High Five by Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum #5)

Synopsis:

In her fifth high-octane thriller, bounty hunter Stephanie Plum sets out to find her missing uncle-- and along the way smacks slam-bang into: a dead body, a nasty bookie, her stun-gun-toting grandmother, two very sexy men, an angry little man who won't leave her apartment, and a Mafia wedding...

Another book of witty conversations, unfortunate luck for Stephanie, and sexually charged encounters. Oh, and some crime on the side!

This book made me laugh out loud more than any of the previous books in the series. The way that Ranger and Morelli both just laugh when something unfortunate happens to Stephanie makes me laugh even harder.

If you need a pick-me-up, these are the books that you should read. There are plenty of interesting storylines with different crimes and mysteries, but there is also a lot of comedy. Whether it comes from Grandma Mazur, Lula, or Stephanie herself.

There is a good balance of funny and serious, and it keeps you interested the whole way through.

I was really annoyed with Briggs as a character when Lula and Stephanie were trying to catch him, but once she had to have constant communication with him, he really grew on me. I hope that he shows up in the following books. They had interesting banter back and forth, and I think he could be helpful to her.

I really wanted to just crack open the next book right after I finished this one. These characters are addicting.

5/5 Stars

Memorable Quotes: “Okay, so sometimes I wasn’t the world’s greatest bounty hunter. I wasn’t a fabulous cook. I didn’t have a boyfriend, much less a husband. And I wasn’t a big financial success. I could live with all those failings as long as I knew that once in awhile I looked really hot.”

“Stephanie Plum, master of diversion. If your hair is bad, shorten your skirt and ass extra mascara.”

“I really needed juice. And a Snickers bar. If I had juice and a snickers bar, I probably could forget about sex. In fact, I didn’t even need the juice anymore. Just the Snickers bar.”

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Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich

Synopsis:

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is still learning the ropes at her cousin Vinnie's bail bond office, so when she sets out on the trail of Kenny Mancuso--a suspiciously wealthy, working class Trenton boy who has just shot his best friend--the stakes are higher than ever. That Mancuso is distantly related to vice cop Joe Morelli--who is trying to beat Stephanie to the punch--only makes the hunt more thrilling….

Taking pointers from her bounty hunter pal, Ranger, and using her pistol-packing Grandma Mazur as a decoy, Stephanie is soon closing in on her mark. But Morelli and his libido are worthy foes. And a more sinister kind of enemy has made his first move…and his next move might be Stephanie's last.

Book #2 in the Stephanie Plum series, and I think I can say that I enjoyed it even more than the first novel. Many times the first book is all about introducing the main characters in the series, and it is all so new.

Well, with the second book, I had a better understanding of who the characters are and how they contribute to the series. That makes it easier to read and it makes it more enjoyable.

Stephanie is a great protagonist. She is witty, smart, and just helpless enough to get herself into hilarious situations. I was a little annoyed with this in the first book. But there was an improvement in that area in this book, and I think she is starting to understand her job better and become more independent. I think that will only continue as the series goes on.

Also, Grandma Mazur is hilarious. She was the character that initially drew me to the series when I read the first book years ago.

The storyline in this one was interesting as Morelli and Stephanie were trying to find and catch Morelli’s cousin. It added a bit of complexity to it as nothing is ever cut and dry with family.

It surprised me how dangerous he actually was.

One thing I didn’t understand was how Sandeman just about disappeared after initially threatening Stephanie. I thought he would stick around longer and be a menace.

Regardless, It was a fun and fast-paced story.

The only thing I have to get used to is the chapters in these books are a lot longer than the ones in the Kinsey Millhone series and in Patterson books. So, sometimes, it seems to drag on longer than those. I don’t see that as being as much of an issue as I get more used to it.

I am also interested in seeing how the relationship between Stephanie and Morelli grows.

4/5 stars

Memorable Quotes: “I religiously went to the range to practice, but truth is I’m hopelessly unmechanical. I harbor an irrational fear of guns, and most of the time keep my little S&W empty of bullets so I won’t accidentally blast the toes off my foot.”

“I dressed in shorts and a sweatshirt and laced up my running shoes. I did this with the same amount of enthusiasm I could muster for self-immolation. I tried to run at least three times a week. It never occurred to me I might enjoy it. I ran to burn off the occasional bottle of beer, and because it was good to be able to outrun the bad guys.”

“I rumbled off to Vic’s Video and rented Ghostbusters, my all-time favorite inspirational movie. I picked up some microwave popcorn, a KitKat, and a bag of bite-sized Reese’s peanut butter cups, and a box of instant hot chocolate with marshmallows. Do I know how to have a good time, or what?”

“When in dread, my rule was always to procrastinate.”

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'E' is for Evidence by Sue Grafton

Synopsis:

Kinsey Millhone, P.I. is a 32-year-old, twice-divorced ex-cop with an irreverent, wise-cracking style reminiscent of Philip Marlowe - and a great pair of legs - who piles her trade in the small Southern Californian town of Santa Theresa.

Make no mistake about it, Kinsey Millhone is one tough cookie. When a routine insurance claim she's investigating turns into non-routine trouble - someone has put $5,000 in her usually not-too-flush checking account and made it look like she's on the take - Kinsey sets out to discover who has set her up and why.

The trail of evidence leads to the wealthy Wood family, which includes the three quirky sisters Olive, Ash, and Ebony. But she's not counting on the involvement of her long-departed ex-husband #2, who's gorgeous, seductive and also a junkie. And she's certainly not counting on murder . . .

This installment of the Kinsey Millhone series was basically a story about a severely messed up, wealthy family. Full of emotional damage and backstabbing, it was a ride from start to finish.

There was plenty of mystery to go along with the fast-paced story line.

I also liked that we got a little more of a look into Kinsey’s past by meeting on of her ex husbands. She talks about them sometimes, but actually getting to meet one of them just added to the story.

‘E’ is for Evidence was full of mystery and action. I didn’t guess the twist until the actual reveal. I LOVE when that happens. Figuring our the main plot twist early in the book makes for a boring reading experience.

‘E’ was a very solid installment in this series.

5/5 Stars

Memorable Quotes: “In my experience, banks are the least helpful institutions on earth, and the notion of having to stop what I was doing to straighten out an error was nearly more than I could bear.”

“I won’t admit to depression, but I was in bed by 8:00 P.M. . . . Not cool for a hard-assed private eye waging a one-woman war against the bad guys everywhere.”

“You can’t argue with people who fall in love with death.”

“Being with him had brought back the pain in fossil form, evidence of ancient emotional life, embedded now in rock. I studied the sensations as I would some extinct subspecies, for the curiosity, if nothing more.”

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