Review: Janet Evanovich - Smokin' Seventeen

Janet Evanovich - Smokin' Seventeen

Pub. Date: June 21, 2011
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Format: Audio Book
Narrator: Lorelei King
Series: Stephanie Plum Series #17

Where there’s smoke there’s fire, and no one knows this better than New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum.

Dead bodies are showing up in shallow graves on the empty construction lot of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. No one is sure who the killer is, or why the victims have been offed, but what is clear is that Stephanie’s name is on the killer’s list.

Short on time to find evidence proving the killer’s identity, Stephanie faces further complications when her family and friends decide that it’s time for her to choose between her longtime off-again-on-again boyfriend, Trenton cop Joe Morelli, and the bad boy in her life, security expert Ranger. Stephanie’s mom is encouraging Stephanie to dump them both and choose a former high school football star who’s just returned to town. Stephanie’s sidekick, Lula, is encouraging Stephanie to have a red-hot boudoir “bake-off.” And Grandma Bella, Morelli’s old-world grandmother, is encouraging Stephanie to move to a new state when she puts “the eye” on Stephanie.

With a cold-blooded killer after her, a handful of hot men, and a capture list that includes a dancing bear and a senior citizen vampire, Stephanie’s life looks like it’s about to go up in smoke.

Janet Evanovich knows what her fans want, and boy oh boy did she deliver on this one!! Honestly, this is a must read if you're a fan of this series. I was laughing so hard I think I cried a little. And probably I could have peed my pants. It's that funny.

It's so very funny, entertaining, and sidesplitting merriment. This is a fantastic installment of this series! Stephanie is at her usual - no deciding between Ranger or Morelli, getting into trouble with Lula, and being in the middle of deaths around Trenton. She has other trouble in the works though! Her mother is trying to set her up with Dave, an old high school friend, and Grandma Bella puts the eye on her.. yikes! Yikes for Steph, but it's fun for readers - it leads to some interesting action!

Lula is also her same badass self. She's so comical it hurts sometimes. Her eating habits are just too much! And her outfits! She is definitely one of my favorite characters in this series! I can't tell you how funny Lula is. Everything in this book is light enough to laugh at. That's partly what I love about her novels. They don't take themselves to seriously, even though it's unrealistic.

Again, no, Stephanie does not make a choice here, but number 18 is coming out in November and I do believe I heard that she may make a choice then. Does that mean the series is ending?? I sure hope not. It's so funny and great (and a money-maker.. selling, what was it, 218,000 copies in the first day? I thought I read that on Lorelei King's twitter). Let's hope for more Stephanie, even if that means no choice.

And since I listened to this one, like all the other books, let's talk about the audio. Lorelei King is, in one word, AMAZING. Her voices for each character are distinctive and special to me. She IS Stephanie and Ranger and Morelli and Lula and Connie and Vinny and Mooner and Grandma Mazur and.. you understand. Everyone. Oh my goodness. If you haven't listened to these, you should look into it!!

Rating:

4/5 book sharks