Tag Archives: romance

Perilous Relations by Carole Epstein (1997) – BR00019 (2001) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
March 4 2001

Plot or Premise

Barbara Simons, retired airline exec, has purchased a ride-along-with-the-police-for-a-night in an auction, and this is her night — after several hours of boredom, the police respond to a murder scene. By happenstance, it is someone that she knows: a former exec of the same airline has been murdered. Ever inquisitive, Barbara comforts the widow, talks to the deceased’s sister, goes to the wake and then to the funeral.

What I Liked

There are several elements in this book that make the story fly along faster than the previous book in the series (Perilous Friends). There are fewer sub-stories distracting from the main plot, and the streamlining makes for a more coherent story. The writing itself is better as well, and the new characters are fleshed out where appropriate. Most importantly, there is the reintroduction of romantic options for Barbara in terms of the handsome cop Greg, as well as a not-yet-defined relationship with a new male sidekick.

What I Didn’t Like

There isn’t anything big that I didn’t like in this book, just a couple of small things. First, the relationship-cliffhanger from the end of the last book is not a major part of this book, and is instead left sitting there in limbo for a good portion of this book (until pg. 121). One of the reasons I tracked this book down was the ending of the last book — I didn’t like the cliff-hanger aspect, but I had to know what happened (normally, my To-Be-Read pile is so big that I never take the time to search for a specific book). But her out-of-town BF had been coming to visit her in the last book for what she thought was going to be a big weekend with some important announcement or question, and I expected some sort of resolution here. It doesn’t happen. For this book, the ending is a little weaker than the rest of the story, and it all comes together a little too quickly for my tastes, but it is handled rather well except for a small problem of logistics in terms of the bad guy transporting a gun around Montreal (can’t say any more than that without giving away the ending). A little unrealistic, but not enough to affect the rating.

Disclosure

I was not personal friends with the author, but I did interact with her briefly on social media.

The Bottom Line

Best in the series.

Dying To Get Even by Judy Fitzwater (1999) – BR00017 (2001) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸

The PolyBlog
March 4 2001

Plot or Premise

Jennifer Marsh is back with her reporter boyfriend. This time, her elder friend Emmie Walker is in trouble: Jennifer finds her standing next to the dead body of Edgar Walker, with the murder weapon in her hand.

What I Liked

The rambling around by all of the characters is great. As usual, Jennifer’s writing group throw themselves in to help her investigate all the goings-on at Edgar’s Down Home Grill, complete with a special sauce that may be to-die-for.

What I Didn’t Like

The storyline jumps around a bit in time at the start. It might have read a lot better in normal linear fashion rather than the resulting stilted jumping. It’s only the first few chapters though, so it doesn’t overly hurt the story.

Disclosure

I am not personal friends with the author, but I have interacted with them briefly on social media.

The Bottom Line

Even better than the first in the series.

Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich (1997) – BR00072 (1999) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
November 29 1999

Plot or Premise

This time around, Plum’s got a dandy assignment: pick up Uncle Mo, the owner of the local soda shop who everybody thinks is a saint. He got picked up for carrying a concealed weapon (which everybody says is no real crime at all) and promptly jumps bail for no apparent reason. She no sooner asks the first person about Mo’s whereabouts, and lo and behold, her mom is getting complaints about her harassing poor Uncle Mo. Ah, life is just peachy. Add in a couple of vigilante types who keep warning her away from Mo, some more involvement with Jackie and Lulu (the hookers from book one), and life gets interesting.

What I Liked

I liked the expansion of the various characters again. As well, it’s kind of fun to see the relationship develop between Joe and Stephanie, even if it is not romance-by-the-book. 🙂 The grandmother is less pronounced in this one but Lulu more than makes up for it as she wants to kick butt too. Ranger is definitely an interesting presence, and fun for everyone.

What I Didn’t Like

This book is a little more hard-boiled, complete with lots of guns blazing, and some harder-core motives for stuff. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it detracts a bit from the otherwise amusing antics of Stephanie as she is still learning the ropes about being a bounty hunter.

The Bottom Line

A little more hard-boiled.

Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich (1996) – BR00065 (1999) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
November 29 1999

Plot or Premise

This is the second book in the series about Stephanie Plum, new bounty hunter. This time around, her first love’s distant cousin, Kenny Mancuso, is supposed to be a relatively easy pickup. Sure, he shot a guy, his best friend, but he’s not all that bright. Except that he’s fresh out of the army and suddenly wealthy.

What I Liked

I liked the expansion of the role by Plum’s grandmother, even though I thought she was over the top in the first one. Here, it’s funny, as she is out of control. She goes to a funeral with a closed coffin for a guy who was shot, and she opens the coffin to see what he looks like. Another dead guy has a strange-looking ring so she touches the hand and the finger comes off. Don’t even ask about her shooting a gun. The love story with Morelli moves along a bit until he screws up (as all men do) and the brakes come on hard. Add in the sub-plot of 24 missing coffins, and the read is a riot. An improvement over the first book, and further expansion of some nice supporting characters.

What I Didn’t Like

There are a few too many guys running around with no real explanation, and the major baddie Kenny does a pretty good job of going wherever he wants to despite a large number of people looking for him (remembering that he wasn’t too bright to begin with).

The Bottom Line

Another great one in the series.

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich (1995) – BR00064 (1999) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
November 29 1999

Plot or Premise

This book introduces Stephanie Plum, a good girl down on her luck, who falls into bounty hunting to pick up some cash and avoid having to move back home. She lives in the suburbs of New Jersey, and dances around the question of whether she wants to bed Joe Morelli again — the local cop who stole her virginity when she was young and foolish, and then wrote about it on the bathroom walls and the stadium bleachers. She got revenge years later by almost running him down with a Buick. No cream puff here, she is also not exactly an expert at being a “fugitive apprehension agent”. More like an apprehensive agent, and the descriptions are hilarious.

What I Liked

Stephanie is supposed to find an elusive man — Joe Morelli! Yep, her cop foil and first love is wanted for allegedly shooting an unarmed suspect. Morelli claims there were other guys in the apartment, and there was a gun, but that doesn’t change the fact that Plum needs to bring him in to get the money. And she isn’t experienced enough to match wits with him for most of the book. But she has help from a lot of extra support characters — Ranger, the experienced bounty-hunter; Vincent, the bail bondsman; and Plum’s family.

What I Didn’t Like

Her grandmother is a little over the top but so are Lulu and Jackie, hookers in the downtown neighbourhood; and one seriously disturbed boxer, with a passion for hurting women.

The Bottom Line

Excellent first in the series.