Notorious Nineteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel (edition 2012)

I always get a few smiles form an Evanovich book. Stephanie, Lula, her family , her lovers, the whole cast is in this book. It was kind of funny but most of the incidents were a rehashing of incidents from previous books and most of the dialog was awfully familiar. The book also had much larger than ususal print size. Nuff said. ( )

I like the Stephanie Plum books and will keep reading the series, but I'm ready for them to be done and for her to pick Ranger or Morelli. ( )

These books are like watching a weekly sitcom. They are still funny, but they are each pretty much a repeat of the one before it with just a variation on the bumbling villians that are always trying to kill Stephanie.
The joke about all the visits to Cluck in a Bucket and donut shops is not funny anymore. Lula still comes up with some great one-liners, however, even though some of them are (again) just variations on what
we've read before. ( )

A marked improvement on the last several books, but that's not saying too much. At least this one made me laugh more and it wasn't so much the feeling that she just called it in. All the characters are there, without change, so it's familiar and a quick read. I receive these books as a present, otherwise I would have given up on the series a while ago. ( )

Originally posted at Novel Reveries

Continuing the disastrous fortune of Stephanie Plum, this book has a great mystery as Plum tries to figure how people are disappearing from the local hospital. Riddled with other little mysterious nuances, I found the book light, fun and a delightful read. Towards the middle, things started to become clear, and the mystery's conclusion felt predictable. I loved the zing of adding "Tiki" in the mix, as it created some sort of fun psycho atmosphere, haha! The situations Plum ends up in add good action and suspense as she encounters the tough, crazy, or just plain deadbeat side of society, as per her job entails.

"Even when I was a kid I had a knack for pushing the boundaries of common sense and normal behavior. I walked into the boys' bathroom in grade school because I was convinced I was invisible. I jumped off the roof of my parents' garage because I thought I could fly. And that was the tip of the iceberg.
 And I'm still pushing boundaries, flopping around in water that's over my head. And here's the scary part that I wouldn't say out loud to anyone ...I'm a little addicted to it." (210)

Character-wise, I found everyone, old and new, to have great and distinctive personalities, which with this series, really make the book. Stephanie continues to be ever vigilant in catching her targets, her grandmother takes on the role of a saucy spy, Lula is her usual outgoing wild self, which I loved, and Morelli & Ranger to just get in the way. I know Ranger helps Plum out a lot throughout the book, but it's their relationship that I found got in the way. Neither Plum's relationship with Morelli, nor Ranger, seem to develop in this book. This unfortunately also means that the series as a whole didn't develop much, as there are no startling revelations that could impact anything in Plum's life. Morelli makes several references towards love and marriage, but truthfully with Plum still having some sort of feelings towards Ranger, I can't see that happening any time soon. In all, this book is a nice installment in the Plum series and should be a great read if your looking for a little adventure and fun.

First Line: " 'I don't know why we gotta sit here baking in your car in the midle of the day, in the middle of the summer, in the middle of this crummy neighborhood,' Lula said." (3)

Last Line: "I need a date." (302)
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Quotes

" 'Just remember who got you into the building,' briggs said. 'I want to be there when you get Cubbin. And I don't want to be left out of the television show either. Little people are sexy now. Have you seen Game of Thrones? We're hot.' " (154)

" 'Say what? I'm a 'ho, not Donald Trump. I don't got that kind of money. Would you be willing to hold a mortgage?'
'We should go now,' I said to Lula." (162) ( )