Review of "Look Alive Twenty-Five: A Stephanie Plum Mystery" by Janet Evanovich

In this 25th book in the comical 'Stephanie Plum' cozy mystery series, the bail enforcement agent gets involved with a series of bizarre abductions. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

Stephanie Plum works as a bounty hunter for her cousin Vinnie's bail bond business in Trenton, New Jersey.



Stephanie and her sidekick Lula - a voluptuous former ho - are comically inept at picking up bail jumpers, but usually get the job done in the end.



As the story opens, Stephanie stops by the bail bond office to get new 'skips' when Vinnie announces that his father-in-law, a mobster called Harry the Hammer, needs a manager for the Red River Deli he's just acquired.



The previous managers have disappeared, one after another, and someone has to run the place. So Stephanie is appointed manager, and Lula is made assistant manager -  jobs they're supposed to do in addition to bounty hunting.

Stephanie and Lula are concerned about working in the deli because they don't want to join the ranks of the 'disappeared.' All of the missing deli managers seem to have been abducted, with a single shoe being left behind in each case.



Lula speculates that the managers were beamed up by aliens, but a more earthly explanation seems likely. So Stephanie's two guys, her boyfriend Joe Morelli (a Trenton cop) and her sexy friend Ranger (a security expert), work out a plan to keep her safe. Stephanie has been vacillating between these two hotties for the entire series, and the triangle has gotten old (to say the least).





The deli employees are an amusing bunch of recreational drug users who work hard and claim to know nothing about the abductions. Being careful of their own safety, they refuse to throw out the trash since the kidnappings occurred in the dumpster area. This is a bonanza for raccoons, roaches, and rats, which abound in the run down neighborhood. 😝



To add to the mayhem a murder occurs, and the victim appears to be connected to the abductions. The rapidly escalating situation leads to an all out search for the kidnappers by the cops, Ranger, and an oddball illusionist called Wulf - who knows one of the abductees.

The story has few of the series' signature shenanigans, with minimal appearances by Stephanie's Grandma Mazur and no bombs. Most of the laughs come from Lula, who - given sandwich making responsibilities at the deli - ignores the actual orders and makes her own creations. So if you order tuna salad on whole wheat, you're likely to get sliced chicken with hot sauce on a hamburger bun.



As usual, Stephanie and Lula make a hash of catching bail jumpers; Lula self-soothes with donuts and fried food; and Stephanie gives her hamster Rex peanuts and affection. Same old, same old.

I got a few laughs from the story but it's not nearly as funny as the best books in the series. Still, if you're a Stephanie Plum fan you might like it. 

Rating: 3 stars