Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Reading and Reviews (Evanovich and Jance)

I'm an author, but I'm also a reader. From time to time, I'll share my reviews of present and past reads. My available time to read is limited because I write, but I love to curl up with a paperback or an eBook at night for the last hour of my day. 

I tend to read what I write, but not exclusively. Besides Romantic Suspense and mystery, I read crime and law novels, once in a while a true story, WWII historicals, romance, and mainstream character driven books.

Here are some of the books I've read recently or in the not-too-distant past. Maybe you'll discover a new book or author.

 


Look Alive Twenty-Five: A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich

 

There's nothing like a good deli, and the Red River Deli in Trenton is one of the best. World-famous for its pastrami, cole slaw, and for its disappearing managers. Over the last month, three have vanished from the face of the earth, and the only clue in each case is one shoe that's been left behind. The police are baffled. Lula is convinced that it's a case of alien abduction. Whatever it is, they'd better figure out what's going on before they lose their new manager, Ms. Stephanie Plum.

 

My Review: 

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Stephanie Plum novel. How odd it took me a couple of chapters to actually start enjoying it. I like her character Lulu, but the book started out being more about her than anything else. But true to form for Ms. Evanovich, it finally took off offering plenty of laughs, sighs at the two hunks Stephanie keeps company with, and an entertaining read. 

AMAZON BUY LINK 

 



Desert Heat (Joanna Brady Mysteries Book 1) by J. A. Jance

 

A cop lies dying beneath the blistering Arizona sun—a local lawman who may well have become the next sheriff of Cochise County. The police brass claim that Andy Brady was dirty, and that his shooting was a suicide attempt. Joanna Brady, his devoted wife and mother of their nine-year-old daughter, knows a cover-up when she hears one . . . and murder when she sees it. But her determined efforts to hunt down an assassin and clear her husband's name are placing Joanna and her surviving family in harm's way—because in the desert, the one thing more lethal than a rattler's bite . . . is the truth.

 

My Review: 

Being from Arizona, I could identify with the heat and the small-town obstacles Joanna Brady encounters. I know that those readers who aren’t familiar with Arizona will get a good visual. The characters are well-defined and the story is just twisty enough. Joanna is tough enough, but relatable, for a new widow who wants answers. I’m glad I started with book one to see how it all began. I’ll look forward to the rest of the series. Jance is up to 11. 

AMAZON BUY LINK

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