Smokin' Seventeen

Smokin' Seventeen
Janet Evanovich
2011

In this outing (17th- if you couldn't guess), our gal in Trenton, Bail bond enforcer, Stephanie Plum faces a serial killer leaving presents, Grandma Bella's evil eye, her mother's relentless matchmaking, her boss and cousin Vinnie's marketing schemes to save the business, and many other perils, including the ongoing Joe vs. Ranger lust fest, angry FTAs out to kill her, Lula's clothes choices, and working out of Mooner's bus to name a few. It's got some really funny stuff, some sex in a Porsche Cayenne- really!, and is a fun time even if the plot is not too memorable.

In the interest of full disclosure, I admit to living spitting distance from Trenton and the 'Burg, not that I spend much time there, so when I'm reading I try to figure out where it's all going on. Evanovich's 'Burg setting is right in spirit even if some of the streets, businesses, and locales she describes don't reallyd exist. The mythical rectangle between Hamilton, Liberty, Chambers, and Broad is real. And hair is big, nails are red, skirts are short, and food is Italian mainly.

Trenton is an interesting place. I was disappointed to hear from a pal who lives in the city that the upcoming Plum movie, a Katherine Heigl "vehicle" was shot mainly in Pittsburgh, wrong burg but we'll probably flock to see it anyway when it comes out in January 2012.

The next Plum in the series, Explosive Eighteen, will be out soon so it's not long to wait for the next installment.