Review: Finger Linkin' Fifteen

Summary: Unbuckle your belt and pull up a chair. It's the spiciest, sauciest, most rib-sticking Plum yet.

Recipe for disaster: Celebrity chef Stanley Chipotle comes to Trenton to participate in a barbecue cook-off and loses his head -- literally.

Throw in some spice: Bail bonds office worker Lula is witness to the crime, and the only one she'll talk to is Trenton cop Joe Morelli.

Pump up the heat: Chipotle's sponsor is offering a million-dollar reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the capture of the killers.

Stir the pot: Lula recruits bounty hunger Stephanie Plum to help her find the killers and collect the moolah.

Add a secret ingredient: Stephanie Plum's Grandma Mazur. Enough said.

Bring to a boil: Stephanie Plum is working overtime tracking felons for the bonds office at night and snooping for security expert Carlos Manoso, aka Ranger, during the day. Can Stephanie hunt down two killers, a traitor, and five skips, keep her grandmother out of the sauce, and solve Ranger's problems and not jump his bones?

Warning: Habanero hot. So good you'll want seconds. -- Book Jacket

It wouldn't feel like summer for me if I didn't read a Stephanie Plum book by Janet Evanovich. That's probably because I've been reading one a year for the past 15 years. I can definitely say that I am a huge fan of this series; and I just love reading about the adventures of all the quirky characters. This year, Stephanie and Lula team up in FINGER LICKIN' FIFTEEN.

I liked FINGER LICKIN' FIFTEEN very much, but I always enjoy these books. I consider Ms. Evanovich's books to be like "book candy" for me -- a guilty pleasure (but without all the calories!) This book was a fun, light story with a little mystery thrown in that only took me a few hours to read. I have to say that it really hit the spot for me after the depressing weekend I had. One things for sure about Stephanie Plum books, they will always make you laugh (or at least smile.)

If you are already a fan of this series, you should appreciate FINGER LICKIN' FIFTEEN too. There are many of the same types of scenes and characters that appear in the other 14 books, but that doesn't bother me at all because it's what I've grown to expect and love from these books. Why mess with something that works?

Of course, all the same characters are back in this book. I love Stephanie and Morelli together, but I was a little disappointed to see that Ranger had a bigger part in this book. (That just means that the next one will have more Morelli, right?) I also think Lula is a hoot; and since she had a huge part in this book, there was ample opportunity for a lot of humor -- get it? -- "huge" and "ample?" Usually when I read this series, I find myself laughing out loud at least once at something Grandma Mazur does. In this book, my laugh out loud moment was a scene involving Lula. I'm still chuckling as I write about it!

There is a great website devoted to this book; and I think fans of the series are really going to appreciate the map and tour of "The Burg." I had a fun time clicking through all the locations mentioned in the books. You can even read some excerpts of the novel.

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of FINGER LICKIN' FIFTEEN.