Thursday, October 16, 2014

Throwback Thursday: October 2004

As I'm sitting here with some spare time on my hands, I thought that it would be fun to go back in time and look at what I was reading several years ago. I've kept lists of the books that I read since 2004 so it seemed appropriate to look back to October of 2004, ten years ago, and report on a couple of books from my past.

When I visited my best friend in Auburn for the annual Auburn University Homecoming game, she was raving about a mystery series that she had been reading. I immediately ordered a copy of One for the Money by Janet Evanovich, and thus set off ten years (so far) of reading enjoyment. I read the most recent book in the series, Top Secret Twenty-One in July of this year, and I'm looking forward to many more episodes in the saga of Stephanie Plum.

Book Cover: One for the Money by Janet Evanovich One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

My Review from 2004

At the recommendation of a friend, I picked up this book, the first in Evanovich's series starring Stephanie Plum. With no training at all, Stephanie takes on a job as a skip-tracer—a bounty hunter of sorts who brings in those who have failed to appear in court at the appointed time and thus skipped out on their bail. This seemed like a very good way to solve her financial problems since she gets paid 10 per cent of the bail for delivering the person to the police.

The story in this first novel is full of humorous situations which play up Stephanie's total lack of skill or knowledge for her new career. I've already purchased Two for the Dough and started reading it. So far, the stories have just enough threat and thrill to be exciting without crossing over to gory and explicit. And the balance between serious and comic is extremely well done. I recommend this book to those who enjoy murder mysteries, particularly those with a female protagonist.

Book Cover: Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich

My Review from 2004

As its title proclaims, this is the second book in Janet Evanovich's series starring Stephanie Plum. Two for the Dough starts just a couple of months after One for the Money, and Stephanie is still trying to learn the ropes in her new job as a bounty hunter. It's all on-the-job training with fellow bounty hunter Ranger coaching her and vice cop Joe Morelli attempting to keep her out of trouble. Follow the links to detailed reviews at Amazon.com.

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