Tag Archives: crime

X by Sue Grafton (2015) – BR00125 (2019) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
January 26 2019

Plot or Premise

Kinsey is hired by a rich client for a simple task — find her biological son who was recently released from prison.

What I Liked

There are three storylines running concurrently, and the mix of types of cases is interesting…a missing persons case, which gets complicated when Kinsey finds out after she finishes the job that the client was bogus and there’s more going on that involves a complicated divorce; problems with neighbours; and a leftover case from Pete Wolinsky, a private-eye who was killed in a previous novel. The start of the missing persons case is intriguing and the investigation part of the old case is solid.

What I Didn’t Like

The problems with the neighbours are so obvious, the solution is seen a mile away by everyone except Henry and Kinsey. And mostly just annoying. The interest from the missing persons case deteriorates almost into Kinsey Millhone, marriage counsellor. And the leftover case redeems Pete’s character but then goes way over the top at the end.

The Bottom Line

A mix of three cases, none adding up to a solid plot

Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich (2016) – BR00123 (2019) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸

The PolyBlog
January 24 2019

Plot or Premise

Stephanie gets a dream job — undercover in an ice-cream factory — while Lulu, Randy and Grandma are trying to make a naked reality show.

What I Liked

Okay, I confess, if you put Lulu, Randy and Grandma in any situation for a naked reality show, there are going to be some crazy-fun scenes. And ice cream wars are funnier than the NYC pizza wars, maybe because they have ice cream clowns.

What I Didn’t Like

The clowns. I mean, who needs freaky-looking clowns?

The Bottom Line

A decent mystery and some fun characters that don’t try to kill Stephanie.

Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich (2015) – BR00122 (2019) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
January 24 2019

Plot or Premise

Men are stressing Stephanie out…a burglar who was covered in bacon grease, a frat boy who assaulted a Dean, Morelli who broke up with her, a businessman who hired RangeMan to protect him and his wife, and a guy who tortures women. And one of them has given her a pimple on her chin the size of Mount Everest.

What I Liked

For once, there is a decent mystery about what’s happening at the fraternity and how everything else is tied to it. Grandma and Lulu are kind of fun, as is a small sub-story about catfishing. But a scene near the end with Mom is absolute gold.

What I Didn’t Like

The off-again relationship stuff with Morelli is nearing the stupid point, particularly as nothing changes between them, and the simple answer to the frat mystery gets messed up with something out of a Tom Clancy novel.

The Bottom Line

An average Plum outing with a great Mom scene.

Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich (2014) – BR00121 (2019) – 🐸🐸⚪⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
January 20 2019

Plot or Premise

Stephanie is looking for a car dealer named Poletti and nobody seems to be missing him or know anything, except Randy Briggs who needs Poletti in jail.

What I Liked

The plot at least amps up this time to include human trafficking. And when someone starts eliminating loose ends, the threat quotient goes up.

What I Didn’t Like

A sub-story with a consulate was ludicrous, and the overall ending was way over-the-top.

The Bottom Line

Didn’t feel much like a Plum novel.

Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich (2013) – BR00120 (2019) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
January 20 2019

Plot or Premise

Stephanie is trying to bring in an aging mob-boss who is Morelli’s godfather.

What I Liked

Everyone loves Uncle Sunny so nobody wants to help…not his goons, not Morelli, not Morelli’s family, not anyone in the burg. But that’s not unusual. But dead old ladies showing up in dumpsters and a giraffe running through the burg? Now THOSE are unusual.

What I Didn’t Like

The plot was okay, although I didn’t find the end motive particularly great, nor the resolution. And the constant focus on the giraffe was just plain odd.

The Bottom Line

Good, but not the best of the series.