Plum Lovin' (A Between-the-Numbers Novel)

The inbetween books are pretty awful. Stick to the number books.

I ended up reading this out of order--mostly because I forgot about it. Whoops. But that's not that much of a problem, because these between-the-numbers books (meaning Visions of Sugar Plums and this one, though I suspect there'll be more forthcoming) are just a wee bit off the series' track. The cast balance is shifted--Ranger and Morelli, and even...more

I ended up reading this out of order--mostly because I forgot about it. Whoops. But that's not that much of a problem, because these between-the-numbers books (meaning Visions of Sugar Plums and this one, though I suspect there'll be more forthcoming) are just a wee bit off the series' track. The cast balance is shifted--Ranger and Morelli, and even Grandma Mazur and Lula are relegated to the sidelines, and the focus shifts to mystery man Diesel (we learn in this book that he's an Unmentionable--it's been a while since I read Sugar Plums, but I don't remember that being... er... mentioned). It's also where most of the plot developments with Stephanie's sister Valerie occur. And it's got a touch of the supernatural. So, I'm a wee bit confused by everybody who was screaming that Ranger and Morelli were missing, and why was Evanovich changing the series, etc., etc. It's really the same format as Sugar Plums, and it's obviously not a regular series book, or the title would have a number. I'm guessing it's short memories. Anyway. Knowing what to expect, I wasn't disappointed. Stephanie's job collides with Diesel's when her FTA, Annie Hart, turns out to be somebody Diesel is keeping under wraps. So they make a deal: Steph will help Diesel do Annie's job, then Diesel will turn her over to Steph. The job: relationship expert. They have to ensure that Annie's three clients have happy Valentine's Days. Of course, this being a version of the Plum-verse, it's not all that easy. It gets more complicated, and more personal, when it turns out that the third client is none other than Albert Kloughn, who would be Stephanie's brother-in-law if marriage didn't terrify him. So now it's up to Steph and Diesel to get Albert to the altar with Valerie. Lots of fun, lots of laughs, short quick read. Between-the-numbers. Remember that. You'll enjoy the book a lot more that way.   hide