Before I get into this week’s book preview, just know that I’ve read more books than I can cover on just Fridays if I want to get through most of these reviews before the end of the year. Prepare for some off Friday book review blog posts. And possible some multiple blog posts on a given day. I’ll try not to make it crazy like that book review week a while back.

Now, on with the show. Show? That’s right. This week it’s a Stephanie Plum novel. Oh yeah.

Explosive Eighteen

(Stephanie Plum #18)

Written by: Janet Evanovich
Pages: 305
Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum’s life is set to blow sky high when international murder hits dangerously close to home, in this dynamite novel by Janet Evanovich.
 
Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 from Hawaii to Newark, she’s knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, she’s flying back to New Jersey solo, and someone who sounds like Sasquatch is snoring in row 22. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he’s dead, in a garbage can, waiting for curbside pickup. His killer could be anyone. The FBI, the fake FBI, and guns-for-hire are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying.

Only one other person has seen the missing photograph—Stephanie Plum. Now she’s the target, and she doesn’t intend to end up in a garbage can. With the help of an FBI sketch artist Stephanie re-creates the person in the photo. Unfortunately the first sketch turns out to look like Tom Cruise, and the second sketch like Ashton Kutcher. Until Stephanie can improve her descriptive skills, she’ll need to watch her back.

Over at the Bail Bonds Agency it’s business as usual—until the bonds bus serving as Vinnie’s temporary HQ goes up in smoke, Stephanie’s wheelman, Lula, falls in love with their “largest” FTA yet, lifetime arch nemesis Joyce Barnhardt moves into Stephanie’s apartment, and everyone wants to know what happened in Hawaii?!
 
Morelli, Trenton’s hottest cop, isn’t talking about Hawaii. Ranger, the man of mystery, isn’t talking about Hawaii.  And all Stephanie is willing to say about her Hawaiian vacation is . . . It’s complicated.

I don’t know how we got so lucky as to get two Plum books in one year, but let me tell you, I’m a fan. Rock on.

This book held everything I love most about Stephanie. Car issue of the book – A skip keeps stealing it. Skip of the book – Joyce. That’s right, Stephanie’s nemesis. Best of all, she takes up residence in Stephanie’s apartment. Still more Morelli vs Ranger angst.

I think the highlight was the Bail Bonds Bus going up in flames. Which led to a terrible rental of doom.

Surprise of the book – Lula’s firebird. Let’s just say you need to be careful what you drink.

Best Bad Guy of All Time – Razzle Dazzle. Yeah that name rocks. And he’s like Russian or something. Come on. How do you go wrong?

Best of all, this was a good lead in to the upcoming movie. Who’s going to the first showing? Me. I don’t know how, but I’m going to do it.

Because I need to see Stephanie Plum on a big huge movie screen.

I can’t wait for the next book. These really are my guilty pleasure.

–Lady O