Sizzling Sixteen (Stephanie Plum) by Janet Evanovich: Review

!: Review of Two Popular Mystery Series

What can I say? Janet Evanovich's mystery series with Stephanie Plum is a guilty pleasure. Her books are always a fast read with at least two or three rip-roaring belly laughs and a few chuckles. What makes those laughs so worthwhile is the way they sneak up on you with impeccable comedic timing. I'm not a Lucille Ball fan, but I can't help but think of her, when I read the cartoonish antics of bail bonds woman, Stephanie Plum.

This time in Sizzling Sixteen cousin Vinnie, who owns the bail bond business, gets into financial trouble and Plum and Lulu, her ex-prostitute sidekick, has to "bail" him out. Popular repeat characters include funeral attendee Grandma Mazur, office manager Connie and Mooner, who now owns a motor home. Of course, boyfriends Ranger (rhymes with danger) and Morelli make steamy appearances. All in all it is another fun romp. Be careful about reading these in the library. You never know when you will spontaneously erupt with guffaws.

Marcia Muller takes an interesting approach to her next book in the Sharon McCone series called Locked In. Sharon is shot and her body becomes a locked room. She can't speak or move, but there is nothing wrong with her reasoning abilities. Like Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe, all the information, on who might have been involved with the shooting, is fed to McCone through her staff and spouse, Hy Ripinsky, as she lies in the hospital. We appreciate McCone's vital role of bringing her staff together, as they start to follow some parallel lines of inquiry without keeping each other informed.

Focusing on the puzzle of who shot her, McCone perseveres, as her body deteriorates. We follow the clues through the eyes of her investigators. This is an interesting twist and a way to see the main character, through the perspective of those we have met over the past twenty-eight book series. It is like a singer paying homage to the various virtuoso musicians in a band and letting them each do a solo performance.

Muller once again focuses on her characters and the mystery at hand with little room for emotional hijinks. At times it is difficult to warm up to Muller's McCone, because she has little room for sentiment or descriptive detail in her pursuit of a mystery's solution. Muller's books in other words are plot driven. But like an old friend, I always look forward to spending a few hours with her to keep her company during her next exploit.