Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich

 

*Rating* 2.0
*Genre* Romance, Slap-Stick comedy, Series that just won’t end, 3-way relationships.

*Review ~ DEFINITE Spoilers Follow!*

Here is all you need to know about Explosive Eighteen. Stephanie goes to Hawaii after receiving free airline tickets. She, of course, ends up going alone since Morelli has to work and can’t seem to find the time to get off and she is confused over her relationship with Ranger.

When she gets there, she runs into a major skip trace named The Rug whom she and Ranger have been searching for. A quick call to Ranger--who gets on the next plane to Hawaii---and they end up playing husband and wife in order to get the trace.

One thing leads to another and Morelli shows up after mysteriously finding the time off to go to Hawaii where Ranger and he beat each other silly. There is, of course, the question of the white tan line on her ring finger that everyone badgers her about until she spills the beans and states emphatically that NO she is not married, but, she could possibly be pregnant after an incident with her birth control pills while in Hawaii.

The question is obvious for all those to read: Is the baby Rangers?

Then, while returning home to New Jersey, SP discovers an envelope and a picture in her purse which she subsequently tosses in the trash at her parent’s home. SP is then harassed by two thugs, a hairdresser named Brenda, and a Somali terrorist who all want the damn photo. The FBI, meanwhile, are portrayed as characters straight out of a comedy routine who can’t tie their own shoes because of budget cuts.

In the end, SP captures a major trace; ends up battered, bruised, and her hair a different color after another skip feels it necessary to do a major overhaul. She goes from swearing off men including Ranger, to well, let’s just say possibly pregnant and with Morelli after giving HIM a so called love potion.

*Things you can take away from this series*
1. Vinnie is still an annoying dirt bag who is now owned by his wife after previous affairs and stupidity. He ends up in so much trouble because he is a loser who needs to be put out of his misery.
2. Connie is still the bail bond’s office manager and still dealing with Vinnie’s crap. She is the so called brains behind Plum Bail Bonds since both SP and Lula can’t go one day without causing problems.
3. Lula is still annoying as hell and can’t stop eating for 30 seconds. She finds so called love with a Shrek wannabe and later ends up dumping him after believing that she really drank a love potion. Lula has no purpose other than comic relief. She shoots people without thinking. She wears Ho approved outfits and is supposed to be the file clerk for the Bail bond office but I don’t remember her actually doing her job. She tags along with SP as her bond assistant instead.
4. Grandma Muzur is still going to funerals and calling hours to see what the deceased person looks like. She also carriers an unlicensed gun in her purse, and is now bowling!
5. SP mother and father…haven’t changed one iota over the course of 18 books and I don’t expect they will.