Ten Big Ones is the tenth outing in the Plum series, and this one has Stephanie starting a mini-war with a gang after she sees one of them committing a robbery.
Hijackers of chip trucks, Sally Sweet still in a dress, and school buses all show up to enliven the plot.
The whole shower thing for Valerie gets old real fast, adding nothing to the story. And I don’t really care about wannabe gang kingpins.
Not bad, good ending.
To the Nines is the ninth outing in the bounty hunter on LSD series, starring Stephanie Plum, Jersey girl. This one has Plum chasing an immigrant on a work visa bond, all the way from Jersey to Vegas.
The girls’ trip to Vegas was awesome with Connie along, and Stephanie’s random wiping out of RangerMan employees is kind of epic.
The “there’s a psycho stalking me” subplot gets old pretty fast, and she’s done it in at least four of the books so far. This one is actually menacing for a change, but that’s about it, and the plot with Singh as immigrant is kind of bland. However, the main plot for the story is revealed only by happenstance, and that’s a giant no-no for me. Almost no way to figure it out until some random tertiary character reveals it all at once. Sloppy plotting.
Fun secondary characters but sloppy plotting.
Hard Eight is the eighth book in the Stephanie Plum series. In this one, she’s looking for a missing mom and daughter whose grandmother could lose her house if the custody bond is violated.
The story has the typical range of secondary characters, and an addition of a hard-core female bounty hunter along the lines of Ranger. And a hysterical attempted vehicular murder of the Easter Bunny.
I don’t much care for stories that involve moms/wives and children in jeopardy and being shuttled around like a tub of household effects in a move. Part of that is the ick factor, but part of it is the simplistic storyline and emotional range that is usually given to the characters — the new “damsel in distress” plotline where someone has to come rescue them. I also didn’t feel that the initial bad guys were fleshed out very well, particularly as they are easy to spot in fake masks and outfits, and the final boss felt like a comic book character.
Not bad but not the best.
Seven Up is the seventh outing in the series about Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter. This time she’s after an old mobster who kills people and is dating her grandmother.
As with many of the Plum stories, it is often the secondary characters that add spice and liveliness to the story. DeChooch, the old and inept mobster, is a hoot and we get to see a lot more interactions with Moonman. There are so many cute scenes — like when she finds a bunch of stolen merchandise in a bedroom, asks for an explanation, and ends up buying a toaster. Oh and there’s a little thing about planning a wedding.
The basic premise of why everyone is looking for DeChooch is a bit far-fetched, but whatever. In addition, the arrival of sister Valerie with two kids in tow adds little to the story. And don’t get me started on the kidnapping of Grandma.
Love the Moonman, hate the wedding talk.
Plum’s got her latest assignment, no problem. She just has to bring in Ranger, a suspect in the death of a wanna-be gangster, the son of an arms dealer.
As with most things Plum, there’s a lot going on … Grandma has moved in, she gets stuck babysitting a wild dog, and there’s a killer running around who likes Stephanie. Plus we get to see an old high school pal, Moon Man, who is frequently fun since the elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top floors.
The whole sub-story with gun-runners and missing money, and Ranger being “wanted”, gets a little ridiculous after a while.
Plum vs. Ranger…talk about a mismatch.
