Barb's Book Reviews: Review of "Finger Lickin' Fifteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel" by Janet Evanovich

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Review of "Finger Lickin' Fifteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel" by Janet Evanovich

In this 15th novel in the 'Stephanie Plum' series, the bounty hunter and her cohorts serve up the usual zany fun. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

Stephanie Plum's friend and co-worker Lula arrives at work in a frazzle, having just seen two thugs chop off a man's head.

At Lula's urging, Stephanie calls her sometimes boyfriend, Detective Joe Morelli, to investigate.

When the head turns up, the victim is identified as Stanley Chipotle, a well-known celebrity chef.

Chipotle was in town to promote a barbecue contest sponsored by the makers of 'Fire in the Hole Red Hot Barbecue Sauce.'

Morelli sets out to catch the chef's killers, but he's not alone in his quest. The barbecue sauce company is offering a million dollar reward for the capture of Chipotle's killers, and Lula wants to win the prize. Speculating that a cook-off contestant killed Chipotle, Lula decides to enter the competition and (hopefully) find the murderers there.

Since Lula can't cook she teams up with Grandma Mazur, and the two wackos try to perfect a recipe for tasty barbecue ribs. Unfortunately Lula and Grandma Mazur have neither the know-how nor the proper equipment, and they create one disaster after another.

In the meantime, the killers - knowing Lula can ID them - keep trying to bump her off. Lula takes to wearing a flak helmet and Kevlar vest - which makes a nice contrast with her hunky firefighter boyfriend, who wears a blue Dolly Parton evening gown.

While all this is going on, Stephanie is chasing bail skips AND doing a side job for Ranger's security company, Rangeman.

Some of Ranger's clients have experienced break-ins, and Stephanie is checking out the Rangeman staff - to see if an 'inside man' is stealing security codes. As usual, there's lots of 'flirting' between Ranger and Stephanie. 😉

An on-going joke in the series is Stephanie's bad luck. In this book, several of her cars burn down or explode;

Lula and Grandma Mazur blow up a pressure cooker in her apartment; killers shoot grenades into her windows; she's attacked with paint balls; and a bucket of paint is spilled on her. In a very funny scene, Lula gets stuck in Stephanie's car window - with her generous butt on the inside and her big boobs on the outside.

Many series' regulars make an appearance including Stephanie's mom - who introduces Stephanie to 'eligible bachelors' (unemployed losers); Stephanie's dad - who unhappily endures barbecue experiments for dinner; and Joyce Barnhardt - who puts her skanky eye on Morelli - much to Stephanie's chagrin.

Eventually, Rangeman's problems are solved; Chipotle's killers are nabbed; and the reader's had a lot of laughs.

This is an entertaining cozy mystery, recommended to fans of the genre.

Rating: 3 stars

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Leading up to and during World War II, some Jewish children in Europe were hidden with Christian families, or in convents, or in monasteries, or in churches, etc., to protect the youngsters from the Nazis. The idea was for Jewish survivors to retrieve the children after the war. Author Jennifer Rosner, who did extensive research on the subject, and interviewed many people, addresses this topic in her fiction book 'Once We Were Home.' I heard Rosner speak about her novel, and she emphasized the difficult situations that sometimes arose from secreting Jewish children (which only saved a tiny percentage of Jewish kids, by the way). Some 'foster parents' came to love the children as their own and vice versa; some church organizations baptized the children and refused to return them; some Jewish kids came to think of themselves as Christian; etc. For the decimated Jewish population, getting these children back after the war was of paramount importance. Jewish survivors would use bribes, payoffs, lawsuits, or even kidnapping to bring the kids home. Some children were reunited with European families, and some were taken to Israel, to live on kibbutzim. Rosner, who has a Ph.D. in philosophy, observes there wasn't always a 'right thing to do,' as shown in this novel. ***** There are several 'displaced' characters in 'Once We Were Home.' Roger: During World War II, Roger is a smart, inquisitive French schoolboy living in the Convent Sainte Marie de Sion. Roger likes to write stories; enjoys sharing jokes and riddles with his best friend Henri; goes to prayer services morning and evening; attends the convent school; and has a favorite teacher, Sister Brigitte, who encourages Roger to ask questions. Roger's sponsor, a woman named Madame Mercier, tells Roger his Jewish parents took the 'wrong road' and arranges for the boy to be baptized. Roger doesn't comprehend what the 'wrong road' is and wonders about his Jewish family. When World War II is over, Roger's aunt wants him back. The church, determined to save Roger's soul, sends him on the run with a monk, who takes Roger over the snowy mountains (on foot) to Spain. Meanwhile, Roger's aunt petitions the church and the courts again and again and again......

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Barb's Book Reviews

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Review of "Finger Lickin' Fifteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel" by Janet Evanovich

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