Book Review: Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

Finger Lickin' Fifteen is the latest book in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. As the title says, it's the fifteenth book in the series and this latest book is a hilarious, rib-ticklin' read. If you haven't met Stephanie Plum before, she's a thirty-something woman who lost her "normal" job as a lingerie buyer and turned to her cousin Vinnie, Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, for a job as a bond enforcement agent aka bounty hunter. Perhaps this doesn't sound like such an abnormal thing to do but Stephanie Plum marches to the beat of a different drummer. Stephanie doesn't like guns and can barely use one plus she is comically inept. What Stephanie does have going for her though is sheer persistence, intuition and the help of one Carlos Manoso, aka Ranger.

Ranger is ex Special Forces, works high-risk big ticket bonds only, owns part of a private security firm called Rangeman and he has been a bounty hunter mentor for Stephanie throughout all fifteen titles in the Stephanie Plum series. He is also Latino handsome and the sexual tension between Ranger and Stephanie is hot enough to singe your eyebrows.

With Ranger's help, Stephanie has managed to capture quite a few of her skips. Skips are the people who Cousin Vinnie has bailed out of jail and who have not shown up for their court dates. Cousin Vinnie has to capture these skips and return them to jail or he loses the entire bail amount. He hires bond enforcement agents to do the job and they get a percentage of the bail amount. And that's where Stephanie comes in.

In Finger Lickin' Fifteen, the story starts out in the office of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds where Stephanie is sitting, along with office manager Connie, as Lula roars into the office. Lula "works" in the office, doing filing, though it's rare that she actually does any filing. Lula is a former prostitute who quit the business after being attacked in the first Stephanie Plum book, One for the Money.

Lula is in quite a state and needs donuts and greasy foods because she just had, in Lula's words, a "terrible and horrible" experience. It seems Lula has witnessed the murder by decapitation of celebrity chef, Stanley Chipotle. Stephanie and Connie have to talk Lula into reporting the murder to the police because Lula has an "allergic reaction to police stations" but she will only report it to one particular policeman, Trenton plainclothes cop, Joseph Morelli.

Joe is Stephanie's on again, off again boyfriend though they are currently off due to creative differences over peanut butter, Stephanie's food of choice. Joe is six feet of Italian handsomeness and he and Stephanie have known each other since they were kids playing "choo-choo."

Once the murder is reported, Stanley Chipotle's head is found sitting beside a dumpster behind the television station. The rest of the body is still missing. A million dollar reward is being offered for finding Chipotle's killers and Lula has a brilliant idea for herself, Stephanie and Connie. Or it would be a brilliant idea for anyone else but for Lula, Stephanie and Connie, the idea is hilarious!

There is a barbecue cook-off where Stanley Chipotle was going to be featured for his famous barbecue sauce and Lula is convinced that Chipotle's killers will be at the cook-off so she is entering the competition. Unfortunately Lula can't cook and neither can Stephanie though Lula doesn't see this as a big problem since she thinks she will only have to come up with a barbecue sauce and as she says "How hard could that be? I mean, you start out with ketchup and keep adding pepper until you feel it burnin' a hole in your stomach."

While all this is going on, Ranger comes to Stephanie because he wants her help finding out who is sabotaging his security company. Stephanie is the only one who will not cause suspicion if she comes into Rangeman Security and snoops around and discreetly questions employees. All the men working for Ranger known that Stephanie is off-limits because she is Ranger's personal property. This makes Stephanie mad because it's such sexist thinking but it does get her into the Rangeman offices without question.

Homes of some of Rangeman's exclusive clients are being robbed. Each robbery takes place at night, the security system is shut down for exactly fifteen minutes via the keypad and the master bedroom and home office are the only rooms burgled. Unfortunately it looks like it may be an inside job.

If this isn't enough action, Stephanie still has to find and apprehend her skips for Cousin Vinnie. Her skips include a senior citizen flasher who believes his flashing is his calling, a drug dealer named Marbles (his eyes roll in his head a lot and only one of them is real), an arsonist who sets Stephanie's car on fire and then also one of Ranger's new black cars that Stephanie borrows, a senior citizen who robbed his dentist at gunpoint and finally a guy wanted for armed robbery.

It is a delicious ride through Finger Lickin' Fifteen as we see Stephanie capture her skips usually with comic results and then eventually with Ranger's help; see how Stephanie finds the clues needed to break the case and solve the Rangeman Security problems; and see how she helps to keep Lula alive from what must be the most inept killers on the face of the planet.

I highly recommend Finger Lickin' Fifteen for anyone who loves the Stephanie Plum series (and even if you are just meeting Stephanie for the first time since it is a stand alone title) and for anyone who wants to laugh at some of the funniest comic misadventures of a person who may not be the greatest bounty hunter but she certainly tries hard!

There is some violence and strong language in this latest installment in the Stephanie Plum series.