Janet and Me

I'm a voracious reader. I chain-read (like chain-smoking), finishing one book and starting another the same day. Sometimes, I have more than one book going at a time. I like mysteries best but read almost anything except vampire and werewolf tales. (I KNOW they're the "In" thing these days but I just don't like them.)

Janet Evanovich is one of my favorite authors, particularly her Stephanie Plum series. So, I was really excited to score big on Evanovich on my last visit to Half Price Books. She was featured on the dollar rack that week. I bought everything they had of hers that I hadn't read yet. Who knew she was so prolific! I rounded out my collection of the Plum series and loaded up on a bunch of her other stuff.

Since we don't have a Half Price Books store here, I stock pile when I visit. I have a bookcase where I keep all my "books in waiting." This way, I've always got a new book handy. When the big snows hit this month, I was all set.

First up was Evanovich's Full House (the first in another of Janet's "series"). This one definitely falls into the category of romance with just a touch of mystery. Touting only Janet's name on the cover, this book, in her words, is a joint effort with Charlotte Hughes. Set in Virginia horse county, the hero literally rides in on a horse to rescue the damsel in distress. Amid a few explosions (of the home-made bomb type), love grows (quickly) and all do live happily ever after.The plot's a little simplistic for me and doesn't seem to have the same action punch I'm used to from Janet. I'm a little disappointed in the "strong male rides in to save the little woman" theme but it's a light read for a snowy day.

Next in the series is Full Bloom. This one does list Charlotte Hughes as a co-author with Evanovich. The style is quite similar to Full house and there is some character overlap giving a sense of continuity. (They're starting to grow on me.) There is a little mystery and a resident ghost which adds an interesting touch, and, yes, once again the mysterious dark male hero rides in to save the distressed little lady. He does ride in on a mighty fine Harley, though! I do plan to search out the other books in this series. I want to know what else happens to these fine folks.

Last up in this batch was The Grand Finale, not part of the "Full" series. This one is something Janet produced prior to giving birth to Stephanie Plum. (The "Full" series, with Charlotte, have come about mid-Plum, so to speak.) She did 12 romance novels back then and 9 were published between '88 and '99 only to very quickly go out of print. These have now been reissued with a little editing by Janet to give them a little more pizazz. This is one of those early stories.

In The Grand Finale, again the hero swoops in to save the day. This was absolutely the quickest read of them all but cute and very light and bouncy. Oh, yeah, it involves pizza. So I figured it had to be fairly good. (Maybe you should be sure to have one on hand while reading it as it may make your mouth water a little.)

Overall, they all make for a quick, pleasant read. They've all got some Evanovich trademarks like tall, dark and handsome leading men. (Stephanie does have both Joe and Ranger.) The leading ladies all have wild hair that needs to be tamed. Each tale includes a pet of some sort. (Yes, Stephanie has Rex.) Little old ladies attached to our heroines is also a recurrent theme (Stephanie has Grandma Mazur.) although the quirky"old" lady role is replaced with just a young really ditzy relative in Full House. The character serves the same purpose, though, to kind of round out our leading lady's character and to help move the plot along in a little different way. Janet also seems to believe in love afirst sight in these romance novels. Surprisingly, it usually seems to be the guy who melts first!

So, while I do still prefer the Plum tales, I will continue to read all of the Janet Evanovich items I can get my hands on. I'm working on Metro Girl now and just finished Hot Stuff.

Here's hoping y'all have a good read handy!

Readings …

I’ve had a weakness lately for what I refer to as “murder mysteries lite.” A genre which includes such authors as Janet Evanovich and Joanne Fluke. They all involve murders but are written in a lighter easy-read style. They provide quick reads. Usually they feature some humor and, in Fluke’s case, include recipes! Both of these authors have written series featuring the same lead character and I’ve come to know and love those characters. I can discuss Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum’s life and history the same as those of some of my friends.

As a subset of these “lite murder mysteries,” I’ve also discovered a whole series of books featuring food in some way associated with those murders.

Joanne Fluke’s stories feature Hannah Swenson, the owner of a cookie bakery in a small lake-front Minnesota town. All of the murders involve her baked goods in one way or another and she, of course, plays a role in figuring the mystery out. (NO! They aren’t choking to death or being poisoned by the cookies!!) The best part, she features a cookbook at the end of each book!

In my opinion, the best, so far, is The Sugar Cookie Murder. In that one, she is launching a community cookbook and the story line features a big community holiday meal where all the recipes are featured. Various characters comment on the foods and then, as an appendix, the entire cookbook is there! There’s a crock-pot German potato salad that I’m dying to try. (No pun intended since we’re discussing murder mysteries!) Other titles include Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, Strawberry Shortcake Murder, Peach Cobbler Murder and more

Somewhere along the line, I picked up a book by JoAnna Carl called “The Chocolate Puppy Puzzle“ featuring the amateur sleuthing of Lee McKinney, business manager of TenHuis Chocolade (a candy shop in a small lake-front town in Michigan). Now that was a quick and easy read - only about one day! This is one of the “Chocolate Mysteries.” This series features chocolate trivia throughout the book! I haven’t been able to find the rest of that series, “The Chocolate Cat Caper“, “The Chocolate Bear Burglary” and “The Chocolate Frog Frame-Up”

I'm really looking forward to shopping at Half Price Books while we're out West. (We don't have that chain of stores here.) I can usually find some of these harder to locate tomes there!