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This LivingSocial Editor began reading Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series of books this past summer, poolside, so imagine my delight when I wa... (show more)
This LivingSocial Editor began reading Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series of books this past summer, poolside, so imagine my delight when I was asked to read her latest book, “Plum Spooky” on the job. I had never read any of the “Between-the-Numbers” novels, but I was excited to try my first!
In “Plum Spooky,” lingerie buyer turned disaster-prone, New Jersey bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum, is tracking down boy genius, Martin Munch. After leading a fairly mundane life, out of the blue Munch assaults his boss, steals valuable property, and then misses his court date. It doesn’t take long for things to get stranger when Stephanie discovers that Munch’s only friend is a guy who looks like a vampire, and Munch’s boss turns up in a car trunk with his head on backwards (um, ouch). This would be enough to keep any girl busy, so when Carl, a monkey unafraid to give anyone the finger, is left in Stephanie’s care, things get out of control.
All the usual players (Lula, Morelli, Ranger, Stephanie’s family) are in the mix along with Diesel, a regular character in the unnumbered books. Diesel’s presence initially threw me, not having read “Visions of Sugar Plums” in which he is introduced. After a few WTF moments and 15 minutes googling, I figured out he is some sort of supernatural being (probably), has powers (maybe), and is a good guy that apprehends the bad guys of his kind (odd but true). Once I had these facts in mind, it made the rest of the book make a lot more sense and eventually made me happy Ms. Plum has one more gentleman complicating her life.
Evanovich’s excellent writing of quirky characters and hysterical dialogue is in top form. The situations she gets Stephanie into are at the same time classic Plum and unexpected. I found myself chuckling out loud many times (Grandma Mazur coaxing a monkey to eat mashed potatoes with a fork; Morelli’s brother getting shot in the butt with a nail gun... ridiculous hilarity!). Sure, the plot is over the top, but when you’re in Plum’s Jersey World, you go with it.
All in all, this book is worth every penny, and with no date set for a paperback release, it’s also worth every pound, lugging it around. Most readers will probably enjoy the series more if they go back and start with “One for the Money,” but if you’re looking for a quick, light read, you could start with this spooky selection and wouldn’t feel too lost. Be warned though: it’s a lot like candy corn. Once you try one, the whole bag (series) could be a blur of devoured goodness before you know what hit you. (show less)
