Mini-Review: Hardcore Twenty-Four – Janet Evanovich

Trouble comes in bunches for Stephanie Plum. First, professional grave robber and semi-professional loon, Simon Diggery, won’t let her take him in until she agrees to care for his boa constrictor, Ethel. Stephanie’s main qualification for babysitting an extremely large snake is that she owns a stun gun—whether that’s for use on the wandering serpent or the petrified neighbors remains to be seen.

Events take a dark turn when headless bodies start appearing across town. At first, it’s just corpses from a funeral home and the morgue that have had the heads removed. But when a homeless man is murdered and dumped behind a church Stephanie knows that she’s the only one with a prayer of catching this killer.

If all that’s not enough, Diesel’s back in town. The 6-foot-tall, blonde-haired hunk is a man who accepts no limits—that includes locked doors, closed windows and underwear. Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli isn’t pleased at this unexpected arrival nor is Ranger, the high-powered security consultant who has his own plans for Stephanie.

As usual Jersey’s favorite bounty hunter is stuck in the middle with more questions than answers. What’s the deal with Grandma Mazur’s latest online paramour? Who is behind the startling epidemic of mutilated corpses? And is the enigmatic Diesel’s sudden appearance a coincidence or the cause of recent deadly events?

As always, the Stephanie Plum books are a lot of fun. This was such an easy-listening book that I could read while working and even though they all follow the same pattern, twenty-four books later I’m still enjoying them! I’m beginning to think Stephanie will never choose a dude but I think as long as I expect that, I won’t be disappointing myself. I was surprised to see Diesel back in this book and it was even more fun to see him in action after having caught up on the Lizzy & Diesel books.

There’s always something a little quirky in these books and I enjoyed the quirk this time. It was a zombie theme but I appreciated that there was more to the story and not actual zombies, since sometimes the quirk comes in the form of humanized monkeys and that gets irritating.

There’s always something new going on with these wacky characters and they always entertain me! It all generally fits the mold of a Stephanie Plum book and I’m never really blown away but the mysteries do keep me guessing (especially when my brain is half-focused on something else) and they’re just quick, easy, and fun.

Kept Me Hooked On: Plum paranoia. The characters have a silly sense of paranoia when it comes to some of these cases but they remain entertaining! Sometimes it’s a little over-the-top but I’m usually laughing.
Left Me Wanting More: Commitment. I still want Stephanie and Joe to stay together already but I’m beginning to think she’ll never commit to anyone. I think I have to accept that… you know, 24 books in.

Addiction Rating
Read it

If you’re enjoying these books, they’re worth the read. They’re nothing that bowl me over but sometimes I just need quick, easy, and patterned reads and these always fit the bill! I love being able to finish them so quickly and return to characters I’ve spent so much time with.