I’d seen Janet Evanovich’s brightly-colored books all over the place — the bookstore, the pharmacy, the grocery store — and I have to admit that I was intrigued. Maybe it was just that the bright colors caught my eye (geez…you’d think I was a little kid!). And maybe it was the fact that there were just so many of them — and they were everywhere. Whatever the case, I just couldn’t resist picking one up.
Four to Score is one of Evanovich’s novels about Stephanie Plum, a New Jersey bounty hunter who carries a bullet-less gun in her purse because she doesn’t like shooting — and whose weapon of choice is pepper spray, or (in a pinch) hairspray. In Four to Score, Stephanie is after Maxine Nowicki — and so, it seems, is everyone else. With the help of a six-foot-four transvestite, a two-hundred-pound ex-hooker, and her all-too-eager-to-help grandmother, Stephanie tries to beat her arch-nemesis, Joyce Barnhardt, to the prize, all the while trying to stay out of the way of an anonymous jealous woman who likes to set things on fire (like Stephanie’s car…and apartment).
Just one book, and I’m hooked. Evanovich is a skillful yet casual writer who definitely knows how to concoct a story. As I was reading Four to Score, I found myself snatching a few minutes here and there to read a few more pages. And in no time, I was finished and ready to go out and get another one.
Admittedly, though, Stephanie Plum novels aren’t exactly for guys. There were several times when I’d find a scene particularly funny, and I’d describe it (through my giggles) to my husband, who would just shrug as I told him, “I guess it’s a girl thing.” But that’s okay. Women deserve an alternative to the typical romance novel heroine — and Stephanie Plum is a great alternative.
It’s about time to prepare for summer vacations and long hours by the pool. So I’m on may way out to pick up another brightly-colored Janet Evanovich book — and I recommend that you do the same.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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