Friday, January 26, 2007

Three to get Deadly, Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter from Trenton, NJ. takes on her third story, "Three to get Deadly". She is given a case to apprehend Mo Bedemier, a local candy store owner in the Burg, who is loved by all. Stephanie did not want the case for Mo was a saint and not capable of wrong doing, but he was a FTA and it was her job to bring in the wanted. Things start out with Stephanie gathering info but turns into her finding murdered drug dealers. The theory was Mo turned into a vigilante, but the truth goes deeper. Evanovich has the reader laughing on every page, and includes Stephanie's old cop friend, Morelli and Ranger, bounty hunter extraordinaire, and Lula, a new employee at the agency, active throughout this story. The laughs keep one going but the mystery is weak. The humor overrides the mystery which leaves a very good book for one to digest...

Friday, January 19, 2007

Two for the Dough, Janet Evanovich

"Two for the Dough" is a funny story by Evanovich about Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter from Trenton, NJ. She is trying to apprehend Kenny Mancuso for shooting his friend in the knee but failed to appear for court. Stephanie thought this was going to be a simple apprehension, but it got more difficult when the friend was found dead from mulitble gunshot wounds to the head. Stephanie, joined by her grandmother Mazur, attend the viewing of the deceased at a mortuary run by Spiro, another friend of Kenny, and got another task of locating 24 caskets that were stolen from Spiro. Stephanie keeps running into her old friend Joe Morelli, cop on the vice squad in Trenton, and wonders why he has such interest in Kenny. Morelli said he was looking after family, for Kenny was his cousin, but Stephanie thought there was more. Stephanie was warned to stay off this case by receiving mutilated appendages from deceased at Spiro's mortuary. This only sparked anger in Stephanie!

Janet Evanovich writes a good and humorous story with a plot that thickens as you go along. The mystery holds its own right to the last page and the ending is good. Stephanie is a warm and loving family member and grandma Mazur plays a funny role in this story. This story is a fast read and easy to understand...

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

One for the Money, Janet Evanovich

"One for the Money" is the first book about Stephanie Plum from Trenton, NJ. Stephanie is out of work and down to her last dime and her Miata has been repossessed, but she is determined to stay independent. She goes to her cousin Vinnie for employment and becomes a bounty hunter. She new nothing about self defense and the apprehension of criminals but was desperate for the good money she could earn. Her first target was Joe Morelli, a cop on the force who was framed for a murder. He was also a high school flame of Steph who stole her canoli at age 16. There was history with these two! In searching for Morelli, Steph runs into a psychotic boxer Ramirez, who has threatened her with bodily harm and rape. Stephanie has brought in a couple FTA (fail to appear)so with her money she buys a weapon and other things she might need. With the threat from Ramirez, she learns to shoot and plans to take a self defence course. The pursuit of Morelli turns into a humorous onslaught of happenings that keep the story flowing right along. Evanovich keeps the reader laughing with spontaneous humor and a good story line. The mystery is good and unfolds as the story progresses, but the ending was the way I figured it would be. The story is easy to read and am looking forward to another episode, there are 12 in all, good series.

Friday, January 05, 2007

S for Silence, Sue Grafton

Sue Grafton is working her way through the alphabet which brings us to "S". S for Silence is a good story that has Lindsey Millhone, PI in Santa Teresa, investigating a 34 year old case of a disappearing woman. Violet Sulivan was a red headed beauty and fiery lady who had a reputation to have affairs with all men possible. She was married to Foley who had a temper and often beat Violet because of jealousy, leaving her with many bruises. The fourth of July in '53, Violet was to meet Foley at the local display of fire works, but she never showed up and disappeared with her new car, never to be seen since. 34 years later Daisy, her daughter wanted to find out what happened. She hires Linsey to investigate. Grafton incorporates flashbacks of the cold case with modern day sequels to keep the reader in focus of the events. With Violets scandalous reputation, there are many chacacters that are in question. Linsey finally finds Violet and her car in a grave that proved she did not leave but was murdered. One tries to figure out who the perp was, but Grafton holds her own in supplying mystery as who did it. The ending is abrupt and the perp was not my guess, but that is what makes Grafton a good author.