Book Review – Game On: Tempting Twenty Eight – Janet Evanovich – Fun Ride!
Table of Contents
My Rating – 3.5 out of 5
Plot Summary (Storyline) – Game On: Tempting Twenty Eight
Prime example of a thriller being written as a humorous novel! Though the usual elements of a crime thriller are all there – a criminal mastermind, gruesome murders, car chases, bomb explosions, and arson – it is far from being gritty. It handles them all with a lightheartedness that makes you breeze through the pages, but at no point does the funny banter devalue the meanness of the criminal or the impact of his/her crimes. Primarily a cat and mouse chase between a criminal escapee and his pursuer, this takes you on a roller coaster ride, while being rib-tickling fun and solving serious crimes. Very refreshing!
Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter working in her cousin Vinnie’s Bail Bondsman office, out in Trenton, New Jersey. Her office companions (besides Vinnie) are Lula – an erstwhile streetwalker, now reformed as a bounty hunter, and Connie – the office manager who is supposed to provide smokin’ hot doughnuts every morning! Though Stephanie lives alone in the city, her family lives close by in the Burg – consisting of her parents and an irascible and irrepressible grandma! The grandma is the mischievous grandparent, who keeps us entertained with her one-liners and witticisms. Game On, you say!
Stephanie wakes up one night to the sound of an intruder in her apartment. Thankfully, it turns out to be Diesel (no last name) – who is also a bounty hunter like her, only for some mysterious shadow organization with a lot of money and influence. He is also after Oswald Wednesday, a notorious hacker known for his absolute brilliance with computers and utter ruthlessness and cruelty off it. For Stephanie, he’s skipped a bond which he needs to reappear and reschedule, but for Diesel, he’s involved in some large-scale conspiracy, which may affect millions. Knowing that their objectives align, the two agree to work together and bring Oswald in.
In the course of their investigation, they come across another hacker group known as Baked Potatoes, who, for a little while, had broken into Oswald’s own hacking network just for fun. But Oswald has taken that as a personal slight and has vowed to take revenge on the Potatoes, by killing them one by one. Stephanie identifies and rescues one, Melvin, and takes him to her parents’ house for safekeeping. Stephanie, her long-time boyfriend Joseph Morrelli ( a cop with Trenton PD), and Diesel conduct their own crusades to capture Oswald. But Oswald is proving slippery as hell and escapes every time. Oswald is stepping up the violence and will stop at nothing.
Conclusion – Book Review of Game On
After reading a lot of serious and gritty crime thrillers, this comes as a pleasant surprise, rather a hilarious one! Grandma Mazur is a laugh-a-riot character and you can’t help but love her. Stephanie is no superhero, but she is a tenacious one and through that laser-sharp focus keeps us on our toes throughout the novel. There is some chemistry between Stephanie and Diesel, Stephanie and Morrelli (obviously), and even Stephanie and Ranger ( a mysterious Military type man, with his own army). But Stephanie knows that Joe is the right one for her, and this alludes to a possible marital liaison between the two. A full-on entertainer – if you are looking for a non-serious thriller, this is for you!
*I hope you have enjoyed reading this book review as much as I have enjoyed writing this! Do watch this space for more such reviews and navigate through the links below for more… Thank you!! *