Pages: 321
Genre: Adult Fiction, Crime/Mystery
Original Release Date: 01/06/1997
Publisher: St Martin's Press
Third book in the series.
THE DESCRIPTION:
A “saintly” old candy store owner is on the lam - and bounty hunter extraordinaire Stephanie Plum is on the case. As the body count rises, Stephanie finds herself dealing with dead drug dealers and slippery fugitives on the chase of her life. And with the help of eccentric friends and family, Steph must see to it that this case doesn't end up being her last....
THE REVIEW:
Because I enjoyed 'Two For The Show' so much I thought It would be a good idea to go straight on to book three. I guess I have got some kind of Stephanie Plum addiction because I ordered the next three books in the series this morning. You can probably already guess my thoughts after the last two reviews and after the last sentence. Yeah I kind of really really like them!
One thing that I don't think I have mentioned in the other reviews yet is that I love the way that the main character Stephanie narrates. I don't know if it's crime jargon, Jersey talk, Nineties slang or a combination of all three, but the words and phrases used really add to the story. She calls her handbag a pocket-book for example. A phrase I haven't come across since the last time I read 'The Bell Jar'.I think the writing style really reflects on the setting and the culture of the people in that area.
In this story, what seems like an easy pick-up turns out to be a bit of a nightmare. I am not going to tell you too much about the story because hello spoilers so I will try to be vague here. This novel really shows how people can get too carried away with the idea of trying to do the right thing. Sometimes peoples idea of the right and wrong can become warped and they can end up taking the law into their own hands. This really makes you question the idea of right/wrong and the relevance of the laws in certain situations.
We also got to learn a little more about other characters such as Stephanie's family and Ranger (another Bounty Hunter). I really enjoyed the character development here and I think I like the idea of a mysterious character like Ranger in a series like this, because there is always that feeling that there is something else to find out. We learn more about Stephanie's family through memories of her childhood.
I have also noticed that one of the reviewers quoted on the inside of one of the books calls the series a "Romance" series, which I think is pretty false (at least this far into the series it is). As far as I can see (read) the only romance evident is shown in the form of Stephanie bickering/flirting/calling-for-help Joe Morelli. There is one scene and it's not even really a scene, so just in case you read something similar- I wanted to set it straight- this is a crime series, the romance is only really on the side. If you could call that romance...
This series (so far) can be surprising at times and crazy things can happen when you are least expecting it. However, there is always a feeling of a metaphorical "safety net" the fact that there are at least sixteen books in the series plus novellas and that the big drama always occurs at the end of each novel makes the timing slightly predictable. I don't think this detracts from the series at all and I actually appreciate this kind of familiarity. I have only read three of the books so far though, so that could all change...
The only thing that really annoyed me in this book was one scene that felt a little unfinished. Something happens and then next minute she's waking up from her sleep (the same way she would any other morning) and I had to question 'Was she dreaming?' or did I miss something when I was reading through it so fast? I read over that section a few times, gave up, And then continued to read on to find that my question was answered quite a few chapters later. I'm wondering if it was meant to be on purpose...
Once again I am giving the book 5/5 stars. I really enjoyed the book and the "creepy" stuff is starting to bother me less and less. In a way I feel like there are a lot of similarities between me and Stephanie (except for her being so BRAVE), And, for that reason she is probably not the best role model. It's also one of the reasons I really like the series. I can't wait to get book four into my hands!
Natalie
2 comments:
Hi Nat!
Oh I rally want to read this series!
One year I am just going to read the whole series - it could be like a challenge. Wait, how many are there? LOL
I think it'd hardly be a challenge once you get addicted. The challenge would be to not forget about other books on the TBR. And I haven't looked into it, but i think there is like 18 books now...
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