Visions of Sugar Plums
A Stephanie Plum Holiday Novel
by Janet Evanovich
Overview
From the Publisher
It's five days before Christmas and things are not looking merry for Fugitive Apprehension Agent Stephanie Plum. She hasn't got a tree. She hasn't bought any presents. The malls are jam-packed with staggering shoppers. There's not a twinkle light anywhere to be seen in her apartment.
And there's a strange man in her kitchen.
Sure, this has happened to Stephanie Plum before. Strangers, weirdos, felons, creeps, and lunatics are always finding their way to her front door. But this guy is different. This guy is mysterious, sexy-and he has his own agenda. His name is Diesel and he is a man on a mission. And Diesel is unlike anyone Stephanie has ever met before in her life. The question is, what does he want with her? Can he help her find a little old toy maker who has skipped out on his bail right before Christmas? Can he survive the Plum family holiday dinner? Can he get Stephanie a tree that doesn't look like it was grown next to a nuclear power plant? These questions and more are keeping Stephanie awake at night. Not to mention the fact that she needs to find a bunch of nasty elves, her sister Valerie has a Christmas "surprise" for the Plums, her niece Mary Alice doesn't believe in Santa anymore, and Grandma Mazur has a new stud muffin. So bring out the plastic reindeer, strap on your jingle bells, and get ready to celebrate the holidays-Jersey style. Visions of Sugar Plums-the world of Plum has never been merrier!
My thoughts
A friend of mine recommended the Stephanie Plum series of novels to me recently, so I went to Bookins.com where I had some trade credits available and selected the holiday edition. I didn't know if they were meant to be read in order, so when I didn't find book 1 on offer, I opted for the safe pick of the Christmas book. Within a few days the book was here and that's how I came to spend last evening with the edgy Stephanie Plum!
Again, fiction is not my preferred genre so a book like this one takes me out of my circle, and I have to tell you, there are much worse ways to spend a Friday night than with Janet Evanovich and her bond bailsman character, Stephanie Plum! Once I got started reading, I couldn't put it down. I'd finished a bit over half of it sitting in the comfy brown chair in my dining room, then moved to the bedroom where I finished it while listening to the much-needed rain fall outside my open window. It made for a quite enjoyable late night!
The book isn't going to challenge you on intellectual levels, as many of my non-fiction choices do, but for pure entertainment value, this book works! I laughed out loud several times, I had fun trying to guess the plot outcome long before I had enough information, and the characters are all very eccentric and fun! I love the way Stephanie's boyfriend kept asking if he should be worried about Diesel, and a simple reassurance was ample. That may seem like a strange comment to make, but I thought it was clever writing by the author to avoid traps that are all too real in our world!
I'm going to pick up a couple more of these books, not to read tonight and tomorrow, but to keep around for those times when I need a good laugh or an escape from Real World!
Favorite Passage
"I'm pregnant...Albert Kloughn got me pregnant."
"Didn't you take precautions?"
"No, I didn't take precautions. Look at him! He looks like a loaf of yeast bread just before you bake it. He's soft and white and totally without substance. Who would have thought he'd have sperm? Do you know what this kid will look like?" Valerie wailed. "It'll look like a dinner roll."
