mitchell Dwyer (scrivener) - Honolulu, HI (808 books)

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"Geez. Add a few books, wouldja?"

mitchell Dwyer is now friends with Melody Wilson

mitchell Dwyer is currently reading:

Four to Score (Stephanie Plum, #4)
by Janet Evanovich (Goodreads Author)

My rating:

mitchell Dwyer gave

to:

Three to Get Deadly (Stephanie Plum, #3)
by Janet Evanovich (Goodreads Author)

read in February, 2012

My rating:

In my review of One for the Money, I wrote, "Janet Evanovich keeps the tone sexy without getting sexual." In my review of Two for the Dough, I wrote, "As a reader who dislikes lengthy descriptions of sexual activity in the middle of a good mystery, ...moreIn my review of One for the Money, I wrote, "Janet Evanovich keeps the tone sexy without getting sexual." In my review of Two for the Dough, I wrote, "As a reader who dislikes lengthy descriptions of sexual activity in the middle of a good mystery, I admit my own tolerance was taken nearly to its limit. Here's hoping this doesn't become a trend. I like my sexy bounty hunters to keep it PG-13."

With Three to Get Deadly, it's safe to say that we've crossed over into rated-R territory. It's not as if I couldn't see it coming: Janet Evanovich once wrote romances (under a pen-name), and the ability to write sex scenes is a key to success in that genre. For what it is, the sex sequence is pretty good: I have to concede that I rather enjoyed it. However, I don't see what it adds to the narrative for anyone but those who just want to see Stephanie Plum and Joe Morelli get it on. The writer's development of this facet of the character's life seems gratuitous and makes me less eager to finish the series.

As a continuation of the Stephanie Plum story, Three to Get Deadly is in most other ways a worthy installment. As I have written in a thousand other reviews, the supporting characters make an enormous difference; in this novel we get less family, less Eddie, and less Morelli. We get a LOT more Lula and Ranger, who help Stephanie track down a beloved ice-cream-store owner, Uncle Mo, who has skipped bail on a small concealed-weapons charge but who may be involved in something horrible. Based on what I've heard others say about the series, I'm guessing that Ranger later becomes something of a love interest, a development I will disapprove of if it comes to fruition. I like Ranger as the cool Batman-like superhero, but we can already see the Bruce Wayne-ness coming out of him here and there.

One amusing personality quirk (and character-development device) I have not seen in others' reviews is Stephanie's ever-changing car situation. Is it because I'm a guy that I appreciate this? And is it because her target audience seems mostly to be women that others haven't mentioned it? Stephanie's inability to find the car that's right for her is a nice touch, something I'm hoping the author can keep finding ways to maintain at least for a few more novels; it adds a kind of charm to the main character, something that her sexual mishaps really do not.

All this is to say that I enjoyed this novel, with its likable main character and interesting plot, but if trends continue the way I think they're going, I may not make it to the end of this series, I am sad to predict.(less)

mitchell Dwyer gave

to:

Two for the Dough (Stephanie Plum, #2)
by Janet Evanovich (Goodreads Author)

read in January, 2012

My rating:

In this second Stephanie Plum novel, the lingerie-buyer-turned-bounty-hunter is forced by practical and accidental reasons to work with Joe Morelli, her former lover and current pain in the neck. They are both on the trail of Kenny Mancuso: Stephani...moreIn this second Stephanie Plum novel, the lingerie-buyer-turned-bounty-hunter is forced by practical and accidental reasons to work with Joe Morelli, her former lover and current pain in the neck. They are both on the trail of Kenny Mancuso: Stephanie needs the access and info Morelli (he of the Trenton Police Department's vice squad) can provide, while Morelli is counting on Stephanie's knack for accidentally bumping into her targets.

The hunt for the first-time offender turns out to be trickier than expected, and in addition to a deeper involvement with a local rat-like undertaker than Stephanie can stomach, there is the unexpected involvement of her grandmother in this case.

Janet Evanovich's development of Stephanie Plum's character centers around two elements here: first, the increasing presence of Joe Morelli in her life; and second, the particular characteristics of Trenton, New Jersey, where the novels are set--especially the Trenton neighborhood known as the burg, where Stephanie and Morelli both grew up.

The sexual tension between Morelli and Stephanie seems to drive much of the plot. Even when Stephanie's not talking about it in her first-person narrative, the reader is constantly aware of it. It's mostly a fun device, moving many parts of the plot forward while giving us insight into the Plum character. How long this could be sustained is a big question. Morelli is certainly likable enough, but his getting closer to Stephanie threatens some of the independence that makes Stephanie an appealing character to begin with.

Evanovich's continued nurturing of a strong sense of place is, after the Plum character herself, the most effective tool in the author's arsenal. Stephanie describes the neighborhood in both prideful and disdainful terms, a dichotomy that serves as metaphor for her own hangups about family, career, and self. The burg is a place where nobody in the beauty parlor is impressed by her gun because everyone's got a bigger one in her purse, where no self-respecting household is ever unprepared for unexpected dinner guests, and where it's not long before whatever shocking thing you received via FedEx is known by everyone remotely connected to you. Stephanie holds many of the values she has grown up with (Barbie as role model, for example) in utter disdain; yet she loves the nobody-messes-with-me attitude that even the most elderly women in the burg never suppress. It drives her nuts that everyone is in everybody else's business, but even while she complains about it, she depends on it to help her with her work.

There is a sexiness that permeates the series so far. I wrote in my review of the first novel that the narrative is sexy without being sexual. This second novel continues to walk that line, but it gets really close to going over it, close enough that it might turn some readers off with some of its language. As a reader who dislikes lengthy descriptions of sexual activity in the middle of a good mystery, I admit my own tolerance was taken nearly to its limit. Here's hoping this doesn't become a trend. I like my sexy bounty hunters to keep it PG-13.

As stories go, Two for the Dough is slightly more intriguing plot-wise than One for the Money, but it's really all about character in this series so far, and Stephanie Plum continues to entertain. Evanovich's mixture of humor, action, and sexiness has me enjoying just about every page.(less)

mitchell Dwyer added a quote

"I had an alarm, I had nerve gas, I had a yogurt. What more could anyone want?" — Janet Evanovich

mitchell Dwyer has challenged himself to read 52 books in the 2012 Reading Challenge

He has read 3 books toward his goal of 52 books.

3 of 52 (6%)

Create your own 2012 Reading Challenge »

mitchell Dwyer gave

to:

One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, #1)
by Janet Evanovich (Goodreads Author)

read in January, 2012

My rating:

It's fluff, but it's rather good for fluff.

Stephanie Plum was a discount lingerie buyer for a New Jersey store that "wasn't exactly Victoria's Secret." A layoff is followed by selling all her furniture, having her car repossessed, and even taking ...moreIt's fluff, but it's rather good for fluff.

Stephanie Plum was a discount lingerie buyer for a New Jersey store that "wasn't exactly Victoria's Secret." A layoff is followed by selling all her furniture, having her car repossessed, and even taking the occasional meal with her parents. When the pet hamster's on his last hamster food, Plum takes a job as a bounty hunter. Her first assignment is a bail-skipping cop wanted for murder, a cop who is also Stephanie's one-time (or two time, depending on how you count things) lover.

In light, easy prose, Janet Evanovich keeps the tone sexy without getting sexual; her playful narrative floating the reader through Stephanie's determined-but-hapless early experiences in a realm completely not hers to inhabit. It works because Evanovich injects whimsy into the outrageous plot setup without (very often) taking it over the top. Dangerous scenes are thoughtfully paced, punctuated at proper (and often unexpected) moments with Stephanie's self-aware sense of humor.

Most importantly for the serial writer, Evanovich creates likeable supporting characters, a necessity in this genre. A fellow bounty hunter gives advice and helps Stephanie out of tough situations. An appliance store manager gives Stephanie discounts on blenders. A mother just wants her girl to get a normal job like everyone else. A cousin on the police force interacts with the main character with the easy, comfortable familiarity a cousin can pull off but a parent or sibling might not. Together, they create safe anchors of assurance in ever-shifting dynamics as Stephanie tries to figure out whom to trust and whom to keep an eye on. When Stephanie sits down in her hallway (she still has no furniture) with her cousin to share a pizza and a six-pack, the reader can relax a bit, can come down from the stress of worrying for her safety, just as Stephanie herself can. We need these characters if we're going to keep hanging out with Stephanie.

As mystery stories go, it's good enough. There's never really an AHA! moment, but the whodunnit aspect of the novel feels secondary to the sympathetic ride Evanovich creates for us as we get to know the most endearing Stephanie Plum.(less)

mitchell Dwyer gave

to:

P is for Peril (Kinsey Millhone, #16)
by Sue Grafton

read in August, 2010

My rating:

P is for Peril is such an unusual book in its own series that the discussion of this novel on the Sue Grafton message board has been turned into a sticky; it is permanently affixed near the top of the topic order so it can easily be found by visitors...moreP is for Peril is such an unusual book in its own series that the discussion of this novel on the Sue Grafton message board has been turned into a sticky; it is permanently affixed near the top of the topic order so it can easily be found by visitors in search of some kind of explanation.

I hadn't even noticed that the book doesn't include Grafton's now-customary epilogue, which takes the form of Kinsey Milhone typing up a quick summary of the case and ties up some of the loose ends, but I had noticed a different vibe in this sixteenth Kinsey novel, a strange detachment from the case and its players as if this is nothing more than a job Kinsey takes for pay. Kinsey does seem to like some of the people involved; however, where the previous installment, O is for Outlaw, immerses her in a case involving her own history, the case she takes here seems the exact opposite, almost as if she had been dropped into some other mystery series written for someone else but needing a main character. Some describe the story here as noir. I wouldn't go that far, but there is a noirish feel here, a shadowy, black-and-white procedural told as if Kinsey is narrating the story about someone else.

It's fine. As stories go, it doesn't suck, and I didn't mind the change in mood, even though I had high hopes since O is for Outlaw had been so terrific. Other reviewers feel that the end leaves the reader hanging, and it does that. I kind of like it that way. Nothing really turns out the way I want, yet I was not left feeling disappointed. Rather, it seemed like the kind of thing that might occasionally fall into Kinsey's lap, and if it is too soon after the events in O is for Outlaw for her to allow us a delve into her emotional state, I can understand. That was a lot for Kinsey to deal with, and if anything surprises me, it's that the entire text of P is for Peril isn't simply, "After what I just went through, I've decided to go on vacation in Hawaii. Please proceed to Q is for Quarry where we will return to our usual madness."

Nothing to rave about here, but nothing really to disappoint, either, and interesting enough a story that I was engaged throughout, even if Kinsey wasn't.(less)

mitchell Dwyer gave

to:

O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, #15)
by Sue Grafton

read in July, 2010

My rating:

This far into the series, the best thing about a Kinsey Milhone book is what it adds to a reader's understanding of (and liking for) the main character. Author Sue Grafton knows this, and she seems to be pacing herself through the remainder of the a...more

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mitchell Dwyer made a comment on Toby Steele's profile "Geez. Add a few books, wouldja?"
Feb 21, 2012 01:29am
mitchell Dwyer is now friends with Melody Wilson
Feb 19, 2012 12:50pm
mitchell Dwyer is currently reading: Four to Score (Stephanie Plum, #4) by Janet Evanovich (Goodreads Author)	My rating:
Feb 14, 2012 01:40am
mitchell Dwyer gave to: Three to Get Deadly (Stephanie Plum, #3) by Janet Evanovich (Goodreads Author) read in February, 2012	My rating:
In my review of One for the Money, I wrote, "Janet Evanovich keeps the tone sexy without getting sexual." In my review of Two for the Dough, I wrote, "As a reader who dislikes lengthy descriptions of sexual activity in the middle of a good mystery, ...more
Feb 12, 2012 07:46pm · see review
mitchell Dwyer gave to: Two for the Dough (Stephanie Plum, #2) by Janet Evanovich (Goodreads Author) read in January, 2012	My rating:
In this second Stephanie Plum novel, the lingerie-buyer-turned-bounty-hunter is forced by practical and accidental reasons to work with Joe Morelli, her former lover and current pain in the neck. They are both on the trail of Kenny Mancuso: Stephani...more
Jan 30, 2012 02:37am · see review
mitchell Dwyer added a quote "I had an alarm, I had nerve gas, I had a yogurt. What more could anyone want?" — Janet Evanovich
Jan 24, 2012 03:01am · add quote added! · more quotes by Janet Evanovich
mitchell Dwyer has challenged himself to read 52 books in the 2012 Reading Challenge He has read 3 books toward his goal of 52 books. 3 of 52 (6%) Create your own 2012 Reading Challenge »
Jan 24, 2012 02:52am · view books
mitchell Dwyer gave to: One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, #1) by Janet Evanovich (Goodreads Author) read in January, 2012	My rating:
It's fluff, but it's rather good for fluff. Stephanie Plum was a discount lingerie buyer for a New Jersey store that "wasn't exactly Victoria's Secret." A layoff is followed by selling all her furniture, having her car repossessed, and even taking ...more
Jan 24, 2012 02:29am · see review
mitchell Dwyer gave to: P is for Peril (Kinsey Millhone, #16) by Sue Grafton read in August, 2010	My rating:
P is for Peril is such an unusual book in its own series that the discussion of this novel on the Sue Grafton message board has been turned into a sticky; it is permanently affixed near the top of the topic order so it can easily be found by visitors...more
Jan 22, 2012 01:17am · see review
mitchell Dwyer gave to: O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, #15) by Sue Grafton read in July, 2010	My rating:
This far into the series, the best thing about a Kinsey Milhone book is what it adds to a reader's understanding of (and liking for) the main character. Author Sue Grafton knows this, and she seems to be pacing herself through the remainder of the a...more
Jan 22, 2012 12:22am · see review

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