36. Finger Lickin' Fifteen - Janet Evanovich

#15 Stephanie Plum series

audio read by Lorelei King

7 unabridged cds

2009, Macmillan Audiobook

308 pgs.

Finished 9/4/2013

Genre:

Goodreads Rating:  3.94 (you've got to be kidding!)

My Rating:

Didn’t like it, complete waste-of-time, almost didn't finish it (1) 

TPPL

Setting: contemporary Trenton, NJ

My comments: Okay, this was the fifteenth in the Stephanie Plum series that I've read and I've definitely had my ups and downs with the series.  But this one was by far the stupidest, most ridiculous of them all.  It almost seemed like a different writer had written much of it, if felt a bit ... off ... in places. I've always unwittingly laughed out loud before, even with rolling eyes, but I don't think I laughed aloud once while listening to this one.  It was just too silly and far-fetched.  Come on, Stephanie.  Sleeping with a naked Ranger night after night with nothing happening?  Indifference to Joe Morelli?  And I'm really tired of the same shenanigans while trying to apprehend her bail delinquints, usually to no avail without help, and am particularly tired of Lulu.  Even Grandma Mazer was a little too over-the-top for this one.  Oh well, can't win 'em all! (And yes, I'll still be reading number sixteen.....)

Goodreads Review:  Unbuckle your belt and pull up a chair. It's the spiciest, sauciest, most rib-sticking Plum yet.  Receipe for disaster: Celebrity chef Stanley Chipolte comes to Trenton in a barbecue cookoff and loses his head - literally.  Throw in some spice: Bail bonds office worker Lula is witness to the crime, and the only one she'll talk to is Trenton cop Joe Morelli.  Pump up the heat: Chipotle's sponsor is offering a million-dollar reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the capture of the killers.  Stir the pot: Lula recruits bounty hunter Stephanie Plum to help find he killer and collect the moolah.  Add a secret ingredient: Stephanie Plum's Grandma Mazur. Enough said.  Bring to a boil: Stephanie Plum is working overtime tracking felons for the bonds office at night and snooping for security expert Carlos Manoso, aka Ranger, during the day. Can Stephanie hunt down two killers, a traitor, and five skips, keep her grandmother out of the sauce, and solve Ranger's problems and not jump his bones?   Warning: Habenero hot. So good you'll want seconds