Sizzling Sixteen

It just doesn't feel like summer until I get the latest Stephanie Plum adventure into my hot little hands. Hooray for the library - even though I work there, I am often late on the uptake when it comes to getting on the waiting list, so I had to be patient for a while for this one, but it was definitely worth the wait.

In this installment, Stephanie's Uncle Vinnie, her boss at the bail bonds agency where she works as a bounty hunter, is kidnapped. The ransom? The gambling debt money he owes. He is such a scummy guy that not even his wife wants to pay to get him back, so Stephanie, Connie and Lula decide to work together to find the money so they can save their jobs. That is, of course, easier said than done - and, of course, with hilarious results (some of which involve hobbits).

I continue to love this series, although it's certainly not for everyone. It is over the top with characters, humor, and the most entertaining and patently ridiculous plots, and I laugh out loud every time I read (and occasionally reread) one of these books. Some are certainly better than others, but they are typically solid, and this one is no exception.

I am always a bit surprised by the many blog reviews I read of books from this series, in which people claim they are disappointed, the books aren't funny enough, or aren't as funny as earlier books. There's too much Morelli, not enough Ranger, gripe, gripe. One patron at my library even complained to me that there was too much Grandma Mazur! Complaining that there is too much Grandma in a Stephanie Plum book is like complaining that there are too many Joads in The Grapes of Wrath. Or too many rabbits in Watership Down. Or too many ghosts in A Christmas Carol. Or... Okay, I'll stop now.

I for one think it's amazing that Janet Evanovich has managed to sustain this series so well, keeping so many readers interested in her characters and their lives, and so very many of us impatiently waiting to find out what happens next.

Books in the Stephanie Plum series:
1. One for the Money
2. Two for the Dough
3. Three to Get Deadly
4. Four to Score
5. High Five
6. Hot Six
7. Seven Up
8. Hard Eight
9. To the Nines
10. Ten Big Ones
11. Eleven on Top
12. Twelve Sharp
13. Lean Mean Thirteen
14. Fearless Fourteen
15. Finger Lickin' Fifteen

Sizzling Sixteen (#16 in the Stephanie Plum series) by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin's Press, 2010)

Source: My local public library

Also reviewed at:
I'd So Rather Be Reading: "That's why these books are the perfect summer reads: they are light-hearted, funny, sometimes silly, and totally implausible. Implausible, you say? Yes!"
What Cheesy Reads: "Another hilarious adventure with Stephanie. The next book should be very interesting after what happened this time."
YA Booknerd: "There's no other series/book that makes me laugh as hard as Stephanie Plum's adventures."