2008: #54 – Plum Lucky (Janet Evanovich)

Book #54 was Plum Lucky, a Between-the-Numbers book in Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series.  The back of the book reads:

Looking to get lucky?

Stephanie Plum is back between-the-numbers and she’s looking to get lucky in an Atlantic City hotel room, in a Winnebago, and with a brown-eyed stud who has stolen her heart.

Stephanie Plum has a way of attracting danger, lunatics, oddballs, bad luck . . . and mystery men. And no one is more mysterious than the unmentionable Diesel. He’s back and hot on the trail of a little man in green pants who’s lost a giant bag of money. Problem is, the money isn’t exactly lost.

Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur has found it, and like any good Jersey senior citizen, she’s hightailed it in a Winnebago to Atlantic City and hit the slots. With Lula and Connie in tow, Stephanie attempts to bring Grandma home, but the luck of the Irish is rubbing off on everyone: Lula’s found a job modeling plus-size lingerie. Connie’s found a guy. Diesel’s found Stephanie. And Stephanie has found herself in over her head with a caper involving thrice-stolen money, a racehorse, a car chase, and a bad case of hives.

Plum Lucky is an all-you-can-eat buffet of thrills, chills, shrimp cocktail, plus-size underwear, and scorching hot men. It’s a between-the-numbers treat no Evanovich fan will want to miss!

It was time to pick up this book (or rather, load it on to my mp3 player) because I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of Fearless Fourteen and didn’t want to skip a book! In this “Between the Numbers” book, Grandma Mazur manages to get herself kidnapped and Stephanie needs to get her back with the help of Diesel, Lula, Connie, and a few more of Trenton’s wacky characters. Oh, and Doug the horse.

What I like most about these books is the blatant absurdity. Everything is just a touch over-the-top, and that’s what really makes this series. Stephanie just can’t help the crazy things that happen to her, and as time goes on she accepts it just a little bit more. It could have used a little more Ranger, but couldn’t *every* book use a little more Ranger? It’s no great work of literature, but I was thoroughly entertained, and that’s all that matters.

Page count: 176 | Approximate word count: 44,000

2007: Grave Peril (Jim Butcher)
2006: Twelve Sharp (Janet Evanovich)
2005: Hot Six (Janet Evanovich)