In this 31st book in the comical 'Stephanie Plum' cozy mystery series, the bail enforcement agent has become engaged to both men in her life.
Stephanie's two fiancés are:
◙ Joe Morelli - a New Jersey cop whom Stephanie's known since childhood. Stephanie feels comfortable hanging out with Morelli and his dog Bob, and Morelli's mother makes the best lasagna in the world.
◙ Ranger - a security expert who taught Stephanie her bond enforcement skills. Ranger watches Stephanie's back and sometimes helps her nab defendants who fail to appear (FTAs).
While Stephanie tries to decide between the two hotties, she has bail jumpers to catch. Stephanie and her sidekick Lula are notoriously inept at picking up fugitives from justice, but the gals always give it a good try.
Lula is flamboyant and fun, with her colorful wigs and too small spandex clothes that show off her bosom and bottom. Don't call Lula fat though, because she'll slug you with her pistol-packing purse.
Stephanie only gets paid when she picks up defendants who are FTA, and she needs money to pay for her new bed, bought to replace the one lost when her apartment was firebombed (again). So Stephanie is anxious to nab some bail jumpers. This time, Stephanie's FTAs are:
◙ Bruno Jug, an aging New Jersey gangster charged with tax evasion, which - as Lula observes - is what the Feds use when they can't prove racketeering, narcotics trafficking, extortion, and murder for hire. Jug is officially a fresh fruit distributor, and rumors say he's getting senile.
◙ Eugene Fleck, 26-year-old man, thought to be 'Robin Hoodie', a good samaritan who robs from the rich and gives to the poor. Eugene's fingerprints were found on a stolen UPS truck whose packages were distributed to homeless people.
◙ Jerry Bottles, a 62-year-old plumber who exposes himself to women. When Stephanie and Lula catch up with Bottles, he claims his member is too special to keep hidden away.
◙ Zoran Djordjevic (aka Fang), who thinks he's a vampire. Zoran has been arrested for assaulting women, and several women in his neighborhood are missing.
For the majority of the book, Stephanie and Lula chase down these bail jumpers, who usually manage to get away for one reason or another. Stephanie and Lula do score some swag along the way, like a fruit basket from Bruno Jug;
and Taco Tuesday (with chocolate cake) from Bruno Fleck's mother.
In this tale, the manager of the bail bond office, Connie Rosolli, shows off major research skills to help Stephanie locate FTAs. Connie mines Zillow, Google Earth, real estate sites, credit card records, family histories, and more. Connie even manages to track a helicopter that whisks away Bruno Jug. Very impressive!
And of course, Connie buys donuts for the office every day, which Lula needs to keep going.
As always, Stephanie is in danger, this time from would-be vampire Fang, who shows up at her apartment with a knife. Extra comic relief is provided by Herbert Slovinski, Stephanie's high school classmate whom she encounters at a funeral home viewing. Herbert takes it upon himself to fix up Stephanie's firebombed apartment while he continually (and harmlessly) propositions her. He's a hoot!
All the recurring characters make an appearance in the novel, including scuzzy little Vincent Plum, Grandma Mazur, and Stephanie's mom and dad, all of whom have their entertaining quirks.
By the time the story ends Stephanie has made her romantic choice, and we'll see how that works out.
Recommended to fans of the Stephanie Plum series.
Rating: 3.5 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment