I love Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels, so it was with some glee I picked up The Heist, co-written with Lee Goldberg. My glee wasn't unfounded, The Heist is White Collar meets Ocean's Eleven meets Miss Congeniality, all in book form.
After years of chasing, FBI Special Agent Kate O'Hare has finally caught Nicolas Fox, a handsome, charming con man. Only he brokers a deal with Kate's bosses - he'll help Kate catch America's most wanted if the FBI keeps him out of jail.
The pair's first target is Derek Griffin, a playboy who conned clients out of millions and then ran off to an Indonesian island. Recruiting a rag tag crew of misfits, Nick and Kate head to Indonesia to catch Griffin, and get back the money he's stolen.
The Heist doesn't feature any great surprises when it comes to the main characters. A lot of what it contains has been seen before on our television or cinema screens - Nicolas has more than a whiff of Neal Caffrey from White Collar about him (no bad thing), and Kate is clever and witty and unlucky in love.
But the crew Nicolas and Kate assemble are an interesting bunch, from the egotistical actor to the speed loving 50-something who bought herself breast enhancements as part of her Big Adventure.
The book is a fun read, and does have some great elements. Kate's dad is particularly engaging, and there's a twist in the capture of Griffin that's both unexpected and fun (in a gun slinging kind of way).
The Heist made me remember why I loved Evanovich's writing so much. While the Stephanie Plum series has now gone on slightly too long and only provides minimal laughs, this book had me chuckling throughout. I hope Evanovich's partnership with Goldberg continues for a few more books, and we get to see more of Nicolas, Kate and their crew.
Top Ten Tuesday is an original
feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish, where the writers, like me, are particularly fond of lists.
This week's topic is...top 10 most memorable secondary characters. For the purposes of this top 10, I'm going to take secondary to mean anyone who wasn't the protagonist, regardless of how big their role was.
1. Ron Weasley - the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
Ron was everything a best friend and sidekick should be, and I loved every glimpse we got of him and his life.
2. Hermione Granger - the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
As above, Hermione was a great secondary character. Without both her and Ron, the Harry Potter books, and Harry himself, would not have been as brilliant as they were.
3. James - All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
A really intriguing secondary character, I wanted to know a lot more about James.
4. Mr Peterson - The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence
I'm not actually finished with this book yet, but I love Mr Peterson for his wit and his acceptance of Alex.
5. Isabel - The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater
I loved Isabel so much, and really, really wanted to see more about her life. I thought her story was as powerful as the protagonist's, a sign of a really good secondary character.
6. Gus - The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Oh Gus. What is there to say? A wonderful secondary character who we fall in love with as Hazel does.
7. Lula - The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich
I recently reviewed Notorious Nineteen and said the series wasn't as good as it was when it first started. Lula, however, is still as hilarious as she was in the first book, maybe even more so. She's everything a sidekick shouldn't be, but it works.
8. Jasper Cullen - The Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer
Edward and Bella - *yawn*. Jasper, on the other hand, was a fascinating character and I wish we'd spent more time with him.
9. Gilbert Blythe - Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
I loved Gilbert, and his and Anne's relationship was easily the most fascinating of the book for me when I was younger.
10. Justin - Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black
Justin is a character we don't know a whole lot about, but what I saw of him I really liked. I assume he will play a bigger part in the sequel.
Who are your favourite secondary characters?
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer, and Showcase Sunday is hosted by Books, Biscuits and Tea
and inspired by Pop Culture Junkie and the Story Siren. They're a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your
blog,
highlight our newest books and see what everyone else received for
review, borrowed from libraries, or bought.
Book stuff this week on Girl!Reporter
Review - Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich
Top 10 Tuesday (#12) - things that make life as a reader/blogger easier
Elmore Leonard's 10 rules of writing
Review - Noble Conflict by Malorie Blackman
My week in books (#6) - a Roald Dahl competition, Margaret Atwood and how to get children reading
Books I added to my shelves
It's been a quiet week, which is no bad thing considering the amount of unread books I already own.
I won a copy of Hetty Feather by Jacqueline Wilson from Random House (thanks!) through a Goodreads competition. This will be the first Wilson book I'll ever read - I think I was a bit too old for her novels so missed the boat, and have never got into them. I will say that I know how popular she is from when I worked at Cheltenham Festival of Literature - the queue for her book signing was longer than anyone else's!
My brother lent me A Fort of Nine Towers by Qais Akbar Omar, which is a true story. It looks pretty good.
What have you been up to this week?
If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know I'm a fan of Janet Evanovich and her Stephanie Plum series.
I love the books because they're fun, funny and are shot through with a good bit of mayhem and mystery, and a little bit of romance.
Still, we're up to the 19th book in the series now, and I'm hoping Evanovich is drawing the story to a close.
In Notorious Nineteen Stephanie's latest mission is to track down Geoffrey Cubbins, who's gone missing from hospital. Cubbins is one of Trenton's most hated - as manager of a local care home he's stolen thousands and thousands from its elderly residents, who are on the warpath. Cubbins' disappearance, however, doesn't seem convenient.
Meanwhile, the tall, dark, handsome and mysterious Ranger has drafted Stephanie in to help him protect a long-term friend of his, who is getting married. Ranger and his friend are being threatened, and they think the threats are from a former Army buddy.
And, of course, Stephanie's still trying to figure out whether she wants to spend the rest of her life with hot cop Joe Morelli, or have fun with Ranger.
Notorious Nineteen has all the usual Evanovich highlights - a gaffe-prone Stephanie, a mystery that kept me guessing and a good dollop of danger.
As per usual, Lula had me in stitches, and the side story of the Tiki made me chuckle throughout. Grandma Mazur made a few appearances, but not nearly enough, and Stephanie's ability to land herself in strange situations and make 'friends' with the weirdest people never fails to amuse me.
But, after 19 books, I'm kind of ready for Stephanie to choose between Morelli and Ranger. While the mysteries in the last few books have been fun, they've not been nearly as fun as when the series started, and it's now all about Stephanie's Choice (yes, in capitals).
Evanovich is a great writer whose books make me laugh out loud - it's a rare writer who's good at writing funny. But I feel ready to move on now, and am hoping that the next book is the last. I'm largely with the series out of loyalty now (and for Lula and Stephanie's family). Oh, and if this series must carry on, perhaps the focus can move from Morelli/Stephanie/Ranger to Lula and Tank - they've always been hilarious.
When I need something easy to read, with characters I like, and that will make me laugh, I turn to Janet Evanovich.
The latest book in her Stephanie Plum, Bounty Hunter series lives up to expectations - Explosive Eighteen (following on from Smokin' Seventeen) is laugh-out-loud funny, has some completely crazy characters, and manages to contain a mystery that had me guessing to the end.
Stephanie, back from a holiday in Hawaii that ended abruptly and that she refuses to speak about, finds herself the target of some shady folks who are after a photograph she threw away - and that belonged to her seatmate on the flight back from Hawaii, who later turned up dead.
Alongside "former ho" Lula, Stephanie's also trying to make some money by picking up people who have failed to make their court dates, including arch-enemy Joyce Barnhardt.
And, of course, she'll still caught in the middle of the two men in her life - Morelli and Ranger. The pair take a bit of a back seat in Explosive Eighteen, which is fine with me. I like the two of them, but I like reading about Stephanie and her gang of misfit friends and family more.
Lula, in particular, was a highlight in this book, as she fell in love, while Stephanie's Grandma Mazur is hilarious and terrifying in equal measure.
I'm currently working my through a giant non-fiction tome, so Explosive Eighteen was a fun break from that book. It might not have taught me anything new, but Explosive Eighteen did something more important - it made me laugh.
