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July 18, 2007 4:38 PM

BOOK REVIEW: Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich

I've read all of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books as they've each come out, but I'm now re-reading them as part of my big book clear-out. Yes, I'm attempting to get rid of most of my books and, since the Evanovich books are widely available in libraries if I ever got the urge to re-read any of them again (re-re-read?) they're going to be among the first to go.

Two for the Dough, like all of Evanovich's books, has a rather convoluted plot which, if I'm honest, I didn't really bother to follow. I tend to just go along for the ride, enjoy the flirting and the banter and not worry about the crime until it all works out in the end. Is that wrong?

Basically, Stephanie is on the trail of Kenny Mancuso has gone missing following the murder of one of his friends. At the same time, another friend, Spiro Stiva, who is looking after Stiva's Funeral Parlour while his stepfather Constantine is in hospital recovering from a herniated disk, asks Stephanie to try and find 24 coffins that he bought on the cheap and then ... misplaced.

Mancuso is a cousin of Joe Morelli's, so Joe has personal and professional reasons (Joe's a cop) to want to find Mancuso and when he learns that Mancuso has been harassing Stephanie, he starts hanging around. Both to protect her and because Stephanie tends to attract trouble and is likely to lead the police to Mancuso.

The early Plum books are a bit more serious and less slapstick than later books, I think. (Then again, Stephanie does fall off a fire escape and land in dog mess, so I might be wrong about that.) But apart from that everything is in place. The sexual tension with gorgeous Joe Morelli (those of you who'd choose Ranger over Joe are just plain weird - actually, there's barely any Ranger in this book), Grandma Mazur at her crazy best and, of course, Stephanie is funny and charming.

If you've never read any Stephanie Plum books, I envy you. You've got a treat in store.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

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Posted by Keris on July 18, 2007 in American Authors, Crime / Mystery, Rating: 4/5, Series | Permalink

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