Janet Evanovich - Smokin' Seventeen

Back to one of my favourite series, Stephanie Plum, from an author I love, Janet Evanovich,  Like I've said before, I've read a large number of Evanovich's books and love the main characters of the Stephanie Plum series.

Smokin' Seventeen is the seventeenth full length novel from Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series which follows Stephanie Plum, a bails bond agent (a bounty hunter) and is in an on-and-off relationship with Joe Morelli, a homicide detective, but also has an occasional fling with Ranger, her mentor in being a bounty hunter.  Stephanie bumbles her way through her FTAs (those that failure to appear for court once they've been bailed out) with the assistance of her sidekick, Lula, a former hooker.  Stephanie also has an unfortunate talent of destroying any car she owns or borrows or even gets in, apart from her Uncle Sandor's practically indestructible powder blue '53 Buick Roadmaster (Big Blue).  Stephanie Plum lives in New Jersey, five minutes away from her parents who live in the 'Burg where she grew up and is still close to her family, visiting them whenever she can.

Rating: 7

Recommended To: Chick lit lovers; crime readers; not really necessary to read the previous books but reading the first one, One For The Money, gives you a background on most of the characters and maybe Hot Six for a bit more of information on Mooner (Moon-Man)

Favourite Characters: Morelli - flirty and everything

Favourite Part: 'This is delicious,' Connie said.  'He's a really good cook.'

Lula spooned out more casserole and looked over at me.  'You should marry him.  You could have perfectly good sex all by yourself, but you'll never be able to cook this good. - Page 179

Good Points: Mooner's still here; Steph's back on with Joe

Bad Points: Just pick one; feel a bit repetitive now; Dave

Smokin' Seventeen picks up just after Sizzling Sixteen with Vinnie's Bails Bond having been burnt to the ground and they are all working out of Mooner's bus, which is mostly parked in front of the lot for Vincent Plum's Bails Bond but sometimes moves around town, just to annoy Stephanie and Lula by the sounds of it.  Straight off, there is a bad omen when Stephanie gets a call from Grandma Mazur saying she had a dream about her granddaughter being defecated on by large animals in the sky then Joe's Grandma appears and places the eye on Stephanie so all-in-all, Stephanie's day doesn't start out great then they find a body on Vinnie's lot and more arrive later.  On top of problems at work, Stephanie's having problems in her personal life with her family pressuring her to marry and even selecting the guy; no longer Morelli but the former high school football star, Dave Brewer.

One thing I really like about this book is that Mooner is still present after the last book because he's one of my favourite characters as he's just a loveable geeky stoner.  He's never predictable either so it's always interesting to read what he says or does because sometimes he makes absolutely no sense which is entertaining when the other characters are just stupefied by his words or actions.  Though Mooner's role is smaller in this book than in Sizzling Sixteen as he is probably only there due to Vinnie and Connie working out of his bus after Vinnie's building was burnt down.  If I were to hazard a guess, Evanovich isn't going to include him in the next book, as it is implied Vinnie has bought the bus, with them redecorating.

My other favourite part about this book is that Steph is back on with Joe in their relationship, though not completely seen as she clearly states they can see other people (Ranger in Steph's case).  I like Steph when she's with Joe because she seems comfortable while Ranger seems to put her on edge and is a bit predatory with Steph while Joe is more relaxed and fun.  Whenever there is narrative about Ranger, it always seems stiff and mysterious because Steph is unsure around him while she knows exactly what Joe would do, not from predictability but understanding because they are quite similar.

Even if I was just going to take this book into account, Joe is still my favourite character just because of who he is; he's protective, flirty, sexy, dependable, and up for a laugh.  Granted there isn't an air of mystery around him like Ranger but at least Steph knows more about him then his name, his sex drive, and where he lives.  For me, Joe is more likely to open up emotionally and physically in comparison to Ranger.  Yes, his grandmother is psychotic, putting the eye and whatever other magic she can think of on Steph, but at least it provides humour during the weird things that occur in this series.  That's another thing I love about Joe, he has a good sense of humour, he's always joking around with Steph about various things and tries to keep a happy face on when something quite horrific happens in Steph's life while Ranger just jokes about getting Steph back into his bed.

For God's sake, just pick a guy Steph; it's my one major annoyance from this series.  All this flitting between the two just makes her seem slutty in a way because it just looks like she's playing them off one another because she knows how each guy feels about the other.  What's really amazing is that Evanovich has made it clear that Ranger won't commit to anything other than sex and Joe is willing to whatever Steph wants and she's still not decided.  It even seems like Steph's family have given up waiting for Steph to commit to one man and keep setting her up with new ones; DON'T THROW MORE INTO THIS MESS.

Now we're on the seventeenth book, everything seems to be getting a bit repetitive now; Steph can't pick which guy she wants, she and Lula bumble through every case they get, Steph has a stalker, and her family nag at her about her love life.  I can understand why people are exasperated with this series and part of me just wants it to end so Evanovich can move on to write other books and series.  I think when Steph chooses which guy she'll stay with will be the end of the series.

I have kind of mentioned this before but didn't enjoy how Evanovich added a new bloke into Stephanie's life, a bloke who would never have a chance compared to the two who have been for her affections since the first/second book.  It's getting tiresome now and it's obvious that she's going to pick Ranger or Morelli unless they're both killed so please, just don't add another sucker in.  I was happy when it was Diesel but they were funny moments, Dave was just weird.

'This is delicious,' Connie said.  'He's a really good cook.'Lula spooned out more casserole and looked over at me.  'You should marry him.  You could have perfectly good sex all by yourself, but you'll never be able to cook this good. - Page 179

I loved how even Connie and Lula seemed to be thinking that Steph should just settle down; it's like everyone but Stephanie thinks it and I believe Joe is going to crack because that's just the kind of guy he is.  Plus, this part was funny because it summed up this entire series for me, food and sex.  That's all it seems to be now.

This series needs to come to an end, I love it but it just seems dragged out now.  Focus on other characters and let the people of Trenton rest for a while.

Predictions

1. Steph and Joe go away together and Joe snaps

2. Joe forces Steph to chase
3. Joe and Ranger fight

Other Books by Janet Evanovich