Going Rogue by Janet Evanovich

A book review by LeAnn!

The latest Stephanie Plum novel is a fast, fun read, with all the regular characters. Every morning Stephanie and Lula show up at the bail bonds office. The office manager Connie is sitting at her desk with a fresh box of donuts. Except one morning she isn’t there-and no donuts! At first Stephanie and Lula think that Connie could have had car trouble or a dentist’s appointment or had to help her mother, whom she lives with and takes care of. But as the day goes on, Stephanie becomes worried. It isn’t like Connie to be out of contact for so long. The owner of the bail bonds office, Stephanie’s cousin Vincent Plum, is out of town with his mob-connected father-in-law. When she calls Vinnie he is more worried about keeping in the good graces of his father-in-law Harry the Hammer, than finding out if Connie is ok. To keep from worrying so much, Stephanie decides to trace a couple of FTA’s-failure to appear. She is shocked to see her boyfriend Joe’s crazy grandmother Bella on the list of people to hunt down. Bella dislikes Stephanie and goes around cursing people by giving them “the eye”! Stephanie determines to go after everyone else before trying to take in Bella, even though they are likely to cross paths at the next viewing at the local funeral home. When the  office finally receives a ransom demand for the kidnapped Connie it’s not money they want. It’s a fake coin from a board game! Not just any coin-this is a specific coin someone used to secure their bail with Vinnie. After a thorough search the coin can’t be found at the office. Turns out another client stole it from Vinnie. This leads Stephanie and Lula on the hunt for the stolen fake coin with the help of Grandma Mazur, Ranger, and Joe’s crazy grandmother Bella!

What I like about this series is the semipredictable rhythm of mayhem in every Stephanie Plum novel. I enjoy an imaginary cruise through the Burg and Stark Street, one of the rougher parts of Trenton, NJ. We all wonder if she will make it through the book without destroying a car-nope, not this one!-and what car she will get after Ranger loans her one of his awesome vehicles! There are always oddballs and misfits to be apprehended. Lula’s fashion style is ever-changing, with the only constant being the clothes are 2 sizes too small! And Lula is always hungry, which means a trip to the deli, the bakery, or Cluck in a Bucket! Even better is a meal with Stephanie’s mom and dad in the Burg. Every time they sit down at the table for her mom’s home cooking I would like to join them! A meatloaf, a pot roast, spaghetti, it all sounds good to me! And Stephanie does occasionally bring work home in the form of witnesses and down on their luck FTAs. No Plum novel is complete without a viewing at Stiva’s Funeral Home. Grandma Mazur goes at least twice a week and grabs crazy Bella’s favorite cookies just to annoy her!

I enjoy all the Stephanie Plum novels. I feel that the last few books weren’t up to her usual quality but this one is really good! I recommend it!

Check this book out here!