Saturday 19 July 2014

Book ~ "Top Secret Twenty-One" (2014) Janet Evanovich

From Goodreads ~ Trenton, New Jersey’s favorite used-car dealer, Jimmy Poletti, was caught selling a lot more than used cars out of his dealerships. Now he’s out on bail and has missed his date in court, and bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is looking to bring him in. Leads are quickly turning into dead ends and all too frequently into dead bodies. Even Joe Morelli, the city’s hottest cop, is struggling to find a clue to the suspected killer’s whereabouts. These are desperate times, and they call for desperate measures. So Stephanie is going to have to do something she really doesn’t want to do: protect former hospital security guard and general pain in her behind Randy Briggs. Briggs was picking up quick cash as Poletti’s bookkeeper and knows all his boss’s dirty secrets. Now Briggs is next on Poletti’s list of people to put six feet under.

To top things off, Ranger - resident security expert and Stephanie’s greatest temptation - has been the target of an assassination plot. He’s dodged the bullet this time but if Ranger wants to survive the next attempt on his life, he’ll have to enlist Stephanie’s help and reveal a bit more of his mysterious past.

Stephanie is a bounty hunter and she's looking for Jimmy Poletti, a used car salesman who was dealing in more than just cars.  Her cousin (and boss), Vinnie, posted his bond and Jimmy missed his court date.  Someone is trying to kill Randy Briggs, Jimmy's accountant ... Randy looks to Stephanie for protection and Stephanie uses him as bait to try and flush out Jimmy.

In the meantime, someone is trying to kill Ranger and the plan backfired.  It turns out it is a one-eyed tattooed Russian from his past who is seeking revenge.  Ranger asks Stephanie for her help in tracking this guy down.

This is the 21st in the series and I've read them all.  As in previous books, Evanovich continues to follow her formula:
  • Stephanie is lusting after Morelli and Ranger ... check
  • Stephanie's mom's nerves are shot so drinks and irons ... check
  • Grandma Masur is outrageous and checking out the viewings at the funeral home ... check
  • Lulu is eating all the time and gets mad when someone calls her fat ... check
  • Stephanie needs a car and Ranger lends her his (which gets blown up) ... check
  • Stephanie's apartment gets damaged ... check
  • Stephanie goes home to mooch meals from her parents ... check 
  • Bob, Morelli's dog, eats something and barfs it up ... check
  • Morelli calls Stephanie "Cupcake" and just wants to have sex with her with no commitment
  • Ranger calls Stephanie "Babe" and just wants to have sex with her with no commitment

Since it's basically the same story over and over, I stopped buying these books a long time ago and now borrow them from the library.  It's a mindless familiar read and there is some amusement.

It's written in first person perspective from Stephanie's point of view.  There is some swearing (like the "F-bomb") and some adult situations.

1 comment:

Masshole Mommy said...

This sounds like a book I would enjoy!