Two for the Dough (Janet Evanovich)

Two for the Dough is the second book in Janet Evanovich's "Stephanie Plum" series.  (The first book being One for the Money, which I talked about last month and has a Hollywood film.)

In this novel, Stephanie Plum continues her work as a (terrible) bounty hunter.  She's put on the "easy" case of finding Kenny Mancuso, who didn't appear for his court date.  As with most Stephanie Plum cases, the chase for Kenny turns out to be more difficult and complicated than anyone anticipated.  The hunt for Kenny uncovers other mysterious events, such as stolen goods, missing caskets, missing body parts (yes...) and sudden murders. 

By the wood stove... It's fall!

I enjoyed Two for the Dough.  It was written similarly to the first One for the Money book - that is, it was easy to read, funny, and entertaining.  There is a lot of humour in the conversations Stephanie has with her co-workers and family and in the situations that she finds herself in, yet she is in such desperate need of the job and the money that she continues on her search. Nobody thinks that she can do the job, but she may be smarter than people believe. 

"The truth is, I'm not the heroic type.  I'm afraid of spiders and extraterrestrials and sometimes feel the need to check under my bed for drooly guys with claws.  If I ever found one I'd run screaming out of my apartment and never come back."  (Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich)

My favourite character in this book, by far, was Stephanie Plum's grandmother, Grandma Mazur.  Grandma Mazur, who can be remembered from the first book after she shot a cooked chicken at the dinner table, wants to be involved in the hunt for Kenny.  She goes on outings with Stephanie and her comments always made me laugh. You just kind of have to shake your head at what the grandmother does and wish that you are as cool of an older lady as she is someday. 

Again, I will mention that Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series has eighteen novels, this one being the second.  I think this book stands on its own and you could read it without having read the first book.  Two for the Dough is a completely different case than the one in One for the Money, but the main characters are all the same.  The advantage to reading this series in order is to see how the interactions between the main characters evolve.  I think I would want to read the books in order, if only to see how all of Stephanie Plum's personal affairs turn out... 

After reading (and enjoying) the first two books in the series, I would say that there is a good chance I will continue with this list and read Three to get Deadly.  If you want a funny little mystery, this series of Stephanie Plum books could be the one for you. 

One for the Money (Janet Evanovich)

Yes, this is the book that has turned into a recent movie (starring Katherine Heigl, Jason O'Mara and Daniel Sunjata).  I must admit that before reading the book, I did watch the first half of the movie.  Long story short, I fell asleep during the movie (must have just been too comfortable on the couch?) and I haven't been able to watch the second half yet.  At this point, it would definitely need a full re-watch. 

One for the Money is about Stephanie Plum, a girl who is recently unemployed and decides to take a job from her cousin as a bounty hunter.  She's given the case of finding Joe Morelli, an old "friend," which is proving to be harder than she anticipated.  Having little experience, running short on money, and finding it hard to keep up the courage to continue on her man-hunt, Stephanie starts uncovering realities that others are trying to keep hidden. 

I really liked this book.  I found it very entertaining because of the characters and the way they interact.  I also enjoyed how everything unfolds - it's exciting and a bit unexpected.  It has lots of mystery throughout the book as you are trying to put all of the pieces together.  You really start to feel for Stephanie Plum and want to see her make her capture, but because you can clearly read into her lack of experience, you see her struggling with her daily tasks. 

In the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, there are actually EIGHTEEN novels.  This is a little insane, but I must say that I am a bit excited.  How often do you read a novel, start to love the characters, and then find that the book is over?  This is that opportunity to keep reading into her life way after this "One for the Money" experience.  I don't think it would be a wise move for me to read them all in a row (because I would probably lose interest), but since I enjoyed the first novel, I would definitely continue reading the series.  (It actually is quite overwhelming the number of novels that Janet Evanovich has written!  Really, check it out.)

It was an easy-to-read, good book.  The story was easy to follow and was a good summer read for me!  Excited to find a copy of the second book, Two for the Dough.