*** 4.25 ***

An outstanding monthly buddy read with the coolest gang in town, The BB&Bs!!!

""Problem is, you aren't living up to your earning potential," Lula said. "We only got chickenshit cases these days. What you need is to have a serial killer or a homicidal rapist jump bail. Those boys are worth something."
"Yeah, I'd sure like to get a case like that." Big fib. If Vinnie ever gave me a homicidal rapist to chase down I'd quit and get a job selling shoes.""

I want to belong to the Plum family!!! Yes, they are insane, yes they are genetically challenged, but they are soooo much fun, all else pales in comparison!!!

Reading these books one a month is a great decision! It is so, because the books have a very specific feel to them and binge-reading them together would do a disservice to the comic relief they provide. I think of them as a giant chocolate candy-bar with nuts and taffy and everything most wonderful you can think of. Eating one of them is an orgasmic experience, but it does verge on suicide by candy. Attempting two is a death-wish come true! Spacing them and using them as the fluff between the dark, heavy reads we have delved into as of late, is the wisest thing our mods at BB&B came up with and I salute their responsible decision making - after all, they are very concerned with our healthy reading habits:):):) Burning out on a favorite series sucks and this is the best way to prevent it...

This is the 5th book in the Stephani Plum series and she is just as incompetent as ever. She is broke and for some reason, no one is jumping bail in Trenton! She has no money to pay her bills and rent and is looking for something to supplement her income. Enters Ranger, her new part-time employer. The job.... jobs, are varied, semi-legal and definitely not very fitting our luckless bounty-hunter... On top of that, she is working in close proximity with Ranger and Stephani is only human and uncomfortable attraction hums between the two of them... Not that there is anything wrong with that - after all, she and Morelli split a while ago over differences of how they perceive marriage and commitment...

"Not that it's any of my business," Lula said, "but what's going on with you and Morelli? I thought that was over with you two when you moved out."
"It's complicated."
"Your problem is you keep getting involved with men who have lots of potential in bed and no potential at the altar."
"I'm thinking of giving men up altogether," I said. "Celibacy isn't so bad. You don't have to worry about shaving your legs."

So single Stephani has attraction problems, money problems, family problems (her uncle Fred has gone missing and she is looking for him), bounty hunting problems, and worst of all, Ramirez is out on parole and has been looking for her... Needless to say, typical for our characters chaos ensues and at least two cars meet their maker... And Grandma Mazur steels the show every time she is on page:)

I love those books and you guys have to give the series a try, it is a very pleasant and fun way to spend an afternoon - the books read that fast!!! I recommend them to anyone who does not take everything too seriously - these books are only for entertainment and bringing laughter in your lives, not to make deep philosophical or socioeconomic statements, so do not judge them as such... There are stereotypes, there are tropes often used in comedy, and there are some mushy parts, but the overall product is totally worth the time!

So, I wish all wonderful time reading and many, many satisfying books!!!

Every one of these Stephanie Plum books makes me glad I'm a Jersey Girl. I enjoy each one of these light-hearted not to be taken too seriously thrillers.

I still love me some Ranger and this book did not disappoint. Still ridiculously over the top, especially with the wrap up, but I’m not mad about it.

High Five by Janet Evanovich is the fifth Stephanie Plum story I've read and I love them. Stephanie is sassy and funny getting herself in all kind of mischief. This one starts out with Aunt Mable looking for Uncle Fred. He went out to do errands locked his car and hasn't been seen since. As a favor for the family she decides to look into it. She visits Aunt Mabel and asks about Uncle Fred's errands. She makes a bee line for the check at CGR Trash Company. Then Mabel shows her the pictures she found in Fred's desk. They are body parts mingled in with the trash. Stephanie turns the photos over to Joe Morelli her on again off again boyfriend, who is a police detective. Then she has a mysterious guy calling himself Bunchie following her. Morelli tells her Ramirez the psycho boxer was released from prison. Bail bonding is slow. She has one failure to appear, a little person. She needs extra money and asks Ranger if he can help her. He does more than help her. This gets hot fast.

La vita di Stephanie Plum è come al solito bella incasinata.
A lavoro i MA scarseggiano e l'unico disponibile è "un uomo di bassa statura".
Ramirez è uscito di prigione e vuole regolare i conti con lei.
Lo zio Fred è sparito misteriosamente e i suoi parenti pretendono che lo ritrovi.
La sua famiglia è sempre fuori di testa, a partire dalla nonna.
E il suo cuore è diviso tra due uomini.

Io adoro la Evanovich, è riuscita a creare un personaggio fuori dalle righe, simpaticissima, con una famiglia strampalata, amici discutibili e sfigata in ogni settore.
Il caso giallo è ben strutturato e fino alla fine non avevo capito cosa fosse successo.
Stephanie non ne combina mai una giusta e abbiamo macchine che saltano per aria, macchine rubate, occupazioni di case, pedinamenti palesi, morti improvvise.
Ma alla fine quello che mi interessava di più erano gli sviluppi con Joe Morelli, l'eterna cotta di Stephanie. Ora i due sono in pausa ma l'attrazione è così forte e palese che sembrano due cagnolini che si girano intorno.
E poi si è aggiunto anche Ranger: Stephanie è molto tentata ma lui è sempre misterioso e poi non è facile rinunciare a Morelli.
Vogliamo parlare della scena finale? Chi avrà invitato Stephanie? Io punto sempre e comunque su Morelli.

Però voglio dedicare due righe anche alla mitica Nonna Mazur. E' esilarante, quando compare sai che se ne uscirà con qualche idea strampalata o combinerà qualche pasticcio. Il tour alle pompe funebri è epico, l'inseguimento con lo sceicco da piegarsi in due. Dovremmo avere tutti una nonna Mazur!

Ok.
Pretendo assolutamente una reunion di tutti i personaggi strambi e divertenti che si sono imbattuti in Stephanie.
Ma ci pensate?
Sally, Bunchy, Briggs, Lula e nonna Mazur tutti in un unico libro.
Fantastico. Sento che accadrà :3 #fiducia

Ma passiamo a pensieri un po' più seri.
Spero sia normale perdersi tra le miriadi di nomi che vengono fatti ogni volta. La Evanovich è un genio (ed io la amo IMMENSAMENTE per questo) ma la sua fantasia non conosce limiti, ed io spesso e volentieri mi ritrovo un tantino spaesata.
Ma non importa.

Quello che importa, adesso, è altro.
Quello che importa è STEPHANIE GUAI A TE SE NON È MORELLI!!

These books are getting better: characters are starting to develop, and our protagonist actually contributes to solving the who-dunnit. Stephanie's relationship with Morelli improves, the angst between them is bearable and their behaviours are believable, though it's still vapid. The attempted relationship/angst with Ranger was just wrong.

Not one pocketbook in sight, it's a shoulder bag now. Finally. Maybe the writing is improving, or maybe I'm becoming used to it... Here's my short list of American words from book 5:
1. “[Grandma] slid her uppers” - possibly to do with her dentures (?)
2. Sonovagun - Son. Of. A. Gun. (this had me stumped for longer than I'd like to admit...)
3. pokey - prison
4. town car - limo, chauffeured car
5. kielbasa - Polish sausage
6. wonkie - penis (?)
7. fireplug - short, stocky person

I do still need my notes to keep track of the number of characters in this universe - my count is now up to about 300 separate characters over 5 books...

Favourite quote:

"I rolled my eyes so far into the back of my head I saw myself thinking."

Typical Stephanie Plum. Grandma zaps dad with a stun gun, a Porsche is bombed, a bmw is stolen but the Buick lives on. And even I can’t eat six candy bars when I’m out of sorts! Good fun read.

I have to admit that I'm a snob when it comes to best sellers. Most likely this causes me to lose out on some enjoyable reading experiences. When I picked up HIGH FIVE at a used book sale, I didn't have particularly high expectations. I knew that Janet Evanovich was really popular, ergo I assumed the worst about her work.

I was very wrong. I'm in love with Stephanie Plum, and I can understand why so many other readers are too. HIGH FIVE is tightly written, engaging and very funny. I only wish I could write dialogue as snappy as Ms. Evanovich's. Yes, the plot is rather silly - in fact, the entire book is silly - but deliberately so. It might be that Stephanie, her oddball family and the meticulously described neighborhoods of Trenton, New Jersey, might get boring after a few books, but for a quick, entertaining read, I recommend this highly.

Oh, and Ms. Evanovich might get top prize for a cliff hanger ending... the sexually-cautious yet hungry Stephanie gives in and invites one of the two men who have been flirting with her over to her apartment - and the book lets you guess which one!

a lot going on in the world of Stephanie Plum in this novel!

- Ramirez  bites the bullet. Literally. Kinda wish Lula had gotten to kill him. Or Ranger. I would have loved to have seen Ramirez vs Ranger. Team Ranger for the won!
- Grandma Mazur is my girl. I wish my grandma's had been more like her. She's a pip! lol
- Aunt Mabel totally looking at single's cruises before they even know what happened to Fred. Classic! Not gonna lie, if I've been married that long, I may be doing the same, especially if my husband is with every old woman in the neighborhood.
- Steaminess with Ranger! They are so close!


- Too much junk at the end. He was just killing everyone by that point.
- Ramirez's death just didn't satisfy me. I feel like it should have been something more poetic.
- How many cars can she destroy in one book? Geez. It's getting old.



1. Ranger
2. Grandma Mazur
3. Stephanie
4. Morelli
5. Lula


"Babe."- Ranger

n  n    Book Reviewn  n
4 out of 5 stars to High Five, the fifth book in the "Stephanie Plum" cozy mystery series, written in 1999 by Janet Evanovich. If you thought Stephanie was off-her-rocker, wait until you meet more of her family. Uncle Fred has disappeared and all they can find that might lead them to his whereabouts are the pictures he's kept hidden of a dismembered human body. We know Stephanie's family has some crime-connections between her cousin and a few other distant relatives. But when Grandma gets hold of a stolen gun, and starts showing it off to everyone, we realize why Stephanie is the way she is. Of course, beyond that of who her mother and father are... I would love to be friends with this woman... but never be in the same room as her, as disaster is bound to happen. This is one of the first books where the major issues heat up between her and Joe Morelli over her "relationship/friendship" with Ranger. Joe should be jealous. She's certainly crossed that line a few times, even though she and Joe have had this on-again / off-again thing going on. Mystery is great here, especially when it's family. And who doesn't love trying to figure out who cut up a body?

n  n    About Men  n
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