Sizzling Sixteen

Seriously, Janet, just stop with the Stephanie Plum books already. You've made sixteen of them, plus odd novellas and spin-offs, and nothing's changed. I went from book two to book sixteen and nothing had happened in that spanse. The lead character is still making the same idiot mistakes.

She's supposed to be a bounty hunter, and she's doing stuff that she should be arrested for. And she doesn't do anything herself. One of her beaus jumps into save her each time, even at the end. She's a wimp who's not challenging any Action Girl tropes. Lula, the fat, black prostitute gets more lines than Plum, but they're all eating jokes and fart humor. Things females would giggle naughtily at. And after sixteen books she's still in the same show more relationship status she was in the beginning. Give me a break. show less

How I've missed the crazy antics of Stephanie, Lula, and Grandma. Those three (mostly Lulu and Grandma) leave me in stitches every time they grace the pages. This was another fun addition to this series, even if it wasn't the best one. Lots of laughs from beginning to end.

We actually get to see a bit more of Connie and Vinnie in this book. Connie normally only gets short cameos in the bail bonds office, but she goes out with Steph and Lula to help rescue Vinnie, and she was a fun addition to the team! Mooner and a bunch of hobbits get to join in on this one and had me cracking up as well.

There was the typical love triangle with Steph, Morelli and Ranger. Once again it's left open with both men hanging in the wind. While I sometimes show more think I want her to just pick one already, I realize that if the sexual tension was out of either side I would miss the other guy way too much!!!

Overall, this was a fun addition and I sure hope the bail bond agency gets to open back up! What good is the Stephenie Plum series without her chasing down bad guys and getting hers (and Rangers) vehicles blown to smithereens and smashed like pancakes?!?! show less

I really wanted to like this book. The first books in this series were hilarious, but unfortunately things have been going downhill for a while, and “Sizzling Sixteen” (or “Fizzling Sixteen,” as some Amazon.com reviewers dubbed it) sets a new low.

Oh, where to start? The plot: Vincent Plum gets abducted, and it is up to Stephanie, Lula, and Connie to get him back. Not-at-all-amusing hijinks ensue. This book appears to have been put together by a robot at an assembly line, using a checklist of things that happen in every Plum book — Stephanie attempts to apprehend odd FTAs, acts inept, and destroys a car; Lula is dieting; Vinnie is a weasel; Grandma goes to a funeral; Ranger and Morelli both want Stephanie, who can’t decide show more what she wants. Throw in a Hobbit Convention (don’t ask), and here I am, wondering what the hell happened to a series that used to be so great.

The only person who experiences any kind of character growth is Vinnie. Good for him, but it makes the fact that the rest of the crew are staying the same or regressing that much more obvious. There is one nice scene between Stephanie and Ranger, but other than that it’s all same old, same old, and sadly not very funny. I still laugh out loud when I re-read the earlier books, but “Sizzling Sixteen” failed to produce an audible chuckle. We have read it all before, and it was much better written back then, too.

There is some sloppy editing going on, as well. The jacket copy mentions things that never happen in the book — Vinnie watching porn pay-per-view at Ranger’s apartment is, thank God, a figment of the blurb-writer’s imagination. There are some odd word choices — “the road was hard-packed dirt and either side was forested” (that “either” is just bugging me); and I could have sworn I saw “adios” spelled “addios” once (but now that I went looking for it, it’s hiding from me). In general, the writing did not flow well, and there are many stilted phrases like the one I quoted above.

It could be that Ms. Evanovich is burnt out, and needs to take a break from writing Stephanie Plum books. I hope so, because the alternatives (that she actually believes “Sizzling Sixteen” is a great book worth the hard-cover price, or that the newer books are written by a ghost writer) are worse. Perhaps with a better editor and some constructive criticism, the series will get back on the right track. I won’t be holding my breath, though, and will check out book 17 from the library, when (and if) it comes out. show less

Book sixteen (or maybe twenty, depending on how you count them) in Janet Evanovitch's Stephanie Plum series. This time, Stephanie's cousin/boss gets kidnapped and held hostage by a gangster who's threatening to kill him unless someone pays off his gambling debts. Also, there's an alligator. And people dressed up as hobbits.

At their best, these books can be reasonably funny. At their worst, I find them kind of annoying. This one was neither. It's vaguely amusing in places, maybe, and it's still playing up the interminable love triangle I was tired of three books in. But mostly it was just readable and instantly forgettable, with a possibly even dumber than usual plot.

Honestly, I think I'm just getting tired of this series. And yet, I show more somehow can't seem to stop reading it. Send help. show less

Much as I loved this series and have waited in line to get the latest entry, I am getting a bit weary of it all. Choose Ranger or Morelli and put us out of our misery, already. I persist because the book usually takes only a couple of hours to read, but aside from the slightest of plots and a few slapstick moments, there is no movement in the characters; they are static figures, exactly the same as they were 16 versions ago. People change and grow. Well, they should. But Evanovich continues to sell an old idea in new clothes and it has made her rich, but it is beginning to make me grumpy.

First Line: My Uncle Pip died and left me his lucky bottle.

In this sixteenth chapter of inept bounty hunter Stephanie Plum's life, her low-life relative and boss, Vinnie, has run up a huge gambling debt. He's being held for ransom, and it has Stephanie, Lula and office manager, Connie, racing to find him so the business-- and their jobs-- will be safe.

I recently read and reviewed the fifteenth book in this series, and I stated that I'd finally hit the wall. I'd already received this one from another Paperback Swap member, so I read Sizzling Sixteen fast to get it back in the system and on its way to someone else.

I have only one word for this book: T-I-R-E-D. All the plot elements and character quirks have been recycled so many times show more that I don't think I even cracked a smile the entire time I was reading. I wasn't the only one feeling tired; the book-- if a book can have feelings-- felt tired, too. This crew needs to be put to bed.

I don't know how many more books will be in this series, but I won't be reading them. If the movie that's being talked about is actually filmed, I'll see it as a matter of curiosity, but no more books for me.

If you have yet to read any of the Stephanie Plum mysteries, by all means read the first seven. You'll be in for a treat. Past book seven, and you're on your own. show less

Another hiiarious ride around Trenton New Jersey as Stephanie Plum has to come up with more than a million dollars to ransom her boss who owes money to the wrong kind of men. Even rounding up all the skips will not provide enough money so Stephanie, Lulu and Connie commit a few crimes themselves to get the dough. There is a car load of toilet paper, an almost naked Vinnie, a crocodile, Hobbits, and a giant tag sale. And oh yes, 2 explosions. And how long can Evanovich keep stringing out Stephanie's love affairs?