Fearless Fourteen (Stephanie Plum, No. 14)

I can't get enough of Stephanie Plum and her assorted cast of quirky characters. These books are laugh-out-loud (and believe, I've done that) funny with interesting stories underneath.

Fearless Fourteen is as much fun as the previous Stephanie Plum books. I enjoy listening them on my compute to and from work. It's a great stress release. Can't wait til book 15.

I've stuck with Stephanie Plum through think and thin, but this is the end. I'm just glad I took it out of the library rather than paying $28. Other reviewers have said it all, the verve's not there, so I'll stick to the low points: formulaic pablum and at least one misleading bit.

"...and we all piled into Lula's Firebird. Lula drove north on 206, past Rider College, to a neighborhood of modest homes." Well Rider College, actually University since 1994, is in Lawrenceville, NJ, a goodly piece from the Burg, and there are no such neighborhoods. Immediately north of Lawrenceville is Princeton. Apparently J.E.'s forgetting her NJ geography up there in New Hampshire. Shame on St. Martin's press, too, for letting that slip through.

So, J.E's jumped the shark, and Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with early stage Alzheimers (this is a MUCH bigger tragedy in every way). The future looks grim for laugh-out-loud funny reading.

While #14 isn't the best in the series and was perhaps not as deftly crafted, it's got some good laughs and has a good story. Though Evanovich consistently delights, it's unrealistic to expect every work to be a masterpiece. While I wait patiently for the next installment, I'll re-read my personal favorites and hope that the Joe-Steph-Ranger triangle heats up again in #15.

Stephanie and her friends keep me laughing. I stayed up all night laughing at the book. My husband even started the series!