Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich
Series: Stephanie Plum, #16
Read by Lorelei King
Macmillan Audio
2010
Length: 7 hours
Source: Library
Trenton, New Jersey,
bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has inherited a “lucky” bottle from her
Uncle Pip. Problem is, Uncle Pip didn’t specify if the bottle brought
good luck or bad luck. . . .BAD LUCK: Vinnie, of Vincent
Plum Bail Bonds, has run up a gambling debt of $786,000 with mobster
Bobby Sunflower and is being held until the cash can be produced. Nobody
else will pay to get Vinnie back, leaving it up to Stephanie, office
manager Connie, and file clerk Lula to raise the money.GOOD LUCK: Being in the business of
tracking down people, Stephanie, Lula, and Connie have an advantage in
finding Vinnie. If they can rescue him, it will buy them some time to
raise the cash.BAD LUCK: Finding a safe place to hide
Vinnie turns out to be harder than raising $786,000.GOOD LUCK: Between
a bonds office yard sale, a plan that makes Mooner’s
Hobbit-Con look sane, and Uncle Pip’s lucky bottle, they just might
raise enough money to save the business, and Vinnie, from ruin.BAD
LUCK: Saving
Vincent Plum Bail Bonds means Stephanie can keep being a bounty hunter.
This involves hunting down a man wanted for polygamy, a
turnpike toilet paper bandit, and a drug dealer.GOOD LUCK: The job of bounty hunter
comes with perks in the guise of Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, and
the dark and dangerous security expert, Ranger. With any luck at all,
Uncle Pip’s lucky bottle will have Stephanie getting lucky—the only
question is . . . with whom?
My thoughts: All of the Stephanie Plum books I’ve read/listened to so far, I think this is my favorite one by far. Between the comedy of errors that occurs on a regular basis when Stephanie and Lula are on a case to the zinger lines that the characters say, I think I actually laughed the entire way through this book.
In this installment, Stephanie, Lula and Connie all work together to find Vinnie, who’s betting has gotten the best of him and has been kidnapped. Despite the fact that they really don’t care if he’s gone, they do like their jobs and realize that Vinnie needs to be found in order for them to continue working. What ensues is one fiasco after another, complete with a stampede of cattle in Trenton, a run-in with a pet alligator named Mr. Jingles and a yard sale at the bonds office of all the merchandize Vinnie has collected over the years.
And, once again Lula is on a diet…this time it’s the ‘One Diet’ where she can eat only one of something. Of course, Lula configures this to her own liking. In the donut shop, instead of getting only one donut, she gets one of every type of donut and proceeds to eat them. And decides a carrot cake donut counts as a vegetable. Only Lula!
There’s also the reappearance of Mooner who I find hysterical. He’s constantly high and just seems to float through life in a cloud. He ends up having to watch Vinnie once the dynamic threesome finds him and it’s nothing but comedy when Mooner is in charge.
I think one of the reasons I love this series so much is that it is so outrageously funny. I know I can listen to these books and will end up laughing within a few minutes. The characters are quite unique and just make for a good story.
Audio thoughts: Once again I find myself amazed how consistent Lorelei King is with the voices. Mooner hasn’t been around for a few books and yet his voice was exactly as I remembered it from earlier books. She was definitely a good pick for narrating this series.
*** Devourer of Books
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Books in this series:
1. One for the Money 12. Twelve Sharp
2. Two for the Dough 12.5 Plum Lovin’
3. Three to Get Deadly 13. Lean Mean Thirteen
4. Four to Score 13.5 Plum Lucky
5. High Five 14. Fearless Fourteen
6. Hot Six 14.5 Plum Spooky
7. Seven Up 15. Finger Lickin’ Fifteen
8. Hard Eight 16. Sizzling Sixteen
8.5 Visions of Sugar Plums 17. Smokin’ Seventeen
9. To the Nines 18. Explosive Eighteen
10. Ten Big Ones 19. Notorious Nineteen
11. Eleven on Top
