Book Review: Top Secret Twenty-One

Top Secret Twenty-One
By Janet Evanovich
Read by Lorelei King
Unabridged
Approximately 6 hours

My latest "read" of a Stephanie Plum novel did not disappoint, though this is the first time one of the books has made me gag, literally.

I like listening to these books because Lorelei King does such a good job with the voices, and the dialogue works when listening. Storytelling, after all, is our oldest form of "writing," so I do not have the aversion to audio that some have. I like being told a story, especially if the reader has a good narrative voice.

To be honest, I would not spend valuable time reading these books, so that is why I listen to them while driving. Multi-tasking, you know.

In this 21st Plum novel, Stephanie spends more time with Ranger. I think in the last book, she hung out more with Morelli, her other boyfriend. She's in love with both guys so maybe Evanovich's plan is to alternate storylines for a while as our heroine untangles her feelings.

Plum, a bounty hunter, is on the trail of Jimmy Poletti, a car dealership guy who was also trading in sex slaves and drugs. Since he skipped a court date, Stephanie has to hunt him down. Unfortunately, his path leads to a trail of dead bodies, and also brings to her Randy Briggs, a distasteful character from previous books.

She's also helping Ranger with some of his special work, and is distressed to learn someone is after her tall handsome ex-Black Ops fellow. The two plot lines are not intertwined, exactly, though I must say Stephanie would be a very poor bounty hunter indeed if Ranger's men didn't give her a hand frequently.

These books are quick listens and even though I enjoy them in the car, I must say the car bombings, the deaths, and the stress, none of which seem to phase Stephanie except for an occasional leaking of a tear, have grown a bit tiresome. I wouldn't want to live in her area of New Jersey, that's for sure.