REVIEW: Fearless Fourteen

Title: Fearless Fourteen
Author: Janet Evanovich
Protagonist: hapless bounty hunter Stephanie Plum
Setting: present-day Trenton, New Jersey
Series: #14 (No brainer with Evanovich, eh?)
Rating: D

First Line: In my mind, my kitchen is filled with crackers and cheese, roast chicken leftovers, farm fresh eggs, and coffee beans ready to grind.

In this latest outing, Stephanie winds up being responsible for a skip's computer geek Goth son while she's working with Ranger as a bodyguard for a past-her-prime singing star. While all this is going on, Morelli might just have a fortune from an old bank heist buried in his basement, and Tank and Lula are engaged. All this could've been the recipe for a lot of laughs, but it wasn't. It felt like a tired, worn-out retread. There were some laughs, and reading Fearless Fourteen was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon in the pool, but the bloom is off the rose...the thrill is gone...throw in your own cliche here.

Evanovich really needs to overhaul this series. The plot in Fearless Fourteen went around in circles so much it tied itself in knots. Although Lula, Ranger, Grandma Mazur and others are some of my very favorite characters, I get tired of them never changing. They are all Peter Pan in the Burg. I caught on to this series later than most, fell in love, grabbed all the books, and then eagerly awaited each new one. Then I started waiting a while before buying the new one. Now? I'll be checking the reviews of folks whose opinions I value first, and then I might put #15 on my Booksfree list.

Time for your wake-up call, Ms. Evanovich!