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Saturday I had to take the oldest boychild on a three-hour trek to play some ball in Middle of Nowhere, America. Guess what else happened to be right around three hours? For anyone out there chomping at the bit to say . . . .

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I’m already well aware. This is my second go ‘round with Stephanie Plum, only this time I’m doing it via audio. It is true that Janet E. eventually began to follow a formula for later books in this series, but at #2 she hadn’t jumped the shark just yet. Two for the Dough has Stephanie tackling a case of missing economy caskets for Stiva’s funeral home as well as some “cop killer” bullets. An absentee Lula might lead superfans to scream . . .

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But remember, this one is from way back in the day when Evanovich probably thought there would be an eventual end to the series and was trying to write these things in real time so Lula would still be recovering from book #1. Also note if Evanovich hadn’t changed this approach we’d be reading about a 50-year old Stephanie still debating about having a baby with Ranger or Morelli or chatting it up with a decomposed Rex the 30-year old hamster. While this was missing Lula, it had plenty of Grandma Mazur to make up for things . . . .

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I’m handing out 4 Stars. Two for the Dough didn’t disappoint the second time, it’s fun to remember when these actually attempted at a plot and Lori Petty’s narration was again perfection.

Oh, the things that happen to Stephanie

Fun installment of the series. There are mailed body parts, gun-toting grannies, and crazy criminals. And Lula gets a real job!

Some of the plot devices are beyond belief ... the main character is beyond belief ... however, the story grabbed my interest ... I kept reading and enjoyed the read ... and I will read #3

Two for the Dough (Stephanie Plum #2) by Janet Evanovich

Synopsis /

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is still learning the ropes at her cousin Vinnie's bail bond office, so when she sets out on the trail of Kenny Mancuso - a suspiciously wealthy, working-class Trenton boy who has just shot his best friend - the stakes are higher than ever. That Mancuso is distantly related to vice cop Joe Morelli - who is trying to beat Stephanie to the punch - only makes the hunt more thrilling...

Taking pointers from her bounty hunter pal, Ranger, and using her pistol packing Grandma Mazur as a decoy, Stephanie is soon closing in on her mark. But Morelli and his libido are worthy foes. And a more sinister kind of enemy has made his first move... and his next move might be Stephanie's last.

My Thoughts /

Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich is the second book in the Stephanie Plum series. And all hail and praise to my local library as they seem to be holding this series in largeprint copies!!

This instalment has my favourite inexperienced and unseasoned bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum, returning to capture and snare those elusive fugitives who have skipped their court dates and thus broken their bail conditions. Skipping bail may not sound like a serious offense, but it can have extremely negative consequences. Whether you or a loved one paid the cost of your bail, skipping court sets up a chain of events that will negatively affect everyone involved.

(Kenny) Mancuso had posted a bail bond via the Vincent Plum Bonding Company, ensuring his release from jail and returning him to the bosom of polite society. After his release he'd promptly disappeared and three days later failed to show face at a preliminary hearing. This did not make Vincent Plum happy.

In this book the author has Steph still struggling with the more 'finer' points of her profession - like using a gun! She's slowly learning the 'ins and outs' of bounty hunting, but at least now she 'dresses for the part' and her arsenal has improved (even if her aim has not!).

I was dressed in dark jeans, long-sleeved black turtleneck, navy Kevlar vest, and red Keds. I had my curly, shoulder-length brown hair tied in a ponytail, tucked under a navy ball cap. I wore my five-shot .38 Smith & Wesson Chief's Special in a black nylon webbed hip holster with cuffs and a defence spray wedged into the back of the belt.

Steph's case in this second book is to track and collect a bond jumper named Kenny Mancuso. Kenny has recently shot and killed his best friend; and if he can do that to a best friend, what could he do to a (still fairly) newbie skip tracer! So, after what we've learned about Steph's luck in the first book; it comes as no surprise, that what is supposed to be an easy pick up becomes complicated. And herein lies the charm to these light-hearted and fun reads.

This was first published 10 January 1996, so some might say that it's a tad outdated - there are still answering machines, beepers, telephone books and car phones; and, you can't ask Siri or Google anything. But really, I think that's a lot of this story's charm - plus the fact that Evanovich can write dry humour into almost anything. Like when the resident psychopath cuts off body parts and mails them to our favourite bounty-hunter. Or when Grandma Mazur, visits the funeral homes for viewings to check out the details of the body and, how many people show up!

There are hijinks galore, lots of goofiness; not one but two 'hot' fellas and a hella lot of laugh out loud passages. The characters are eccentric and that keeps the storyline interesting. The story moves along quickly and there was never a part that dragged. I can honestly say that I don't read these for the mystery; I'm not trying to figure out whodunnit and why. When I read them I just experience pure enjoyment.

I can't wait to pick up Three to Get Deadly and get my next fix.

Another funny but gritty manhunt for Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter. This time she's hunting for a relative of Morelli. This time her grandmother is part of the hunt as they visit various viewing times at a local funeral home that ends up having links to the case. Her grandmother is my favourite character in this series, and I hope to see her in other books.

4 Stars. This was a little slow but had laughs and a solid ending. People obviously seem to love Evanovich and I get it. Plum and Morelli are good and Grandma was a hoot. I’ll come back for more. I’m sure she must get better at the whole bounty hunter thing.

Stephanie is back and she is treading deep waters as her assignments get more hairy and dangerous. Catching drunks and senile ladies who live at the train station is one thing but it's a whole other animal when Stephanie is in charge of apprehending Kenny Mancuso, a man with a very sick sense of humor and lust for chopping off people's body parts. Most of the parts come from the nearby funeral home that he's terrorizing and Stephanie sees this as the perfect opportunity to bring her wake loving Grandma Mazur with her to snoop out the truth. As usual she's unable to keep away from Joe Morelli who's slowly warming up her family towards him as he manages to invite himself to countless dinners and always seems to be lurking near Stephanie. They both want Kenny but for different reasons and now that Morelli is cleared from his previous charges he's doing his best to keep both himself and Stephanie alive while Kenny and his friends are doing everything they can to discourage them. Full of laughs and unbelievable moments the book doesn't disappoint while the reader meets more of Stephanie's relatives and associates.

Things have been looking up for Stephanie, she now enjoys regular meals, or should I say she finally eats something and even Rex her hammy gets some scares as Kenny manages to leave her a surprise that had me chuckling.

This is not a serious crime novel but a fun, light read. For those who haven't read these yet I advise to start with book one and to read in order as things progress and everyone evolves. The book was a fast read but there were a lot of characters and at times I was confused about who was who, I had to slow down and take my time getting to know some of the less memorable ones. There is always a bit of mystery in these books and some hilarious interactions between Stephanie and Joe but the crime solving gallops on it's own, the reader is merely a spectator and Stephanie takes lead observing the crimes and then trying to find the guy with sheer luck when her sleuthing doesn't provide as fruitful as she wishes. All in all I liked the first book a bit better but there was a lot more to the story line this time. When I was at the end of the book I suddenly felt hungry for more, they really leave you pumped for the next book.

Stephanie sigue siendo un desastre como caza recompensas, pero parece ser que empieza a cogerle gusto al asunto, sobre todo cuando tiene que utilizar su pistola eléctrica.
La abuela Mazur está dispuesta a echarle una mano a su nieta y no le tiembla la mano a la hora de empuñar un arma (lo que no está tan claro es a dónde dispara) y a Joe Morelli, el policía de dudosa reputación, le encanta meterse en los asuntos de Stephanie.
Así que ya tenemos el lío montado y sin saber muy bien cómo, terminará resolviendo el caso.

Primera lectura del año. Ligerita e ideal para reírse un poco y pasar un buen rato.

Fun, fast paced, little bit of scary, and literally laugh out loud funny, Stephanie is on the loose again, looking for Joe Morelli’s cousin. Along the way the funeral parlor owner has her looking for his missing caskets as well. With a little help from Ranger and a sort of partnership that benefits Joe more than Stephanie, she’s determined to get her man.
I’ve already started book 3, I just prefer to use a real computer when I can, and I knew I’d be back at work. It doesn’t take much for me to forget things I had to say about a book once I’ve moved on lol. It’s a fun comfort series, and I really don’t think people honestly read reviews for these books once they’ve got 1-2 of them down.

This is one of my favorite series! Stephanie Plum is hilarious, and her quirky interactions with her family, coworkers and friends often have me laughing out loud. She's a determined rascal, and as a relatively new bounty hunter, she manages to round-up the bad guys, although in very unconventional and inventive ways. In this story, she has a surprising ally and the situations they encounter are wildly entertaining. I simply could not stop reading ^..^

Another installment of a light, funny Stephanie Plum book.

The villain in the first book was way creepier than this one, but Grandma Mazur is everything. She is who I want to grow up to be. Glad to see Lulu getting a steady appearance and here for Ranger’s entanglement.

Grandma Mazur cracks me up, another easy, fun and hilarious book