Dog on It: A Chet and Bernie Mystery by Spencer Quinn

Chet the "Jet" is a dog with one white ear and one black who failed K-9 school (cats in the open country played a role in his demise), but now he is a dedicated PI and works with Bernie, owner of the Little Detective Agency. The story is told entirely from Chet’s point of view, which gives us an interesting twist on the traditional PI mystery, and it is definitely fun to read.

Wealthy divorcée Cynthia Chambliss hires Bernie, a former cop, to find her missing 15-year-old daughter, Madison, whose father is a real estate developer who smells suspiciously of cat. (Chet's keen sense of smell comes in handy.) When Madison reappears and disappears again, her dad says she's just a runaway, though Bernie thinks otherwise.

Chet may not understand things like maps (he doesn’t need them, as he can sniff his way home), but he is a great sleuth who finds the girl and solves the case. The always upbeat Chet makes us cheer for him and realize that dogs can be detectives too. Bernie is a good detective too but sometimes you need a nose to sniff out the truth.

This was a fun read from start to finish. I now have a new favorite duo to look for next year as I'm sure there are more books to come. The only thing I wish the author would do is actually name where the characters live. It is a generic "Valley" in the desert with former ranches and open land that are now city. I guess since I live in a valley in the desert I'm curious to where this is.

Brimstone by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Pendergast mystery series

Jeremy Grove, a notorious art critic, has been found dead. Burned from the inside out, with a demonic hoof print burned into the floor, and his crucifix melted. The work of the devil? Or a sign of the Second coming?

Enter in former NYPD cop Vincent D'Agosta and then FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast, a wealthy, refined and ruthless. The relationship reminds me of Holmes and Watson. Obviously Pendergast is Holmes but D'Agosta while rough and tumble is no slouch in the brains department. When another burned corpse is discovered in NYC, New York Police Captain Laura Hayward, is introduced to the case and has connections to Pendergast & D'Agosta. D'Agosta who used to work for NYPD but after retiring from the police force to write novels he's back in New York state but now working for a suberb where the first murder is discovered.

But their investigation soon takes them from the luxury estates of Long Island and penthouses of New York City to the crumbling, legend-shrouded castles of the Italian countryside, where thirty years ago four men conjured up something unspeakable. There are several storylines as a homeless man from New Mexico reads about the burned coprse and decides he needs to go to NYC to spread the word of the 2nd coming.

This was quite the "sit on the edge of your seat" reading but I found the actual resolution a bit contrived. A lot of superficial characters are briefly in the story and then never really seen again. Maybe it's because I haven't read any of the previous books so need to go and try the first one that introduces the characters. But it was definitely a fun read so will look for the earlier books in the future.

City and the City by China Mieville

A modern crime/detective story set in a unique urban fantasy setting. Two cites that exist in the same space, and overlap at areas of "crosshatching". Citizens in Ul Qoma and Bes hold on to their identities as separate nations by unseeing and unsensing citizens from the other city. To notice in areas of crosshatching is to move over to that city and to breach. Breaching is a major crime and involves the mysterious oversight policing force known as Breach. They have more power than either city's police force but only deal with crime involving the illegal travel between cities. If you breach, you disappear. Trained from birth to ignore the other city, the citizens of either city can live their entire lives in one city without ever truly seeing anything from the other one.

A blend of near-future science fiction and police procedural. Told from the point of view of Inspector Tyador Borlú of the Extreme Crime Squad roams through the intertwined but separate cultures as he investigates the murder of Mahalia Geary, who believed that a third city, Orciny, hides in the blind spots between Beszel and Ul Qoma. As Mahalia's friends disappear and revolution brews, Tyador is forced to consider the idea that someone in unseen Orciny is manipulating the other cities.

I have read several reviews so when it came out on CD thought I would give it a try. Honestly it was hard to just listen to especially with the almost Eastern European sounding names and places. Also I had no idea how the cities or names were spelled until I saw the book. I did enjoy the mix of mystery with science fiction elements. Now that I've listened to it on CD I want to re-read it in print to see how it works for me.

Criminal Vol 1 - Coward by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips

Coward is the story of Leo, a professional pickpocket known as a legendary heist-planner and thief. But there's a catch with Leo, he won't work any job that he doesn't call all the shots on, he won't allow guns, and the minute things turn south, he's looking for any exit that won't land him in prison. We see one of his past heists in which everyone is killed except him as he knows when to leave a situation before the shooting starts. But is he just lucky or is he really a coward? He has to live with that guilt.

Cut to the present, he's lured into a risky heist by the widow of one of the guys killed in a the past heist. She brings on the guilt, saying he owes her for her husband's life. So he agrees to the heist even though his gut is telling him to run. He comes up with a plan but others keep changing the rules. After the heist goes wrong, all his rules go out the window, and he ends up on the run from the cops and the bad men who double-crossed him. Now Leo must come face-to-face with the violence he's kept bottled up inside for 20 years, and nothing will ever be the same for him again. Everyone seems to die around him but he can't even do that right. Is he really a coward or just a survivor?

Interesting GN. I had read about it in an online article about the Parker GN that just came out. So I thought I'd give it a try. It's gritty and shocking and definitely not happy but thought provoking. What would you do when everything seems against you and there seems like no way out but the wrong way? The illustrations are dark and sinister and the shadows show more than the light. I had to read this in small batches as the melancholy was hard to take, as I knew there wasn't going to be a happy ending. But now that I'm done I keep thinking about it.

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull

Guitarist and singer Eddi McCandry has just left a floundering band and her boyfriend when a Phouka, a man who at times is a talking dog, becomes her guardian at the behest of the Faerie Folk. Eddi soon finds herself involved with warring Faerie groups, the Seelie Court and its noble queen versus the Unseelie Court, ruled by the evil Queen of Air and Darkness. The Seelie Court has chosen Eddi because there's "power in a mortal soul that all of Faerie cannot muster." The Faerie need a mortal to give them the mortality on the warring field as it is the only way to have casualties.

In between the battles and conflicts Eddi assembles a new band composed of her close friend Carla on drums, Dan Rochelle on keyboards, mumbling Hedge on bass and Willy Silver on lead guitar. Together they become part of the magic and form the base for Eddi's own powers, which she has acquired from her new place in Faerie. She decides to name the new band "Eddi and the Feys" as a kind of inside joke to her new life. But it will take all the band's power, all that the Seelie court has to offer, and a bit of pure luck besides to win the battle for Minneapolis. Especially when nothing is quite what it seems, for if the Fay never lie, they still can twist the truth to the quick.

The real strength of the story is pure knowledge of rock music and the field, the contribute to the climax, a struggle between Eddi and the dark queen at a concert.

I read this book several years ago and was really pleased to get to read it again for my bookclub. What fun, as it is still as fresh and innovative as the first time I read it. It reminds me why I enjoy urban fantasy and need to read more again.

Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron

Deborah Knott series

This book introduces attorney Deborah Knott, the daughter of an infamous North Carolina bootlegger, a local girl who is now running for a district court judgeship. 18-year-old Gayle Whitehead (whom Deb babysat) asks her to investigate the unsolved murder of her mother, Janie, which took place when Gayle was an infant. The girl wants Deb, who knows the locals of Cotton Grove, to ask around and see if she can find clues the police might have missed. Deb visits Michael Vickery, the gay son of Cotton Grove's retired doctor and owner of the property where Janie's body was found.

During the visit they are shot at by an unknown person who Deb suspects is Michael's partner Den. The next day Deb receives a call from an employee of Pot Shop who says neither man has shown up for work that day - she also says Den had called Deb and left her a message to meet him at the theater as he had something to give her. Realizing that she had missed his message Deb goes to the theater only to discover a dead boy - shot in the face- assumed to be Den, in the parking lot. After the initial autopsy it is found to be Michael instead.

Den comes to her asking for her legal advice. But is what he is telling her the truth or just a game he is playing? So while trying to win her judgeship she is doing her best to find the truth. Along the way she discovers long-kept secrets, learning that Janie had a roving eye and that her best friend had made overtures to Janie a week before the murder. But as is often the case, the answer is not obvious or easy.

I had read about this series so finally decided to try it out. I'm not a big fan of legal mysteries but do enjoy a good Southern story. I was happy to discover that the legal aspect was not the primary one so was able to enjoy it. I did find the main character's way of almost having conversations with herself to be somewhat distracting as it didn't really fit the rest of the story. But I enjoyed the characters and the politics you have to play to get the vote. I'll definitely read another one.

Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer

Agnes Crandall is a feisty food writer and cookbook author on her third fiancé, Taylor Beaufort. Though their future looks bright, their romance is curdling, partly due to their deal with widowed mob wife Brenda Fortunato (who is selling them her old house) to hold a Fortunato family wedding at their house in exchange for three months of payments.

While making dinner an armed thug tries to kidnap Agnes's dog so after Agnes bonks him on the head a few times with a frying pan he falls to his death through a false door to the basement (that Agnes didn't even know was there). Agnes calls the police but her friend Joey, a Fortunato family friend (and mobster) asks hit man Shane to keep an eye on Agnes. Cue the romantic interest. After many more head bashings with the frying pan and shootouts that call for the clean up expertise of Mr. Carpenter, Shane starts to wonder who is behind all this.

Meanwhile the wedding must go on or Agnes will lose the house to Brenda. But now she is starting to wonder if maybe Brenda is trying to screw Agnes out of the house as she seems to be sabotaging the wedding right and left. Many more cast of characters from the very bridizilla, Maria, and the groom who might be getting cold feet.

It is an interesting mix of the South meets New York gangsters. There are laugh out loud moment but not as many as I had hoped as this became quite the complicated story - primarily because of all the characters.

Late, Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow

The book opens with a funeral. Molly Marx is 35 when she dies in an unexplained bicycle accident, and she is watching her own funeral. She chooses to watch her loved ones after her death. Molly's life is cut short during a bicycle ride in Riverside Park on a rainy day, and she suddenly finds herself in a place called the Duration.

Molly was married to a successful plastic surgeon (who has cheated on her since their wedding day and comes equipped with a stereotypical over protective Jewish mother), has a four year-old daughter she loves with all her heart, close relationships with her family, good friends, a fulfilling and creative career, and a handsome, secret lover who might just be her soulmate.

After her death when she wakes up in the Duration, she discovers that she is equipped with a fully functioning bull*&$ meter, and Molly watches as life goes on without her. Each chapter starts with important events that occurred before Molly's death, so the reader is given clues to perspectives of Molly's life from her memories, current events, the thoughts of her loved ones, and even an NYC detective who is trying to discover how Molly died.

But in the end, how Molly died is less important than how she lived, and how pieces of Molly lived on in others, long after she was gone.

This book reminded me of Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold kind of merging with Sex and the City. But I did really enjoy it. The ending was a bit contrived and really tried to tie up everything. I think I enjoyed the chapters that dealt with her relationships as she realizes that she really didn't value herself until after she saw how it affected her family and friends and even her husband who seemed more focused on apperances rather than just being.

Flood by Andrew Vachss

The main character a private detective known as Burke, comes to the assistance of a young woman named Flood. She is searching for a psychotic freak known as the Cobra, a child molester who has murdered her closest friend's child. After much fighting and chasing her down Burke finally accepts the job. Not necessarily a hitman, Burke is more of an avenging angel for hire, if he can be convinced the cause is worthy, and his dog Pansy doesn't rip a prospective client to shreds. His existence consists of an odd assortment of hookers, restaurant owners, gambling, and Max the Silent, his spiritual brother, and possibly the most dangerous man on Earth.

This is not a quick or easy or clean read. It makes you stop and think really shudder a bit as the story revolves around an underworld of S&M, perversion, and snuff films. Unfortunately we know from watching the news these things really do exist. Vachss is a lawyer specializing in child abuse cases and bases his stories on many true life situations he had found himself involved in.

The characters are interesting and intriguing and I'll probably read more but it will be awhile before my brain can really take another one.

Comforts of a Muddy Saturday by Alexander McCall Smith

Isabel Dalhousie Mystery

Edinburgh moral philosopher Isabel Dalhousie is living her life as best she can. She's recently assumed ownership of the obscure journal she's edited for many years, the Review of Applied Ethics. While this seems straightforward she has the dilemma of a former member of the board who submitted a paper for publication.

She is approached by a woman she meets at a dinner to investigate her husband, Marcus Moncrieff a doctor accused of scientific fraud. Did Dr. Moncrieff manipulate the data for a drug developed by the same company that funded his research? But as often is the case it is much more complicated than it first appears. It turns out that Dr. Moncrieff’s nephew, who is also his assistant, might have had good reason to exact revenge on his uncle. (At issue is the inheritance of a large farm on Scotland’s Black Isle.)

Meanwhile, Isabel’s much younger boyfriend, Jamie, continues to dote on Isabel and their infant son, Charlie. (Alas, Jamie’s extraordinary good looks have Isabel forever worrying that he will lose interest in her.) There are other moral dilemmas, too. Isabel suspects that Eddie, the vulnerable young man who works at Isabel’s niece’s deli, lied about the reason he needs to borrow money. And Grace, Isabel’s very assertive housekeeper, has been telling local residents that her adorable Charlie is her own.

Most of the story is Isabel contimplating how to best approach situations she is uncomfortable with. I enjoy her musings but find myself getting a bit tired of her fears about Jamie leaving her. Plus I really cannot stand her niece Cat who thankfully is not around much during this book. It is always like a quick vacation to Edinburgh and this is a much cheaper option.

Whiteout by Greg Rucka & Steve Lieber

Graphic novel set in Antarctica on a station with nothing but ice and snow for miles and miles. It is cold and desolete and the black and white drawings illustrate the starkness and almost depressive state of it all. Carrie Stetko is a U.S. Marshal, and though she's been exiled there she's made The Ice her home. Because she is one of the few year round women who live there she has to be cold and mean and hard to survive it. But she has also found a place where she can forget her troubled past and feel at peace. Then someone commits a murder in her jurisdiction and that peace is shattered. The murderer is one of five men scattered across the continent, and he has more reason to hide than just the slaying. Several ice samples were taken from the area around the body, and the depth of the drilling signifies something particular was removed. Enter Lily Sharpe, a British intellegence agent or spook, who wants to know what was so important another man's life had to be taken for it.

Just saw a movie trailer for a movie Whiteout based on this GN. This was a gritty and intense GN, I had to go back and reread sections as there is a lot packed into what originally looks like a simple story. It will be interesting to see how this translates on the big screen. There is one amazing sequence as Stetko and Sharpe are tied to a line and go out during a Whiteout to hunt down the killer. You see why the book is called the name as both are blind in their quest for the truth and finding the killer. Because of the harsh conditions everyone looks the same as they all wear the same gear so while you assume you know who the killer is you cannot be exactly sure.

Star Trek Archives Volume 1: Best of Peter David
Includes 5 original comics in one collection
Star Trek Annual #3 - Retrospect
Star Trek #13-15 - Return of the Worthy series - co-written by Bill Mumy
Star Trek #19 - Once a Hero

Great fun. I am a big fan of Peter David - I've read most of his earlier work and was not aware he had written Star Trek comics. So when I saw this in my local comic book store on Thursday I had to buy it. All of these focus on the original Star Trek crew and seem to be after ST2. All of these have a definite nostalgic feel as the various ST crew deal with loss.

Retrospect focuses on Scotty, it beings as he receives a package from home we see him grieve for the woman whom he loved. The story is told in reverse and ends with the first time they meet as young children in Scotland. Very sweet and always nice to see a story revolve around Scotty.

Worthy is a trio of comics that focus on the legend of the Worthy that are discovered by the Enterprise when they are exploring the planet before they set up the Lamver Unit, which is an inter-planetary device which is scheduled to be tested on the planet. During their exploration they are attached by a flying robot and discover a small space vessel which houses several humanoids in suspended animation. As they wake up the humanoids they find out that they are the Worthy who are legendary beings who go from world to world saving them. The storyline goes from the crew of the Enterprise getting to know the Worthy to deciding not to use the planet as a test sight as it is now a burial ground for the fallen Worthy to taking them home and finding it destroyed. In the end the Worthy decide to take back up their mission and save planets from a fate their planet suffered.

Once a Hero - is mostly about Kirk trying to come to terms that a member of his crew, Ensign Lee died to save Kirk's life but no one including Kirk knows anything about Lee except his name and rank. The storyline focuses on Kirk interviewing various members of the crew who interacted with Lee to see what they know about him as well as re-living the mission that ends Lee's life. It ends with a eulogy in which Kirk challenges everyone to get to know their fellow crew members no matter how insignificant they might be.

Now unless you are a Star Trek fan these comics won't do much for you. But Peter David has written so many novels for Star Trek that it really shows in these comics plus he writes really excellent dialog. I so enjoyed it.

Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon

Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery

When legendary German conductor Helmut Wellauer is found dead in his dressing room two acts into a performance of La Traviata , police commissario Guido Brunetti is called in. Among those who might have provided the cyanide poison that killed the maestro, immediate suspects include the much younger wife and many in the music industry who are offended by his homophobia. Methodically probing into the victim's past, Brunetti also uncovers Wellauer's Nazi sympathies and a lead to a trio of singing sisters from yesteryear--one now destitute, one dead and the other missing.

You truly feel like you are wondering around Venice in this book. But what I enjoyed even more than exploring Venice was observing Guido interact with his family; his moody teenage son, mathematically driven sure-footed pre-teen daughter, and his independent English Professor wife who he truly does love and desire even when his eye is drawn to other women. Plus he has an almost love/hate relationship with his very wealthy in-laws. I felt like I was there watching over his shoulder as he interviewed the various suspects and tried to unravel who killed the conductor and most of all why. They mystery is finally resolved at the end with a surprising twist but satisfactory conclusion. I am intrigued enough to read more.

How to Live with a Neurotic Cat by Stephen Baker

Full of little stories, one liners and cartoons about cats and what they do, all very tongue in cheek. Illustrations are all in black and white and remind me of cartoons from the New Yorker. A friend recommended that I read this book so I found it at my local PL. I laughed a lot and quickly finished and returned it. This is not a book where one can actually learn anything about cats but rather makes you nod you head in agreement. I loved the segments on teaching cats tricks - basically the cat sleeps while you move it around. Hilarious!

I believe there is a dog counterpart but have not read it. It would be fun to read though I am more of a cat fan than dog.

Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell

1st book in the Kurt Wallender mystery series

Set in Sweden these books are now being translated into English. Also some of the novels have been an adapted for Masterpiece Mystery series on PBS starring Kenneth Branagh

The story opens with a horrific murder scene on the Lovgren farm in rural Sweden. An elderly farmer discovers that his neighbors, also elderly, have been attacked. The husband, Johannes Lovgren, was gruesomely tortured and killed while his wife, Maria, left for dead with a noose around her neck. Rydberg, a police force old-timer, says the noose's unusual knot and the word foreigner, which old woman uttered before she died, are important. Wallender puts those clues on the back burner when he learns that Johannes, ostensibly a simple farmer, had a secret life involving wealth and connections unknown to his wife. However, a leak to the press complicates the investigation by arousing anti-immigrant feelings, some of which are expressed in anonymous threats.

There is a lot of immigration tension in Sweden and refugee camps are being targeted - making the small police force even more stretched to the breaking point. When a Somali refugee is shot, the clues point to a retired former policeman of another town Wallander and his fellow police detectives are torn how to deal with it.

Kurt Wallender, a middle-aged cop in the small town of Lenarp. His wife has recently left him and he is drowning his sorrows in opera and far too much liquor. He is also dealing with the guilt he feels with his father who's mental health is failing. He tries to visit but gets caught up in the drama of the new case. Only after a neighbor calls after finding his father wandering along the roadside carrying a suitcase of dirty underwear and paint supplies. Wallender's father is a famous painter who has only paints one scene with or without a grouse. Wallender often wonders what his father wanted him to be as he is constantly berating him for being a policeman. Wallender feels estranged from his wife, his daughter, Linda and most of all real life.

You really feel the hopelessness he feels, the despair he feels his life has become. But he also has this way of finding the truth. This is a true police procedural and the cases take months to solve versus a few days. Plus I have a whole new appreciation to cold weather! brrrr.... A good book to read in Phoenix when it is 115+ degrees.

Dead Boys Detectives by Ed Brubaker

Featured in Sandman Comics - this collected one storyline. Neil Gaiman created the characters and Ed Brubaker wrote this comic.

The Dead Boy Detectives are Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine, two British schoolboys from different eras who are now ghosts. They take on a case of missing homeless teens who are later discovered shriveled and horribly dead. Since no one is taking this seriously one of the homeless teens find the detectives in their tree house and asks for their help. So in typical young boy fashion they both jump in feet first to the fray of witches, immortality and the occult. Not bad for a couple hours of reading.

So long and thanks for all the laughs....

Get Real by Donald E. Westlake

Final book in the Dortmunder series

It was with great trepidation that I started reading this book. Donald E. Westlake passed away on New Years Eve, and when I heard the news I burst into tears thinking, no more Dortmunder! Then I read about this book coming out and while I was happy to at least have one more Dortmunder novel to read, my heart is heavy.

During a taxi ride - Murch's mom talks to a fare about her son and his friends who steal for a living. The fare, Doug Fairkeep, is a producer for reality-show company, Get Real, and is always looking for a new concept. He tracks down Murch who recruits Dortmunder for a heist /aka reality TV show. Kelp, Tiny and the Kid are brought in too as you have to have 5 guys to make a crew. Doug throws his own people into the mix by adding actors to the crew - Roger, fulltime actor who also can climb walls like Spiderman and Darlene - who was brought in from another reality show as a possible love interest. There is Marcy who "writes what is going to happen" and Babe - Doug's boss, who every time he comes on set says "I'm shutting this down!".

Naturally, the gang has to make this gig pay more than what's offered, as much for the fun of it as for the extra cash. While Get Real helps them map out a robbery, the boys are mapping out the real robbery—of some of the company's hidden assets. See Get Real is owned by Monopole that is owned by TUI and so on and so on. So the building that Get Real uses has other purposes that make Dortmunder nad the gang real curious. There is money somewhere in the building and they are going to get it. The thinking is that Get Real can hardly come after them to retrieve cash that it can't admit that it has. The game plan changes nearly hourly, and the outcome is anything but certain.

I laughed, I cried as I said "goodbye' to one of my favorite mystery writers and realy one of greatest writers of the 20th Century. There is no one like him.

White Hot by Sandra Brown

Sayre Lynch returns to Destiny, La., for her brother Danny's funeral. Estranged from her family for the past 10 years, Sayre arrives in town believing Danny committed suicide, but after a surprise encounter at the cemetery and a disquieting interview with the sheriff's deputy determines that someone murdered her brother. She seaks to find out who would have killed her well liked little brother, the answer may be her own family!

Sayre is the middle child of Huff Hoyle, powerful owner of the local foundary. 10 years ago she left Destiny determined never to return and now lives in San Francisco as a interior decorator. Ater meeting Danny's fiance she decides to stay to investigate her brother's last days, as well as confront her father and big brother, Chris. This dynamic duo run the foundry that provides most of the town's jobs and all its corruption. Everywhere she goes, Sayre crosses paths with Huff's handsome lawyer henchman, Beck Merchant, whom she finds irresistible although he represents everything she despises.

We see several storylines as we learn more about Huff, her father and other people who live in Destiny. This is a romance and it is Sandra Brown so lots of sexual tension between her and Beck. I know that Sandra Brown is a big name in the romance fiction world but this was my first experience actually reading one of her books and it was ok. Nothing earth shattering but I can see why she has a big fan base. She has a way of mixing the family saga up.

Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas

Commissaire Adamsberg Mystery

Newly transferred from his home in the Pyrenees to Paris, 45-year-old Adamsberg arrives with a reputation for solving big cases, though his diffident manner doesn't impress his colleague and foil, Adrien Danglard. A solitary man drawing blue chalk circles at night around stray objects in Paris streets manages to create a media sensation, but Adamsberg senses evil behind the act. When the corpse of a woman is found encircled in chalk, he's proven right. Adamsberg's indirect approach, his ability to sense cruelty and to let solutions percolate to the surface make him one of the more intriguing police detectives in a long time.

I really enjoyed this book and am so glad that they finally translated it into English. The rest of the series have been translated except for this one. Go figure!?! This book reminds me of Hercule Poirot in some ways as it is much more cerebral feel than the police procedural it is portrayed. The outside characters are interesting and I found myself thinking about them after I finished the book. Danglard - a single father raising two sets of twins! You get a little bit of his home life and it really intrigued me and made wish there was more info about his life.

Funny story about how I got this book. I read about this series and it mentioned that this was the first book but it was the 6th one translated and came out June 30, 2009. So of course my local library does not own it. Since I was attending the American Library Association in Chicago in July I hunted down the Penguin publisher's book and they had one copy left and let me buy it for $5. Since it is an oversized paperback worth $14, I scored a deal! Then while I was waiting in line to win something at the Demco book they covered the cover with that stiff plastic so it is almost like a hardback now.

Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

Book 15 in the Stephanie Plum series

It's hot and summertime in Trenton, NJ. Stephanie has recently broken up again with Morelli and is done with men. She's ready to throw herself back into being a bounty hunter. But then Lula inadvertently witnesses the beheading of culinary TV star Stanley Chipotle in a Trenton, N.J., alley. Stephanie convensinces Lula to call Morelli, who reluctantly takes the case. When the Chipotle bar-b-q sauce company offers a reward of 1 million dollors, Lula, with the help of Grandma Mazur, enters the same barbequing competition Chipotle was in town to promote, hoping to lure the murderers out of hiding. Ranger has recruited Stephanie to help solve a series of break-ins at properties under the protection of Rangeman Security.

There are 3 car fires and one house bombing so the stakes are rising. Most of this story focuses on Stephanie and her men. I miss some of the other characters but enjoyed that there were fewer characters this book.

This is a book to read over a weekend of during a plane ride and it still makes me laugh outloud. I'll keep reading a Stephanie Plum book as often as Evanovich keeps writing them.