Plum Lucky (A Between-the-Numbers Novel)

Plum Lucky (A Between-the-Numbers Novel)
by Janet Evanovich

Plum Lucky (A Between-the-Numbers Novel)
List Price: $17.95
Our Price: $1.44
You Save: $16.51 (92%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Janet Evanovich
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-01-08
ISBN: 0312377630
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Book Reviews of Plum Lucky (A Between-the-Numbers Novel)

Book Review: Plumb Unlucky
Summary: 2 Stars

Plumb Unlucky

Janet Evanovich meets her January 2008 deadline with Plum Lucky. This New York Times Best-selling author sells herself short with this release. Short on character, short on romance, short on mystery - perhaps she was short on time - Evanovich disrespects her audience of faithful readers by sending this nightmare to press. I've had dreams that were both more thrilling and more believable.

In Plum Lucky, Evanovich's characters are thinner than the pages on which they're printed. Evanovich has been writing about Stephanie Plum since 1994, and newer readers may have to venture backwards in order to learn who her characters really are and avoid being left wafting on a cloud of confusion.

Our protagonist, Stephanie Plum describes herself the same way this novel comes across, "a little boring and incredibly pale." Evanovich shies away from creating a real visual of Stephanie, a bounty hunter, by supplementing her description with the word "unexceptional." Stephanie has "shoulder-length, unexceptional, curly brown hair." It's questionable what this really means, and leaves Evanovich's readers' imaginations to make up for the writer's use of subjective language.

Despite her plain appearance, three hunky men adore Stephanie: her boyfriend, Joe Morelli; coworker, Ranger; and friend, Diesel. Stephanie's obvious lack of charm causes readers to wonder why three exceptional men are pursuing her. Does she possess a special un je ne se sais quoi? Douse herself in pheromones? Does her strong and stubborn demeanor leave men hoping to be the only one to whom she'll succumb? Or, is Stephanie the Xena: Warrior Princess of the bail bonds world and Evanovich failed to tell us? With so little said about our protagonist, our other characters barely merit mention.

In Plum Lucky, Stephanie Plum and her cohorts travel between Trenton and Atlantic City, New Jersey in a somewhat comedic rescue attempt of Grandma Mazur. Faced with certain predictable obstacles, including a shortage of cash, a lack of appropriate transportation and threats from the mob, Stephanie must save Grandma from the many perils of living in Jersey.

Stephanie's need to retrieve Grandma Mazur and return her to her home propels the story forward while certain unrealistic circumstances lead the reader to wonder if Grandma Mazur will make it back to Trenton alive. Mob boss, Lou Delvina, asserts regularly that he "really [wants] to shoot the old lady" and would even forego the ransom for such an opportunity.

Besides Grandma, Lou Delvina also kidnaps an injured racehorse named Doug. Regaining custody of the steed provides for the impossible feats of transporting and accommodating a full-size horse in a recreational vehicle, an elevator, and a one-bedroom apartment. Because her content is less than breath taking, Evanovich insists on literally taking one's breath away when she describes doug farting in the elevator. Anyone who has smelled a horse fart is surely holding his or her breath.

Mutated mobsters, heavy artillery, and leprechauns help to distract readers from the fact that this cozy is missing two essential elements: mystery and romance. Amidst the first twenty pages lies a great question - not a mystery, but the closest thing this novel offers: Where's Grandma? Unfortunately, opening Grandma Mazur's bedroom door and picking up the pamphlet for Daffy's Casino in Atlantic city provides an efficient and tidy answer. I have spent longer contemplating the lost socks in the dryer phenomenon than Stephanie Plum spent deducing Grandma Mazur's whereabouts.

The love square that Stephanie finds herself in adds more to the novella's classification as a romantic mystery novel than it does to the story itself. Stephanie's suitors - Morelli, Ranger, and Diesel - are all strong, handsome men who supply resources and come to her aid as needed, but fail to contribute to the breadth of the story. Instead, these three serve as a writer's convention for rescuing Stephanie from unconceivable situations and eliminating barriers to progress when Evanovich has written herself into a corner. In fact, the introduction of new characters to supply a need appears to be one of the most-used literary devices in Evanovich's repertoire.

Need a car? Enter Lula and her firebird. Need to house a horse? Enter the rarely mentioned Ranger and his own parking garage. Need to identify or locate a suspect? Enter Diesel, armed with a current case file that just so happens to correspond. Need romance? Well, you're not going to find that here.

Plum Lucky falls short of Evanovich's previous novels as her deadline, or her standards, appear to have interfered with her creative abilities. Character descriptions from previous novels could remedy the absence of character. A focus on Diesel as her "leading man" could fuel a reader's desire for romance. And the mystery? Perhaps it's time for a more leisurely schedule. Or time to fire the ghostwriter responsible for Plum Lucky.

-0-

Summary of Plum Lucky (A Between-the-Numbers Novel)

Looking to get lucky?

Stephanie Plum is back between-the-numbers and she's looking to get lucky in an Atlantic City hotel room, in a Winnebago, and with a brown-eyed stud who has stolen her heart.

Stephanie Plum has a way of attracting danger, lunatics, oddballs, bad luck . . . and mystery men. And no one is more mysterious than the unmentionable Diesel. He's back and hot on the trail of a little man in green pants who's lost a giant bag of money. Problem is, the money isn't exactly lost. Stephanie's Grandma Mazur has found it, and like any good Jersey senior citizen, she's hightailed it in a Winnebago to Atlantic City and hit the slots. With Lula and Connie in tow, Stephanie attempts to bring Grandma home, but the luck of the Irish is rubbing off on everyone: Lula's found a job modeling plus-size lingerie. Connie's found a guy. Diesel's found Stephanie. And Stephanie has found herself in over her head with a caper involving thrice-stolen money, a racehorse, a car chase, and a bad case of hives.

Plum Lucky is an all-you-can-eat buffet of thrills, chills, shrimp cocktail, plus-size underwear, and scorching hot men. It's a between-the-numbers treat no Evanovich fan will want to miss!?

Comic Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Some of the Books I Read in 2008
Dime Store Magic (Women of the Otherworld, Book 3) ImageDime Store Magic (Women of the Otherworld, Book 3)
by Kelley Armstrong
Bantam; Published: 2004-04-27; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.50
Price in other shops: $7.99
The Cove (FBI Series) ImageThe Cove (FBI Series)
by Catherine Coulter
Jove; Published: 2007-08-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.80
Price in other shops: $4.99
Irish Rebel (Irish Hearts) ImageIrish Rebel (Irish Hearts)
by Nora Roberts
Silhouette; Published: 2002-01-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Price in other shops: $4.75
Irish Thoroughbred (Silhouette Language of Love #1) ImageIrish Thoroughbred (Silhouette Language of Love #1)
by Nora Roberts
Silhouette Books; Published: 1992-02-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.00
Forever... : A Novel of Good and Evil, Love and Hope (Forever Trilogy) ImageForever... : A Novel of Good and Evil, Love and Hope (Forever Trilogy)
by Jude Deveraux
Pocket; Published: 2002-10-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.75
Price in other shops: $7.99
Naughty Neighbor ImageNaughty Neighbor
by Janet Evanovich
Harper; Published: 2008-03-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.32
Price in other shops: $7.99
The Rocky Road to Romance ImageThe Rocky Road to Romance
by Janet Evanovich
HarperTorch; Published: 2004-09-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.18
Price in other shops: $7.99
Smitten ImageSmitten
by Janet Evanovich
HarperTorch; Published: 2006-07-25; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.92
Price in other shops: $7.99
Back to the Bedroom ImageBack to the Bedroom
by Janet Evanovich
HarperTorch; Published: 2005-08-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops: $7.50
Love Overboard ImageLove Overboard
by Janet Evanovich
HarperTorch; Published: 2005-02-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.83
Price in other shops: $7.99
Similar Books and other products
T is for Trespass (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries) ImageT is for Trespass (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries)
by Sue Grafton
Berkley; Published: 2008-11-25; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.74
Price in other shops: $7.99
Naughty Neighbor ImageNaughty Neighbor
by Janet Evanovich
Harper; Published: 2008-03-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.75
Price in other shops: $7.99
Wife for Hire ImageWife for Hire
by Janet Evanovich
Harper; Published: 2007-11-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.99
Price in other shops: $7.99
The Grand Finale ImageThe Grand Finale
by Janet Evanovich
Harper; Published: 2008-10-28; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.95
Price in other shops: $7.99
Finger Lickin' Fifteen (Stephanie Plum) ImageFinger Lickin' Fifteen (Stephanie Plum)
by Janet Evanovich
St. Martin's Press; Published: 2009-06-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.37
Price in other shops: $27.95
Lean Mean Thirteen (Stephanie Plum, No. 13) ImageLean Mean Thirteen (Stephanie Plum, No. 13)
by Janet Evanovich
St. Martin's Press; Published: 2007-06-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.92
Price in other shops: $27.95
Visions of Sugar Plums: A Stephanie Plum Holiday Novel ImageVisions of Sugar Plums: A Stephanie Plum Holiday Novel
by Janet Evanovich
St. Martin's Press; Published: 2002-11-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.83
Price in other shops: $19.95
Plum Spooky (A Between-the-Numbers Novel) ImagePlum Spooky (A Between-the-Numbers Novel)
by Janet Evanovich
St. Martin's Press; Published: 2009-01-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.94
Price in other shops: $27.95
Plum Lovin' (A Between-the-Numbers Novel) ImagePlum Lovin' (A Between-the-Numbers Novel)
by Janet Evanovich
St. Martin's Press; Published: 2007-01-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.96
Price in other shops: $16.95
Fearless Fourteen (Stephanie Plum, No. 14) ImageFearless Fourteen (Stephanie Plum, No. 14)
by Janet Evanovich
St. Martin's Press; Published: 2008-06-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.95
Price in other shops: $27.95
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories