Sofie Metropolis (2005)

Sofie Metropolis was probably closer to 3.5 stars. I'm wondering if I'd read the printed version rather than listening to the audio, would I have spent less of my reading time comparing it to [Janet Evanovich] and Stephanie Plum.Sofie's the same kind of fish out of water, stumbling into crazy situations. Except that she's trying to be a P.I. rather than a bounty hunter. And her wacky family is Greek, not Italian. And she caught her ex cheating at the church, rather than after they married.The goofy dog is much smaller; the sidekicks aren't as full of personality (which isn't fair, since I've only read 1 of these books as opposed to 16 Stephanie Plum books, plus the between the numbers ones).There's no love triangle yet, thank goodness. There is a mysterious, highly attractive guy that I thought would take the Ranger/mentor role, but that hasn't panned out so far.As I said before, I know these comparisons aren't entirely fair. Evanovich didn't pioneer any of these elements, but she's just the most successful at turning them into a "thing", and that is where my mind went while listening to this book. ( )

Here's another fun P.I. series to keep you entertained! Sofie Metropolis is on the case! Working at her mostly retired uncle's Private Investigator office along with the quirky, gum popping office manager. Of course what's an entertaining P.I. series without the mysterious hunk!? Don't fear...the mysterious & hunky Jake Porter will steam things up!

The book takes place in Astoria, Queens. Where if you haven't guessed it already Sofie & her Greek family live & work. Of course you can't forget Sofie's over-bearing, but loving mother. Throw all that together along with a missing dog, possible vampires & cheating spouses & you have one romping, wild ride!

The Metropolis series is comparable to Evanovich, Plum series. When I picked the book up I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy it very much or not. After having read it I can say that I very much did! What makes it stand out is the Greek heritage & references. The book has been compared to the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding & of course the Plum series. I can see the comparisons of both in this book. A light, entertaining, fun read that I would recommend for Evanovich & Lutz fans, along with any fans of comparable authors. ( )

The more I read of the book the more it reminded me of Janet Evanovich's series. It even references it at one point when the heroine decides to end her evening by reading One for the Money. Considering you only need to replace Italian with Greece and New Jersey with New York, I think it is a complete rip off. Even the love interest is very Morelli. Disappointing.

Not much good. I believe the author asked herself "what can I write to exploit the success of the movie 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'?"

The whole time I was reading I felt like it was a bunch of nothing... Meaning, there was too much going on all at once, but nothing really being solved.

In the end most of story lines were resolved though. :) I did enjoy the main character.. I don't think I will be reading the next in the series right away, but I do plan to eventually. ( )