This one was better than the last one. The usual hijinks but a bit more interesting plot and some new characters to round things out.

Super honored to have gotten this ARC from a goodreads app giveaway! Thanks to Atria Books, Goodreads, and Simon & Schuster!

This is book 29 of the series and I think it was the best one yet! I've loved every single one of these and love that Janet Evanovich manages to make them still feel fresh and fun to read.

You do not have to have read the previous 28 to enjoy this one. The author does a great job of bread crumbing previous characters stories so you'll have all the info you need.

I loved how everything tied together at the end and it definitely kept me guessing the whole time!

Whether you are team Joe or team Ranger - you'll be happy!

This one launches on November 1, 2022 and you'll want to pick it up!
adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
lighthearted

I'm honestly questioning why I keep reading this series. This one might be the worst one yet. Stephanie has become so bland and boring. And there were so many chapters were nothing happened. I started skimming the book just to get through it. I guess I keep reading in hopes that something will finally change, that maybe Stephanie will actually make a decision and the plot might move forward. But this series has long jumped the shark and has reached a point where it’s so ridiculous, over-the-top, and utterly stupid instead of funny. And it's so repetitive, as if the author simply copies and paste from the the previous book and then just plugs in a new-ish plot, but even the plots are repetitive. This was yet another kidnapping but with Connie and Vinnie as the victims instead of Grandma and Stephanie. 

Stephanie Plum books never fail to make me laugh at least a little. This series has been going for well over twenty years, and the characters feel like old friends - I know what to expect from each character & I know to expect some level of craziness. I liked that Stephanie seems to be finally growing up & realising that she actually likes her job & for the most part, she’s actually pretty good at it. She wasn’t flying off the handle only to risk her life when there was someone out to get her. I also liked seeing more of Bella in this instalment. We’ve only really seen her for a little bit before, but she made me laugh - putting the eye on someone sure is an effective tool in the bounty hunter arsenal!

However, I feel that this series is getting tired. I still enjoy reading it, but it lacks the ability to provide gut-busting laughter like the earlier books in the series did. I guess it’s hard to keep things fresh with 29+ books in the series, but every book now seems to feel very repetitive.

I could not take the narrator. All characters over the top stereotypical .

4.5 stars. Evanovich really is back in good form after the series lost its way a while back. Fun read, and already looking forward to the next!
funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes