Since I finished up the Stephanie Plum challenge I was feeling nostalgic. I hadn't read the first book in 12+ years and wanted to go back to the beginning. I totally forgot that Stephanie's first FTA was none other than Joe Morelli! Quelle surprise! In this book, we are introduced to our favorite cast of characters including Stephanie herself, Joe, Ranger, Grandma Mazer, Connie, and Lulu. The characters are obviously not well fleshed out yet, but foundations are there. Lulu, especially, is different because she is working as a hooker in this book and Stephanie befriends her while she is solving her case.
This book is gritty than the others to come and the crimes seem more horrific. Benito Ramirez, the "villain," is down right creepy and his crimes gave me chills. He is a boxer who likes to hurt and rape women and he takes a liking to Stephanie leading to some very disturbing scenes. Stephanie does a little better with the FTAs surprisingly and she is more comfortable with a gun, at least till the end. Ranger shows up from time to time and it was great seeing him when he was more mysterious than he is now. Morelli is the same and so is Connie and Vinny. Grandma Mazer is hilarious, though less inclined to "shoot 'em up." Everyone comes off more "real" than they are later, less like caricatures. All in all, a great start to a great series.
I read this book for the first time last year and I really enjoyed. Next up for me in the Stephanie Plum series is Four to score :)
ReplyDeleteDo you think the series is starting to go downhill? I read that some fans thought that book number 15 was the best in the series so far.
Great review!
I think there are books in the middle where it got stagnant but then it picks up again. I enjoyed the last two books a lot.
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