Jenn's Review: Fearless Fourteen

Summary:

Personal vendettas, hidden treasure, and a monkey named Carl will send bounty hunter Stephanie Plum on her most explosive adventure yet.

The Crime:
Armed robbery to the tune of nine million dollars ~ Dom Rizzi robbed a bank, stashed the money and did the time. His family couldn't be more proud. He always was the smart one.

The Cousin:
Joe Morelli ~ Joe Morelli, Dom Rizzi and Dom's sister Loretta are cousins. Morelli is a cop, Rizzi robs banks, and Loretta is a single mother waiting tables at the firehouse. The all American family.

The Complications:
Murder, kidnapping, destruction of personal property, and acid reflux ~ Less than a week after Dom's release from prison, Joe Morelli has shadowy figures breaking into his house and dying in his basement. He's getting threatening messages, Loretta is kidnapped, and Dom is missing.

The Catastrophe:
Moonman ~ Morelli hires Walter "Mooner" Dunphy, stoner and "inventor" turned crime-fighter to protect his house. Morelli can't afford a lot on a cop's salary, and Mooner will work for potatoes.

The Cupcake:
Stephanie Plum ~ Stephanie and Morelli have a long-standing relationship that involves sex, affection and driving each other nuts. She's a bond enforcement agent with more luck than talent, and she's involved in this bank-robbery-gone-bad disaster from day one.

The Crisis:
A favor for Ranger ~ Security expert Carlos Manoso, street name Ranger, has a job for Stephanie that will involve night-work. Morelli has his own ideas regarding Stephanie's evening activities.

The Conclusion:
Only the fearless should read fourteen ~ Thrills, chills and possible incontinence may result.

Review: I was ready to revisit Stephanie and so instead of buzzing through this book in a day, I took my time and savored it. After Lean Mean Thirteen, I was a little leery of the sillies that seemed to be attacking Stephanie. Not so with Fourteen. I really felt this was a more mature Stephanie. There was a great blend of Grandma and Mooner with just a splash of family dinner. There was Ranger and a whole lot of Morelli. I usually don't look at the reviews on Amazon before writing my own, but I skimmed them when I was looking over the summary and I was surprised to see so many mixed reviews. There are a lot of disappointed 'Babes' out there, apparently, but I am not one of them. It was nice to see both Joe and Stephanie have grown up a little... Steph's no longer running and he's no longer trying to control. In fact Joe actually seems to have accepted Stephanie as being a half-way decent investigator, because he's starting to give her assignments. Morelli worried about her without strong arming. How refreshing.

Yes, Grandma Mazur as a hardcore gamer was silly, but not so unusual for Grandma. It was a good dose of Grandma without being too much. For me, Evanovich struck a good balance with the silly and the serious. I really enjoyed this one and thank you to my fellow bloggers for turning me on to the series back when. I can say without trepidation, "You'll like this one better, Julie."