Explosive 18 (Stephanie Plum #18)
by Janet Evanovich

Summary
Stephanie Plum has plenty of FTA’s to catch after returning from her trip, but her capture ratio is low! While this should be a top priority since rent needs to be paid, Steph’s far more concerned with all the interested parties wanting to question her about a missing photograph.  Yet, all her family and friends seem to care about is what exactly happened on her Hawaiian vacation. And that’s one thing she does not want to talk about! Meanwhile a problem with the bonds bus forces Vincent Plum Bail Bonds to seek yet another location. Now Steph has to sort out this photo mess without getting killed and still earn enough money to make ends meet.

Review
Picking up shortly after the (small) cliff-hanger at the end of Smokin’ Seventeen, Explosive Eighteen changes things up a bit by having two fun mysteries that don’t even involve the bonds office. And those are on top of Steph and Lula’s hilarious adventures in Bounty Hunting! I personally found this deviation from the normal formula to be fun and refreshing. I also really liked that we got a direct continuation of the story from the last installment. Often the Plum books are fairly self-contained, but I’m a fan of the continuing arc.

I’ve read complaints about Steph’s back and forth between Morelli and Ranger, and the fact that she hasn’t improved much as a Bounty Hunter in all these years. While both these issues are still present, what was different in book 18 is that Stephanie seems to have realized that it’s time to make a choice and some improvements. Yay for progress! And it wouldn’t be a Plum novel without the many laugh-out-loud moments, which were in full supply in Explosive Eighteen. I found Lula was especially hilarious this time around, and would like to petition Janet Evanovich to make Lula’s “Hell yeah. I’m a big Tweeter” comment a reality! Because @Lula would definitely be a Tweeter worth following!

Verdict
With some fun mysteries and hilarious antics, Explosive Eighteen is one of my favourite Plum adventures in quite a few numbers!

BONUS!  The hardcover edition of Explosive Eighteen contains the cutest tear-out 2012 Plum calendar!

*I received this book for review from the Publisher.

Psych: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Read
by William Rabkin

Synopsis
After the PSYCH detective agency gets some top-notch publicity, Shawn’s high-school nemesis, Dallas Steele, hires him to help choose his investments. Naturally, their predictions turn out to be total busts. And the deceptive Dallas is thrilled that he has completely discredited and humiliated Shawn once and for all—until he’s found murdered. But the police have a suspect – found at the scene with a smoking gun. And she says Shawn took control of her mind and forced her to do it. After all, he is a psychic…

Review
This is going to be short and sweet – well, not so sweet really but definitely short. I picked this book up last year after being pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the first Burn Notice tie-in novel, The Fix. I had high hopes. Granted, the two books had entirely different authors but William Rabkin had actually written an episode of Psych back in season one. Surely he’d do a good job capturing the essence of these characters I love so much, right?

Wrong. Or maybe right. But, man, if this book is indicative of what these characters are really like inside their heads… Well, I’d rather stick with my interpretation of them. Because, while they sure sounded like my favorite characters and I do think he did a good job with their voices when it came to dialog (and there are lots of laughs too), I hated his take on their motivation for doing things, etc. I’ve seen people complain about Shawn being a jerk on the show and I’m guessing those people have the same view on Shawn’s actions as Rabkin.

Verdict
I finished the book but not happily and it didn’t take me long to decide I’d be skipping all future Psych tie-in novels. I will say that the Amazon reviews are all fairly positive so it may just be that I have a more idealized version of these characters in my head. But I’d caution fellow fans to try reading a chapter or two of the book before actually purchasing.

Spying in High Heels
by Gemma Halliday

Spying in High Heels, the first book in Gemma Hallidays’ High Heels Mysteries had been on my wish list for some time. So when I finally received it, I couldn’t wait to start reading, and even bumped a number of books on my to-read list so I could dive in ASAP. And I’m glad I did, because I loved Spying in High Heels and could not put it down. In fact, I liked it so much that I’ve already got the second book in the series Killer in High Heels waiting for me at home.

Maddie Springer is almost living the perfect LA life… She has a great job as a shoe designer – if only it weren’t children’s shoes that she was designing. She has a great boyfriend – except she can’t seem to find him. Eager to discuss a matter of utmost importance with him, Maddie takes it upon herself to track down her missing boyfriend, and inadvertently stumbles upon a murder in the process. Her efforts to locate her boyfriend keep her crossing paths with sexy Detective Ramirez, who is investigating the murder and wishes Maddie would just get out of his way.

Maddie is a little bit Stephanie Plum and a little bit Carrie Bradshaw all rolled up into one fun, and entertaining package. Her best friend Dana is a hilarious addition to the story, and Detective Ramirez fills the hot, broody male quota. Halliday’s writing is smart and the story zips along quickly and easily. Spying in High Heels is a funny and fast paced adventure in amateur sleuthing that you won’t be able to put down, and an excellent start to a new series!

In the past week and a half, I have completely re-read Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series. I had forgotten just how much I love these books. They are just so much fun. It sounds ridiculous but I love them so much I almost want to re-read them again. Now. Instead I’ll bide my time for the next two weeks until the newest book in the series, Finger Lickin’ Fifteen (pictured), comes out.

If you’ve never read these books, you owe it to yourself to check them out. One of the things I re-discovered in this re-read, is how much I love reading certain passages out loud. Granted I like reading pretty much any book out loud but well-written books like these that often make you laugh at loud just make it all the better. Take the following passage from One for the Money. I loved it so much I read it out loud to myself multiple times and then I brought it into the office and read it to one of my co-workers. See if you enjoy it as much as I did.

This first piece is just to set up what’s happening, another bounty hunter is “commandeering” Steph’s car… which she “commandeered” from Joe Morelli:

“Christ, Beyers, you can’t just come into a lot and take someone’s car! That’s stealing. You’re a goddamn car thief.”

“So?”

“Where’d you get the keys?”

“Same place you did. Morelli’s apartment. He had an extra set on his dresser.”

“You won’t get away with this.”

“What are you gonna do, call the police?”

“God will get you for this.”

“Fuck God,” Beyers said, sliding behind the wheel, taking time to adjust the seat and fiddle with the radio.

Arrogant bastard, I thought. Not only is he stealing the damn car, but he’s sitting there flaunting his ability to take it. I grabbed my defense spray and bolted out the door and down the stairs. I was barefoot, wearing a Mickey Mouse nightshirt and a pair of Jockey string bikinis, and I could have cared less.

I was through the back door with my foot on the pavement when I saw Beyers turn the key and step on the accelerator. A split second later, the car exploded with a deafening blast, sending doors flying off into space like Frisbees. Flames licked up from the undercarriage and instantly consumed the Cherokee, turning it into a brilliant yellow fireball.

(Evanovich, One for the Money, 1994, chap 12, page 256)

Two pages later, the police and other emergency vehicles have arrived. One of the cops, Dorsey, sees Steph and comes over to talk to her. She explains about Morty and the car:

I figured I’d embellish the truth a little, since the police might not be up on the finer points of bounty hunterism and might not understand about commandeering. “It’s like this,” I said. “I went to see Morelli’s mother, and she was very upset that no one was running Joe’s car. You know how bad it is for the battery to let a car sit. Well one thing led to another and the next thing I’d agreed to drive the car around for her.”

“So you’ve been driving Morelli’s car as a favor to his mother?”

“Yes. He’d asked her to take care of it, but she didn’t have time.”

“Very noble of you.”

“I’m a noble person.”

“Go on.”

So I did. I explained about Beyer’s wife leaving him, and about how he tried to steal the car, and how he made the mistake of saying “fuck God,” and then the car blew up.

“You think God got pissed off and fried Beyers?”

“That would be one theory.”

(Evanovich, One for the Money, 1994, chap 12, pages 259-260)

Ha! Love it. I always forget she’s going to bring up the “Fuck God,” and it never fails to crack me up.

The other reminder re-reading served was how much I’d love to see these characters on my TV screen. I don’t often try to imagine something I’m reading in a different format. But every so often a set of characters is so great, I can’t help but wonder what they’d be like if brought to life in 3-D.

I don’t know if we’ll ever see it. Mostly because TriStar bought the rights to the first book before it even hit the shelves and we still haven’t seen anything come of it. Janet’s FAQ says that a script has been in the works for years and that surely can’t be good. Of course, I think the reason they can’t get a good script out of this is probably because it’s a much better first for the small screen instead. I’m sure TriStar owning the rights probably mucks up the works of that ever happening. Damn it!

As is typical whenever Jody and I get on the topic of Stephanie Plum, we start talking about who we’d like to see cast as these characters. And! When I twittered about finishing my re-read, @Cinematt01 asked me about the same thing! Funny how that works, eh?

While in the past I agreed with Jody that Lauren Graham would make a great Stephanie, now I wonder if she’s almost a little too “pretty” for the role. Which is probably ridiculous. She would be great at capturing Steph’s voice though. Take the passage above, Lauren would definitely be able to pull that off and have you rolling. (An aside: Janet’s latest poll about who should play Stephanie Plum if the movie were to be made has Lauren listed! Most people think Sandra Bullock is better suited to the roll, though, and I can see that. Except, and it pains me to say this, she’s a little old for the roll at this point.)

It’s a little tougher for me to cast the guys. In fact, I need to think on it some more. While I’m thinking, I thought I’d throw it out there for you guys. If we made the Stephanie Plum series into a TV show, who would you cast as your favorite characters?

PS: Don’t forget that you can still enter the Name the Book contest for Book #16!

The Crime of Fashion mystery series that I read this past summer is now being made into two Lifetime movies. I didn’t love the books but my girl Maggie Lawson was cast as the lead, Lacey Smithsonian, so I’ve been keeping my eye on Ellen Byerrum’s blog for updates about the movie. Today she updated with the trailer for the first movie so I wanted to share…

 
Looks like fun, no?

The Spellman Files, Curse of the Spellmans, & Revenge of the Spellmans
by Lisa Lutz

The short review is thus: I. Am. In. Love.

I picked up these books based on a review written by a friend. She was actually reviewing the second book in the series but I was sold. I headed to the library to get the first book. The next day? I was back at the library anxious to get my hands on the second book. And when the brand-new third book was checked out? I went out and bought it. I tell you this so you’ll understand just how quickly these books hooked me. Of course now I’m annoyed that I read through them so quickly and have to wait for the next one.

At the heart of this story is a family of private investigators, the Spellmans. The middle child, Isabelle “Izzy” Spellman, is our storyteller and it doesn’t take long to figure out there’s nothing normal about this family. Quirky at their best and dysfunctional at their worst, the one thing we never doubt is that they truly love each other.

I know this series is billed as mysteries and there are multiple investigations taking place in each of the books but I maintain these are character stories and the mysteries are just catalysts. If you go into these looking for an intriguing mystery, I think you’re bound to be disappointed. But, if you go in knowing this is the story of the Spellmans, you’re going to be pleasantly surprised by how much you come to care for these characters and what’s happening to them.

I tend to like my books as books and my TV shows as TV shows but, as I read, I could easily picture this as a series on USA. That’s how much these characters jump off the page at you and how laugh out loud funny it can be at times. Even better, these characters actually continue to develop from book to book. One of my only problems with the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum series is how long it takes for there to be any character growth from book to book. What even then we don’t get much. Understandable as it’d be hard to reach book 15 of hi-jinx with Stephanie if she changed too much.

So it was refreshing to read these books and actually see the Spellmans growing and changing from book to book. I don’t know how many more Spellman Mysteries we’ll get but I’m anxiously awaiting the next one. If you like books that are both funny and heart-warming and feature a quirky set of characters, then I think you should give these books a try. Like me, you might start wishing you could be a Spellman too dysfunction and all.

PS: This is how much I love these books… I talked them up to my Mom this past weekend and even bought her the first one so she’d have no excuse not to give it a try. Then, as I was sitting in her living room that afternoon, I re-read it! Admittedly it was more like a scan of my favorite parts but, still, I just read it a month ago and already I want to re-read all of them again. That’s some serious book love right there, people.

Welcome to the first of what we hope is many giveaways! Everyone likes free stuff, right? Whenever we’ve got loot to share, that’s just what we intend to do. Can’t promise it’s always gonna be as fun as this one but, hey, it’ll always be free.

Today’s giveaway is your chance to check it out the first book in Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Series!

I haven’t read any of the books myself but Jody’s a huge fan and I know plenty of others who love it as well. We wanted to give someone else the chance to fall in love with it. As some of you may know, the HBO series, True Blood, is based on the books so we’ve got a little combo gift bag for the TV/Book lovers out there.

It includes:

• TruBlood Bag
• “Real Blood Is For Suckers” T-Shirt (Red, XL)
• True Blood Bookmark
• Charlaine Harris’ Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, No. 1)

 
To enter use the comments below to recommend one book to us by April 10th.
If you use Twitter and want an extra entry, tweet about the giveaway and include @raelee or @justjody in your tweet so we’ll be able to find it. Example: I’m totally gonna win this Southern Vampire Series bag of goodies from @raelee: http://tinyurl.com/chsrsu

Nothing to Fear but Ferrets (Petsitter Mysteries, No. 2)
by Linda O. Johnston

I forgot to review Sit, Stay, Slay back in January but I enjoyed it. Kendra, a lawyer who was framed and has lost her job, has a natural talent for petsitting and she takes on several jobs to make some extra money. That is, until one of her clients ends up dead and she’s a suspect. This first mystery actually has ties to Kendra’s past and that helped draw me into the story.

The second book in this series was less satisfying. In fact, I have to admit I’m now happy that my bookstore didn’t have the third book in this series after I read that first one. I fully intended to buy all of the series and, while I would have read them had I done that, I’m happier stopping after this one.

Like I said, that first book had a little more to it and that may be why I wasn’t as impressed with the second book. The mystery in Nothing to Fear but Ferrets is still personal to Kendra but it wasn’t nearly as interesting to me. I figured out who did it pretty early in the book and yet the explanation for it was less than satisfying. At the end of the book, I realized I was ok with not finding out what mystery Kendra would have to solve next. The book’s not bad but it’s not great either. So, if I return to this series, it won’t be until I run out of other options.

Dying in Style (Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper, Book 1)
by Elaine Viets

I’m not sure how I missed this series during my summer mystery spree but I ran across the book recently and thought it sounded right up my alley. And I’m not sure why it wasn’t. The lead character is a woman who, while not without her problems, isn’t afraid to stand up for what she thinks is right and is spunky while doing it. What’s not to like, right?

Yet it just didn’t do anything for me. I didn’t hate it. I read the whole thing and I even went ahead and checked out the next few books in the series. In fact, it wasn’t until I picked up the second book in the series, High Heels are Murder, that I realized just how little I cared about what Josie Marcus was up to now.

The characters just didn’t interest me. And with these mystery stories, in which the mysteries don’t have much depth to them, that’s kinda key. Plus it lacked the sense of humor I was expecting. I can’t remember one laugh out loud moment and I think that’s partly why I put the second book down after only a few chapters.

To be fair, I will note the majority of reviews at Amazon don’t agree with me and there were plenty of folks on GoodReads who enjoyed it. So maybe it was just something about these characters that failed to click with me and you’d enjoy them?

Grave Surprise (Harper Connelly Mystery, Book 2)
by Charlaine Harris

After reading and loving Grave Sight, the first book in Charlaine Harris’ Harper Connelly series, I eagerly dove into Grave Surprise expecting another clever mystery and looking forward to getting to know Harper and Tolliver better. Unfortunately, I didn’t really get either out of this second Harper Connelly mystery.

Not to say that I didn’t enjoy the story, or that I had any problems with how the characters were portrayed – but I guessed the killer pretty much the moment they were introduced, and we weren’t provided with much new information about Harper and Tolliver. Rather than adding to what we already knew about the step-siblings, Grave Surprise merely seemed to recap what we learned about them in the first novel.

Despite the lack of character development, and my quick assumption as to who the killer was, I had no trouble finishing the story and still found it an enjoyable read. However, it does seem that certain aspects of the story (trying to stay spoiler-free here) are heading in a direction that I don’t think I’m going to like. I still plan on reading An Ice Cold Grave, the third (and at this point last) volume in this series to see if I’m in fact correct in my suspicions as to where this particular part of the story is heading. Stay tuned for further thoughts on this and other things in An Ice Cold Grave.