Visions of Sugar Plums

I like the Stephanie Plum books, but this book just doesn't seem to fit in the series. It is funny, of course, but it doesn't feel like Stephanie Plum. Ranger and Vinnie aren't in this book, and Morelli and Lula only get a handful of pages apiece. Stephanie spends most of the book in the company of Diesel, a supernatural superhero who flirts with her and chases superpowered supernatural villains. I don't think the supernatural elements fit too well with the Plum novels, either, and it isn't even a "Christmas" miracle story, since Diesel is a year-round magic guy. I read the book and enjoyed it for what it was, but the whole time I was telling myself that once this between-the-numbers book was over, I could pretend it never happened. show more Unfortunately, at the end, we learn that one of Valerie's kids will grow up to be a supernatural superpowered superhero, too, so now I suppose that for the rest of the series, whether this book's events are mentioned or not, I will have a constant reminder anyway. Sheesh!

If this is the only Plum book you've ever read, you'll probably like it. I think it's nice on its own; it just doesn't mesh with the rest of the series. show less

A short holiday-themed interlude in Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, written between books eight and nine. (You can tell it's not a regular part of the series because there's no number in the title.) The story involves a mysterious, hot guy with supernatural abilities who magically appears in Stephanie's living room, having been sent -- somehow, by someone -- to help her as she attempts to apprehend an elderly toymaker named -- wait for it! -- Sandy Claws.

OK, I'm aware this must seem like a very unseasonable thing to read in March. But this is when I happened to reach the point in the series where it's set. And I thought that might actually work in its favor. I mean, I honestly much prefer Christmas music if I encounter it (usually show more via iPod's random shuffle feature) in July than in late December, by which point I've been inundated with Christmassy stuff for so long I've gotten sick of it. I'm not sure that works nearly as well with books, though, because I was a bit humbuggy about this one.

The thing is, while I like fantasy novels just fine, supernatural elements suddenly, randomly popping up after eight volumes set firmly in mundane reality annoys me immensely. Since this is presented as being outside the main run of the series, that might not have been quite as much of a problem if I could have just regarded this as -- to use a nerdy buzzword -- non-canonical, a Christmas fantasy brought about by over-indulgence in eggnog, perhaps. But it features a significant development that seems like it's going to have to carry through to later books in the series, so I couldn't even do that. And it's not like the fantasy part of the story was even good. It was underdeveloped and gratuitous, and silly in entirely different ways than this series is supposed to be silly.

It wasn't all bad, though. There are some great scenes with Stephanie's family, who are in fine, hilarious, even-crazier-than-usual form. I'm mildly tempted to knock my rating up another half a star just for those, but... Meh. show less

It is five days before Christmas, and toy maker Sandy Claws has missed his court date. Can bond enforcement agent Stephanie get him to reschedule before a lot of little people are put out of work? Maybe, with the help of a mysterious guy named Diesel—just Diesel—who shows up in her kitchen like the ghost of Christmas Chaos.

Fun—but to say it is mind candy is maybe giving more credit than it deserves.

Woot! What a fun story. Sort of a combination of Bad Santa, Miracle on 34th Street, Elf, The Bishop's Wife and X-men combined with a New Jersey family flair. Just what I needed to kick off my Christmas reading, now I will be very excited to read other Stephanie Plum novels. I love her sense of humor and no-nonsense approach to men, her family and odd things thrown her way.

I like the Stephanie Plum books, but this book just doesn't seem to fit in the series. It is funny, of course, but it doesn't feel like Stephanie Plum. Ranger and Vinnie aren't in this book, and Morelli and Lula only get a handful of pages apiece. Stephanie spends most of the book in the company of Diesel, a supernatural superhero who flirts with her and chases superpowered supernatural villains. I don't think the supernatural elements fit too well with the Plum novels, either, and it isn't even a "Christmas" miracle story, since Diesel is a year-round magic guy. I read the book and enjoyed it for what it was, but the whole time I was telling myself that once this between-the-numbers book was over, I could pretend it never happened.

If show more this is the only Plum book you've ever read, you'll probably like it. I think it's nice on its own; it just doesn't mesh with the rest of the series. show less

Walking into the kitchen to find a strange man she had never met before was a little concerning, but being a bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum figured she could handle it. Between Diesel showing up unannounced, her new bail skip (Sandy Claws) and Christmas being less than a week away, Stephanie really didn’t have the time to argue about Diesel wanting to go with her and help her find Sandy. Whether he was a help or not, tracking Sandy down was the only way she was going to gather enough money to feel like she could get gifts for her family this year, and she hadn’t even gotten a tree yet either.

Book 1 (well, book 8.5 if you are looking at it from the Stephanie Plum Number series) ….. One of the only series that I have read out of show more order, I actually have read a couple of the “Between the Numbers” books and the new Unmentionables with Diesel in it, so I knew what to expect from him. Still it was fun to ‘meet him for the first time’ from Stephanie’s point of view. It was the typical Stephanie Plum / Janet Evanovich book, complete with the burning to the ground of her car. Several good one line jokes that kept the suspense of the mystery light. It wasn’t as fast paced as I was expecting and it fell a little short compared to some, but still a fun light read. show less

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is looking for Sandy Claws since he skipped out on his court appearance. A good-looking guy named Diesel appears in her apartment seemingly out of nowhere. He is there to help and goes with her to start looking for Claws even though she's not sure if Diesel is a supernatural being or not.

This was a humorous story of Stephanie trying to get ready for Christmas but having lots of difficulties, as usual. The usual cast of characters were all there contributing to the humor. This was a fun and short story for the holidays.