Reviewing the latest by the Queen of Chick-Lit - Notorious Nineteen

Okay, don't get me wrong - I'm a huge fan of the Stephanie Plum books. HUGE! But... I really want something new to happen. Although it does appear Stephanie is leaning toward a life with Joe Morelli, (not my choice, but I'm a rebel) Notorious Nineteen is just another frustrating look at Stephanie fumbling along trying to scare up some cash with petty criminal bounties. If there isn't some movement in the storyline, I may eventually give up as so many of her other reviewers have stated.

Fine. That's a lie. I'm no quitter, but wouldn't it be nice to have an end in sight? Just tell us - how many more books do we have to buy until the end? I always enjoy the stories. They're funny. Comfortable - like catching up with an old friend. But if Stephanie was my friend I would have slapped her silly by now. And, has anyone kept a running total of how many cars she's destroyed? Like I said, I love this series, but having something new happen would probably give me an instant orgasm after nineteen books of foreplay - and that's not even counting the "Between the Numbers" that have come out.

Notorious Nineteen is actually an improvement since the last few. A little more "meat" to the story, in my opinion. And when Twenty whatever comes out, I'll be first in line. But I'm not holding my breath for a resolution...

In conclusion - as ever, I highly recommend Notorious Nineteen. Janet Evanovich always delivers on a nice break from reality. At $12.99 a pop, they're not cheap entertainment if you're a voracious reader, but it's nice to have the collection to fall back on while waiting for the next installment. If you enjoy chick-lit, anything by JE is a solid choice.

Description (from Amazon Product Page):


New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is certain of three truths: People don’t just vanish into thin air. Never anger old people. And don’t do what Tiki tells you to do.

After a slow summer of chasing low-level skips for her cousin Vinnie’s bail bonds agency, Stephanie Plum finally lands an assignment that could put her checkbook back in the black. Geoffrey Cubbin, facing trial for embezzling millions from Trenton’s premier assisted-living facility, has mysteriously vanished from the hospital after an emergency appendectomy. Now it’s on Stephanie to track down the con man. Unfortunately, Cubbin has disappeared without a trace, a witness, or his money-hungry wife. Rumors are stirring that he must have had help with the daring escape . . . or that maybe he never made it out of his room alive. Since the hospital staff’s lips seem to be tighter than the security, and it’s hard for Stephanie to blend in to assisted living, Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur goes in undercover. But when a second felon goes missing from the same hospital, Stephanie is forced into working side by side with Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, in order to crack the case.

The real problem is, no Cubbin also means no way to pay the rent. Desperate for money—or maybe just desperate—Stephanie accepts a secondary job guarding her secretive and mouthwatering mentor Ranger from a deadly Special Forces adversary. While Stephanie is notorious for finding trouble, she may have found a little more than she bargained for this time around. Then again—a little food poisoning, some threatening notes, and a bridesmaid’s dress with an excess of taffeta never killed anyone . . . or did they? If Stephanie Plum wants to bring in a paycheck, she’ll have to remember: No guts, no glory. . . .


Happy Reading!
~Heidi

*I am not a professional reviewer. The opinions expressed here are my own and given from a reader's perspective.