Sunday Synopsis

Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This has the typical Stephanie Plum plot sprinkled with humor. You basically know what you're going to get when you read a book in this series. And what you get it pretty fun.

First, I'll mention two things that annoy me. Obviously they don't annoy me a lot, or I wouldn't read them anymore, but... It annoys me how Morelli's character hasn't evolved much over the course of 23 books. Second, the overuse of the word, "Babe," coming out of Ranger's mouth is getting old. It was cute and a little funny at the beginning, but now, not so much.

In keeping with the rest of the series, Stephanie goes about her job as a "bounty hunter" looking for FTA's (failure to appear) for her cousin's bond company. She's assisted by Lulu, a plus-size former lady-of-the-night who tends to wear clothes that are several sizes too small and carries her gun in her purse like it's no big deal. Stephanie, on the other hand, keeps her gun in the cookie jar and doesn't even have bullets for it.

The main plot (there are always subplots with the various FTA's) revolves around an ice cream company owner whose employees end up dead or almost dead. One was coated in chocolate and nuts and left in the owner's office. Another died when he got locked in the deep freeze which is supposed to lock from inside. And there was a near miss for Stephanie and the ice cream truck driver.

Ranger has been hired to assist in security for the company, so he factors heavily in the plot of this book whereas Morelli is absent from a lot of this book. No Stephanie Plum novel would be complete without including Stephanie's grandma who lives with her old-fashioned parents.

Janet Evanovich never fails to come up with wacky, twisty plots, humor, and easy-to-read novels. This one, like the others, was a lot of fun.

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Happy Random Tuesday

 I've been reading some bizarre news again, so today's post is brought to you by bad decisions!

Have you ever been in a Bass Pro Shop or Cabela's?  (They're actually the same company.) If you have, then you know they all have a large aquarium, usually with a waterfall, that is decorated and stocked with fish that are local to the area.

This is not the aquarium from this story, just an example.

Today I read about a 42 year-old man in Leeds, Alabama (near Birmingham) who crashed his car in the Bass Pro Shop parking lot, proceeded to unclothe himself, went inside, and cannonballed into the aquarium.  He stood under the waterfall for a while (probably to the horror of shoppers) and swam around about five minutes before going over the side of the aquarium and falling to the floor.  He was promptly arrested.  Doesn't that just beat all?

And last, but not least...

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Have a great week!

Sunday Synopsis

 

The Amish Wife by Gregg Olsen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A pregnant Amish woman, Ida Stutzman, died in a barn fire in 1977. Her death was ruled an accident. Twelve years later, her son Danny died, most likely by the hand of his father Eli Stutzman, a man once married to Ida. Greg Olsen wrote a book about "Little Boy Blue," as Danny was known, called Abandoned Prayers.

When Eli Stutzman left the Amish, rumors abounded that he was gay and had relationships with other Amish men as well as the sheriff of his Ohio town. He left a trail of dead in his path when he left the Amish. But author Greg Olsen always believed that Eli's crimes began with his wife's death.

Olsen returned to Amish country where he had at least one person on his side: Ida's brother Daniel Gingerich, also a member of the Swartzentruber Amish community. Through dozens of interviews with aging witnesses and old family letters that were finally shared with him, Olsen gets to the truth.

I found this book well researched but a little repetitive. The details of the night of Ida's death were hashed and rehashed numerous times with rarely few new details added. I think there would have been a more concise way to present the information. The book was a little dryer than most of Olsen's books because it was not written in typical story format; however, it was interesting.

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Hope We all Survive the Cold!

 

Here in Texas, particularly near the Gulf Coast, we are NOT prepared for icy weather!  We are accustomed to a humid, subtropical climate.  We can brave a hurricane with little problem, but give us some ice and freezing temps, and all bets are off!

 

Our average low temperature in January is 53 degrees.  Tonight, we will likely hit the teens, and with any precipitation at all, there will be ice on the roads.  We DO NOT know how to drive in icy weather (we have little or no experience) nor are our vehicles equipped to do so, and it happens so infrequently that most of our cities are unprepared as well!  I just pray the grid doesn't fail like it did three years ago.  That was nuts!

Make fun of us.  We don't care!  We will be back in the 50's and 60's within a week!  I'll even get in on the making fun!

It's like the beginning of Covid all over again!

And last, but not least...

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Happy Random Tuesday

 

I really hate to admit this thought, but...

have you ever looked at a picture of a baby and thought, "Oh, that poor baby!"  

Why do I feel so bad for thinking it?  I would never say it out loud!

What put the thought into my head was the ugly baby episode of Seinfeld which is really called "The Hamptons."  Season 5, episode 21 in case you want to watch it. Everyone thinks Elaine's friend's baby is ugly, except her friend, of course.  Here is Kramer's reaction.

Anyway, I feel so guilty about my thoughts on an acquaintance's grandchild who I'm sure is bringing them great joy!  Now moving on!

Join the fun at Random Tuesday Thoughts and Happy Tuesday!

Have a great week!

Here's to 2024 (clink!)

 From my family to yours...