Monday, March 21, 2011

Mini Book Review - Hard Eight (Stephanie Plum #8)



Golden Lines:
"You know you can stay here."
"And endanger you?"
"I'm used to being endangered."
This was true.  But this was also the basis for almost every argument we had.  And it was the primary reason for our breakup.  That and my inability to commit.  Morelli didn't want a bounty hunter wife.  He didn't want the mother of his children regularly dodging bullets.  I guess I can't blame him.

Summary:

Evelyn and 7 year old Annie Sodor are missing. They are running from Evelyn's ex-husband Steven and his boss/business partner, the dangerous and crazy mob boss Eddie Abruzzi.  Abruzzi has an obsession with war games...an obsession he transfers to real life.  His men, dressed as Bill Clinton, a bear, a rabbit, and Richard Nixon, begin stalking Stephanie.  Abruzzi wants to find Evelyn before Stephanie does; Evelyn has something Abruzzi wants.  In a race against time Stephanie has to turn to Ranger for help, and Ranger cashes in Stephanie's debt.  Even though they are broken up, Morelli is still in and out of Stephanie's life, showing up when cars blow up, a bag of snakes is left on Stephanie's doorknob, spiders the size of dinner plates are left in her car, "death cooties" attack Stephanie's couch, to name just a few of the unbelievable dilemmas Stephanie manages to get herself into.  It will take a face to face showdown with Abruzzi to solve this one...and help from both men in her life.

My Thoughts:

There is nothing new in the Stephanie Plum formula...plenty of action and plenty of characters to keep up with.   The main goal, finding Evelyn and Annie, is interspersed with other FTA's, namely Andy Bender, to keep the rent paid.  This was one of my least favorites...I'm a Morelli gal...Stephanie isn't with Morelli in this book and just has to give Ranger a try.  While I can completely understand that, I couldn't help but feel bad for Stephanie when the "deed" was done.   And, maybe Stephanie had to find out the hard way that Ranger wasn't Morelli?? 
The killer in the bunny suit reminded me of an episode of the sitcom, The Jeffersons, when George and Weezie are taken hostage by a robber bunny after a Halloween party.  Spooky.


8 comments:

  1. I don't know what happened to me and Stephanie Plum but I've only read (actually listened) to the first one and that was ages ago. Maybe because the reader was not very good but I didn't feel the need to gobble up this series. I think I'm going to have to give Stephanie a try again. I remember being a Morelli fan, though.

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  2. Martha, I don't think I would like an audio of Stephanie Plum either...mostly bc I would imagine there would be a lot of dialogue and I pretty much have an idea of what I think these characters sound like...I read them pretty fast too...not much to think about really, just a fun read so the audio might feel kinda draggy too?
    That said, I've had fun with this series and am actually on #15...#17 is coming out this summer I think. I'm getting a little weary of it though...the formula is pretty much the same, especially since from this point on Stephanie STILL can't commit to Morelli...that is getting a little old :/

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  3. I've never read any Evanovich, but everything I've heard about her makes me think she's a great comfort author. Sorry to hear this one wasn't one of your favourites!

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  4. Nymeth, the Stephanie Plum character that makes me laugh out loud in every single book in this series is Stephanie's Grandma Mazur. She is absolutely hilarious! Comfort is a good word for these reads...I'm just ready for Stephanie to move on.

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  5. Grandma Mazur rocks! I love these books. Like you said, the plot is formulaic but it's a plot that I like so I'm fine with that.

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  6. Me too, Peggy...I can always count on Stephanie and Grandma Mazur for a relaxed read :)

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  7. I love this series, but I'm starting to feel like there is no growth. No progress. I'm loyal though, so I am patiently waiting for the next.

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  8. Me too, Alexis...I'm not gonna give up yet though :)

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