


My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There were a few laugh-out-loud moments in this one, but overall, I was disappointed that Evanovich hasn't developed the characters very much. How hard would it be for her to have Stephanie catch a skip as he crawls out a window? Or learn she actually likes some healthy thing Ella has cooked over at Rangeman? Or show some personal growth in one or more branches of the Morelli/Stephanie/Ranger love triangle?

This one felt a bit formulaic to me. And I had a hard time believing that Ranger would ask for Stephanie's help in figuring out how someone is breaching his security codes for his clients. I mean, he's uber-competent, and she's an utter screw-up--what could she possibly have to contribute that he hasn't thought of already?

Still, there were some funny parts, and Lula, Grandma Mazur, and the cross-dressing fireman made me smile. If you're reading it as a fluffy beach-read, it's still a good choice.

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Plum Spooky

Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm not sure what holiday this book is supposed to be linked with, although it does include an encounter with a retired Easter Bunny. This Between-the-Numbers novel features a lot of Diesel, a little Ranger, and very little Morelli (aside from phone conversations). Lula and Carl the Monkey spend a great deal of time "helping" Stephanie track down the socially inept (to say the least!) boy genius, Martin Munch, who has teamed up with Diesel's evil cousin Wulf. There are some laugh-out-loud moments, although not nearly as many as in Fearless Fourteen. It was light entertainment, but not my favorite of the Stephanie Plum books.


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