Fearless Fourteen (Stephanie Plum, No. 14)

So ... did a ghost writer pen this novel? I could barely tell it was a Stephanie Plum story. Where's all the GREAT descriptions and the hilarious situational comedy? I usually laugh out loud at Ms. Evanovich's books, more than once, sometimes laughing til I cry.
It appeared as though someone else broke into her house and wrote the story.

And yes, although Morelli is "ok", sorry but I'm a Ranger fan. Why should Stephanie end up like her mother? Why should she turn out to be just some cop's wife in Trenton, taking care of a passel of kids? Obviously she's more than that. I disagree that Ranger is not a "keeper", that's silly. Any man is a keeper when the woman warrants it, inspires it ... and Stephanie does.

But it looks like Ms. Evanovich has Morelli firmly in mind for her heroine, which I think is predictable and stale. I'll be thinking twice before buying Fifteen.

Thanks for reading.

It's enough already, please hang it up. I've said that though for the past four books. Evanovich has taken what was a clever, funny series and ruined it completely. It's no longer funny, it's predictable and unoriginal.

For the sake of your loyal readers, and there are obviously thousands upon thousands, please inject some true effort into the next book or two and have it finish on top.

I have read all your Stephanie Plum books, enjoyed them all, but Fearless Fourteen is your best so far. These books are so entertaining but with this one, I laughed all the way through it. Please keep writing books about Stephanie Plum and her wacky friends and family.

Fearless Fourteen (Stephanie Plum, No. 14)
This series of books offers great adventure and fun lovin'. Janet Evanovich has given these characters great personalities and fun storylines. This review is by my wife. She has read every book in this series and loves them.

I was pleasantly surprised with Fearless Fourteen. I was bumming after the last one and approached JE's latest with some fear and trepidation. There are the same over-the-top situations and characters (I confess I DID find Brenda annoying, but I likely was supposed to) but the humor was not lost at the expense of the ridiculous. And other than Brenda, I really liked the new characters, especially Zook and Mooner. I have a teenage son and I may know Zook. Many Zooks, in fact. And anyone who gets a hoot out of the Leo character from That 70's Show can't help but love Mooner. He's cast in the same mold and even if lifted whole, that's cool man.

After finishing, I started reading the reviews here and began to rethink myself but decided that was not fair. As I closed the book, I realized I had genuinely enjoyed it. In thinking about the reviews though, especially comments that Stephanie is not growing and the characters are not developing, it occurred to me this whole book probably occupies about a week in book time. On JE's website, there's a comment that I'm possibly taking out of context, but in response to a question about age, the answer is the characters are the same age they always are. Years are not passing for these characters; how much growth could there be? Yet there was some. Stephanie does not want to bring in a skip with a camera crew riding along because she knows she and Lula are much more Lucy and Ethel than Cagney and Lacey. And once Stephanie is committed to carrying out an action for the police, we see Morelli exhibiting frustration at events he cannot control. Now, I confess I had to suspend disbelief when Morelli made tomato sauce from scratch the day before it was needed but it totally made me want him even more.

Ranger's part was much less than in the past, but that's ok with this Cupcake girl. According to the website, JE has two more books on her current contract. In thinking about this one as a step toward a possible end, I know who I want her to end up with. It occurs to me in this one, we are faced with the potential Zook is more than a cousin to Morelli and Stephanie thinks about how she would feel about that. Hmmm, she's considering parenthood. Geez, I can't believe I'm about to recommend unplanned parenthood, but for these two characters, surrounded by this supporting cast, the potential is delicious.