Hardcore Twenty-Four

                                         by Janet Evanovich

In this newest Stephanie Plum adventure we find Stephanie taking care of a boa constrictor, because she has taken its owner in on a failure to appear in court warrant, looking for zombies who might be cutting off the heads of bodies to suck out their brains and Grandma Mazur who has met a man online who looks exactly like George Hamilton. She also has Diesel staying in her apartment much to the dismay of  Joe and Ranger. Par for the course for Stephanie, right?

I have always looked forward to a new Stephanie Plum novel but the last few have been disappointing. This latest novel is just plain dumb. The sexual humor is getting old and a little too crude, Lula is getting tiresome and Stephanie's character has taken a nose dive. We know she is attracted to Ranger but is in an, almost engaged,  relationship with Joe. She has managed to fight her temptation to sleep with Ranger but not anymore. Plus she considered having sex with Diesel?  Sex with three men? Not funny or appealing.

Grandma Mazur is still outrageous and when she runs off to meet a man in Florida who looks just like George Hamilton, Stephanie has to go after her to save her from a group of swingers. Her mother is now taking pills and drinking liquor to deal with Grandma instead of getting out the ironing board. Whatever happened to her sister, Valerie, and her dad?  There used to be some fun scenes around the dinner table with her family but not anymore.

While there were a few funny moments in Hardcore Twenty-Four, there weren't enough to save it. The plot was thin, there was more of the same with Joe and Ranger and bringing Diesel into the story did nothing to enhance the plot. Oh and Stephanie keeps crashing Ranger's vehicles. Sound familiar?

I have listened to all of the Stephanie Plum books on audio. Lorelei King started narrating the series on book seven. While most of her voices are fine, her Grandma Mazur voice is grating. Stephanie needs to marry Joe, settle down and hang up her handcuffs because this series has run out of steam.