deenaf's Full Review: Janet Evanovich - Finger Lickin' Fifteen
Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich is simply the next week in the life of protagonist Stephanie Plum while she fumbles with the same old stuff as she has in 14 previous books.
THE STORY
Finger Lickin’ Fifteen starts with a gruesome, yet hilariously funny, murder that is witnessed by former ho’ Lula. Lula runs to her bff Stephanie and reports the crime to the police. Turns out that the man murdered was a famous chef named Chipotle. Chipotle was in town for a big barbeque cook-off in which he was representing a line of barbeque sauces.
Of course, Joe Morelli catches the case. He is Stephanie’s on again / off again boyfriend and Finger Lickin’ Fifteen has them off....again (sadly so)! In attempting to solve this murder, he is busy trying to capture the two perps, both of which are now after Lula since she can identify them. Over the course of the week, several attempts are made on Lulu’s life and she is left with out a place to stay or a car to drive but through all this, Lulu decides to enter the barbeque cook off with an invented sauce co-created by herself and Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur.
Parallel to this storyline, Stephanie takes a temporary job with her hot, sexually charged mystery man, Ranger, owner of RangeMan. He seems to be having a rash of alarm mishaps resulting in house and business robberies. This is no good for Ranger since he is in the high-end security business. He seeks help from Stephanie to assist him in surveying the robbed homes and trying to get a grip on what he is missing. He essentially hires her to snoop on his employees as he suspects that this is an inside job. Of course, this presents difficulty for Stephanie and her unfortunate attraction to Ranger. Even though she and Morelli are currently on the outs, she still cannot bring herself to get into it with Ranger. Luckily though, we get to see Stephanie doing some sleuthing….although she attempts this in an obtuse, silly, and unpredictable way.
Ultimately, both crime story lines are solved and Stephanie is still deciding her future.
MY THOUGHTS
My biggest complaint with Evanovich’s Plum books is the lack of growth of her characters. Stephanie is such an immature, hapless girl that still very much needs her Mommy and has major commitment issues. She doesn’t buy food for her pantry, she doesn’t do her own laundry, and relies completely on two men to consistently keep her out of trouble and basically, keep her alive. This was fine for the first 10 books but at some point, can’t she remember that she needs her gun? That Morelli loves her? That she should never let a skip use the bathroom? And what is the life expectancy of a hamster anyway? Stephanie’s pet Rex has been around an absurdly long time! And she’s barely home to feed him.
Once again, Stephanie’s mom is useless and the Dad is pathetic. Grandma Mazur is funny in this book but the story’s funniest moments belong to Lula. Lulu keeps my interest book after book. Lulu keeps my interest book after book. And it has been a long time since I've literally LAUGHED OUT LOUD while reading a book. Lulu got me rolling on the floor and she does NOT apologize for her antics, making her actions all the funnier.
And I am tired of the Ranger / Morelli angle. Ranger is less and less mysterious as the series of books goes on. We’ve seen many glimpses into his lifestyle and have even heard some real emotion cross his lips but Stephanie cannot let him go. She loves that he is attracted to her and that he wants her but she knows she will never get a commitment out of him. This angle never changes and Stephanie doesn’t learn. Boring!
This was an entertaining diversion and a two-day read. But I’m willing to bet that this review is as redundant as Janet Evanovich’s novels. How many more ways can I say that this book was unexciting? Entertaining, yes. Easy read? Yes. Exciting, no!
As I said in my last review, I think Morelli has shown the most growth through the series. Ranger has shown some emotional growth in his ability to communicate with Stephanie, and even Lulu has grown…. She is as confident as ever and willing to try almost anything! So, if you want to read about Stephanie once again blowing up her cars, setting things on fire, and losing skips like crazy, pick up Finger Lickin’ Fifteen. Or just read it to entertain yourself when you don’t need actual use of your brain.
The next Stephanie Plum novel, in which complications arise, loyalties are tested, cliffhangers are resolved, and donuts are eaten.More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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