Explosive Eighteen (Stephanie Plum, #18)

by Janet Evanovich

[ibeforem]

After a string of 4 or 5 lackluster books, I feel like Evanovich has managed to breathe at least a little bit of new life into this stale series. Some things haven’t changed – Stephanie’s still not the greatest bounty hunter, has horrible luck with cars, and can’t make up her mind about either Morelli OR Ranger. Though after her disastrous Hawaiian vacation, she’s not particularly anxious to be face-to-face with either of them.

Stephanie actually does a fairly good job of fending for herself in this one, fighting off fake FBI agents and apartment intruders with no outside help. Unfortunately, this also meant we didn’t see nearly enough of either guy. And I could do with a little bit less Lula. She’s actually managed to become a caricature of herself, all tight clothes and buckets of chicken.

As for the mystery of what’s in the photo, I found that part of the plot more than a little implausible. It felt like Evanovich was making a jump into technology that she really wasn’t prepared for.

I think it’s going to take a lot to get this series back to where it was at its peak, but this one was entertaining enough to keep me reading until the end. But maybe Stephanie can find some personal growth in the next one?