UNBUCKLE YOUR BELT AND PULL UP A CHAIR. IT'S THE SPICIEST, SAUCIEST, MOST RIB-STICKING PLUM YET.
Recipe for disaster: Celebrity chef Stanley Chipotle comes to Trenton to participate in a barbecue cook-off and loses his head – literally.
Throw in some spice: Bail bonds office worker Lula is witness to the crime, and the only one she’ll talk to is Trenton cop, Joe Morelli.
Pump up the heat: Chipotle’s sponsor is offering a million-dollar reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the capture of the killers.
Stir the pot: Lula recruits bounty hunter Stephanie Plum to help her find the killers and collect the moolah.
Add a secret ingredient: Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur. Enough said.
Bring to a boil: Can Stephanie hunt down two killers, a traitor, five skips, keep her grandmother out of the sauce, solve Ranger’s problems and not jump his bones?
Warning: Habanero hot. So good you’ll want seconds.
Title: Finger Lickin’ Fifteen
Author: Janet Evanovich
Series: Stephanie Plum, Book 15
Start & Finished: 6/28/09
Published: June 23, 2009
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pages: 308
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Official Book Site
Featuring Lulu "Stephanie Plum's wheelman", Finger Lickin' Fifteen "opens with Lula witnessing a crime, and it all gets complicated after that. We're talking about barbecue gone bad, cross-
dressing firemen, dancing hot dogs, etc." The latest in the Stephanie Plum series, Janet Evanovich shows no sign of stopping this series any time soon.When it comes to catching skips, no bails-woman can do it more hilariously than Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum. True, she’s not very good at it but that is a major reason why this series has lasted as long as it has. Well, besides her ability to have a bad guy blow up nearly every car she comes in contact with she also has two majorly good looking guys more than a little interested in her!
Eva
novich tends to switch focus between these two men every other book and in Finger Lickin’ Fifteen, it’s Ranger’s turn… in theory at least. He had a good bit more to do in this plot than normal but it still felt like a Morelli story to me. Maybe I'm
just frustrated that it's 15 books into the series and Ms. Evanovich is still balancing the romance triangle between Stephanie, Ranger, and Morelli.Honestly, maybe I’m just getting tired of the series but it doesn’t seem to be offering much that is new. Stephanie Plum is still "the sane one in a menagerie of crazies," she’s still struggling with her job as a bounty hunter, and like I’ve already said, she still hasn’t picked a guy completely yet. Just like the last three or four books by this author I simply didn’t enjoy them as much as the earlier ones…. On the other hand, maybe I’m just irritated that the books are starting to become more slapstick orientated as they go along. My mom still absolutely loves these though.
Stephanie Plum
1. One for the Money (1994)
2. Two for the Dough (1995)
3. Three to Get Deadly (1997)
4. Four to Score (1998)
5. High Five (1999)
6. Hot Six (2000)
7. Seven Up (2001)
8. Hard Eight (2002)
9. To the Nines (2003)
10. Ten Big Ones (2004)
11. Eleven on Top (2005)
12. Twelve Sharp (2006)
13. Lean Mean Thirteen (2007)
14. Fearless Fourteen (2008)
15. Finger Lickin' Fifteen (2009)
16. Sizzling Sixteen (2010)
First Paragraph: When I was a kid, I was afraid of spiders and vegetables. As an adult, I've eliminated vegetables from my fright-o-meter, but I've added a whole bunch of other stuff. Homicidal maniacs, serial rapists, cellulite, Joe Morelli's Grandma Bella, rabid bats, and any form of organized exercise.
Links:
Wikipedia entries for author Janet Evanovich and her heroine Stephanie Plum
Interviews:
2009-With Author Michael Connelly
2009-CTV News
2009-Calgary Sun
2009-Fox Business
Videos:
Interview with Borders Media
Interview with MSN
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Interview with NY Post
Picture Explanations
Barbecue: Story centers around a barbecue competition
Meat Cleaver: Murder weapon
Burnt Car: You guessed it, another one of Stephanie’s cars blows up.
You made it! I still have to read 14. Then maybe I can think of this one. :-) My interest in the series is waning too--probably why I have fallen behind. There was a time when I was at the bookstore as soon as I could be on release day.
ReplyDeleteI know these aren't great literature, but I do enjoy them. Sorry the series is getting old for you.
ReplyDeleteI should love this series, but I gave up after reading only a couple of them.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I have an award for you if you get a chance to stop by.
ReplyDeletehttp://carolsnotebook.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/awards-3/
Wendy: Oh you're not missing much unfortunately with this one. I came to this series soon after the 12th one came out so I was never that dedicated but I was that way about Laurell K. Hamilton and now I don't even own her two latest books. *Sigh*, maybe series should end after the 10th or so book...
ReplyDeleteBermudaonion: They're still funny but the humor is getting more and more crude. Relying on fart jokes to get the laugh now, etc.
carolsnotebook: The early ones are really, really good but I'm just not really happy with these lately :(
Thank you!
It is impressive to see that list of books and know you read them all. Sorry the last few have been great for you. Hopefully #16 will be better.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think it is time to end this series. I loved the first ones and went through 10 in about a week. The last couple books have been so so.
ReplyDeleteThese are such fun reads for me.
ReplyDeleteJenny Girl: I'm not even 100% sure if I'm going to read the 16th one. I heard that her between-the-numbers guy Diesel is getting his own series so I will be reading that but I may skip any more Plums.
ReplyDeleteMari: Maybe Evanovich will go back to what we loved eventually? I sure hope so because if I wanted to read about fart jokes I have a little brother who could recommend books to me.
Sharon: They used to be for me too.
I'm with your Mom on this one. Even though it's the same story in each book I still love Stephanie and Lula's adventures.
ReplyDeleteMy mom is a huge fan of these books too. My father calls the new ones "drivel". He feels like you do, that it's mostly slap-stick and nothing has moved forward.
ReplyDeleteI flip-flop on my feelings depending on the book. I am frustrated half the time at the lack of progress in her life and the other half love that she has all these things happen to her in a really funny way. The triangle between Joe and Ranger can get on my nerves but I felt in this book at least she was trying to stay away from both of them (though not very well). Ranger is the Bad Boy Tempter and her heart is with Morelli I think.
Depending on how funny and fast moving the plot I can forget about how lack of progress-y the stories are. This one was a good one for me in that case, it made me laugh a lot and it did show that Stephanie has a brain and is pretty decent at solving puzzles when she works with Ranger.
Also, I love that her cars blow up. LOVE IT!