Book Review: The Big Empty by Robert Crais

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The Big Empty by Robert Crais falls into the Mystery & Thriller genre and has an expected publication date of January 14, 2025. The story opens with Anya calling to remind her mother Sadie to pick her up from the skate park. When Sadie arrives, Anya is missing. Fast forward to Traci Beller hiring private investigator Elvis Cole to find her father Tommy Beller, who abandoned her and her mother almost ten years previously. What will Elvis Cole discover? I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Big Empty by Robert Crais from NetGalley for free in exchange for my honest review. I was excited to be approved and receive this novel. The main character, Elvis Cole, was an instant hit with me. He's just an extremely likable character. A somewhat insignificant character that I absolutely love is Cole's semi feral cat since I am a huge cat lover. Cole taking care of the cat is probably a huge factor in me liking him so much. I also really like his partner Joe Pike because he...
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Book Review: Plum Spooky (Stephanie Plum, #14.5) by Janet Evanovich

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plum spooky stephanie plum 14.5 an inbetween the numbers book janet evanovich
Janet Evanovich writes a few books in the Stephanie Plum book series called "A Stephanie Plum Between-the-Numbers Novel". Typically, they're novellas, and I finish them with the thought that they're cute but not very engaging, and they usually don't move the rest of the series forward. And, I don't particularly like the character named Diesel. On top of that, the third "Between-the-Numbers Novel", Plum Lucky (Stephanie Plum, #13.5) couldn't hold my interest, and I gave up after the first chapter.  I do plan on going back and reading it to see if I just wasn't in the right mindset to read it.

With that being said, I was pleasantly surprised with Plum Spooky (Stephanie Plum, #14.5) by Janet Evanovich. This time, it is a full size novel, and I have to say, it's the one I absolutely fell in love with and changed my mind about the "Between-the-Numbers" books in the series.

Things I enjoyed about Plum Spooky was that it somewhat picked up where Fearless Fourteen (Stephanie Plum, #14) left off and tied in with the rest of the Stephanie Plum books, which was a refreshing change from the others. It's also a little creepier with it taking place in a place called "The Barrens", a remote wooded area with a lot of colorful characters. With that being said, I wouldn't say it was scary, but I think I would've been creeped out if I had gone hiking or camping in the woods after reading it. I also found Diesel to actually be likeable in this book. Normally, I find him a bit annoying.

One of the characters in this book that I found hysterically funny was the "flame farter". Between him and Lula farting, I had a case of the giggles. Usually, I don't find fart humor funny, but I must have been in the mood to laugh, and it hit my funny bone in just the right way. Another character named Martin Munch went by his last name. Every time I saw his last name, I thought of Munch from Law and Order:  SVU. It made me wonder if Janet Evanovich was watching reruns of the show in her downtime while she wrote the book. Another great thing with the characters is that you find out if Lula and Tank will take their relationship to the next level or not. And, I really want Carl, the monkey, to make more appearances in the series.

Five out five stars is what I gave Plum Spooky (Stephanie Plum, #14.5) by Janet Evanovich, and it is easily the best book out of all the "Between-the-Numbers" books. 

Synopsis of Plum Spooky (Stephanie Plum, #14.5) by Janet Evanovich:  Stephanie and Lula are tracking down Martin Munch in the Pine Barrens with the help of Diesel. They encounter the Jersey Devil, the Easter Bunny, a flame farter, and a whole cast of colorful characters and even get stuck in a cranberry bog.


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