I’m not going to give a book synopsis. What I am going to do is say goodbye to one of my all time favorite series. The last couple of books have been horrible, silly and ridiculous; this one was no exception.

The characters I once loved and look forward all year to hearing from are barely visible. The little quirks that used to make them unique and funny are now taking over their entire persona making them slightly moronic. The dialogue that used to be naturally witty seems forced and contrived. Jokes, gags and antics that once made me laugh have been recycled and reused so much, it’s sad.

No one in this series is growing or getting anywhere, they are all just going in circles. I want Stephanie to get better at the bounty hunter thing; I want her to grow up. I don’t want her or Ranger or Joe to change, but after so many years you expect SOMETHING of substance to happen.

I barely got through this book. Janet has provided hours of entertainment for me in the past with this series and for that I will always be grateful. But I can’t for the life of me see myself shelling out the big bucks for these hardcover books filled with drivel anymore.

I hope that Janet rethinks what she has been doing with this series lately and gives it a much needed overhaul. The last couple of books have seemed rushed and phoned in, a huge departure from the earlier books in the series.

My days of rushing to the bookstore on release dates are over. When book 15 comes out I will wait to read reviews, first. If the reviews make the book look promising, maybe I will read it. But from where I sit now, I don’t see me opening another ‘new’ Plum adventure. I will reread the older and much better books in the series if I need a Plum fix.

Cherise Everhard, June 2008