Stephanie Plum Series
I just finished reading the Stephanie Plum series. These are some of the funniest books I’ve read in a long time. I had checked them out from the library, but I’ll probably go out and buy my own copies.
These are technically mystery stories as there is always a some kind of mystery that gets solved over the course of the book. However, Stephanie Plum is more like Inspector Clousseau and less like Sherlock Holmes. She solves the mysteries through blind luck and persistence rather than through any piercing insights or deductive logic.
It is the characters that make this series so much fun. Stephanie herself is not incompetent but she somehow ends up in the weirdest situations. She works as a bounty hunter and the people she’s tracking down are always strange. Both of the men in her life are amused, amazed, and appalled at her success (sometimes simultaneously). Her grandmother seems to be going through a second teenager-hood. Her mother can always be counted on to have an irresistible dinner ready so that Stephanie can be lured home for a lecture on her latest activities and the neighborhood gossip.
These are light and fluffy books. The closest thing to angst is Stephanie occasionally resolving that this time she’s going to do something about her weight. If you’re looking for a deep exploration of the questions of human existence, these aren’t for you.
I would highly recommend these books to just about anyone. The language can be a tad rough, but it’s not excessive. There’s always something to funny going on no matter what Stephanie gets herself into. I plan to buy the whole series just to reread them for fun. My wife recommended them to me after she laughed her way through them.
October 16th, 2005 at 7:37 pm
I’ve read a few, in weird order, so I’m swiping them all from Mom after she finishes them… she was picking up some of Evanovich’s other books, and griping that she can’t take them to places like doctor’s offices because she laughs out loud and embarrasses herself.