The King's Ransom by Janet Evanovich

Gabriela just finished up a difficult recovery and walking into her house, ready to relax. Too bad her (infuriatingly still-hot) ex-husband is there with his golden retriever cousin, Harvey. Harvey is on theh run. He was promoted to vice president of insurance at a bank, approving policies. Mostly, he plays pickleball.

Oh my god. The product name-dropping. I wouldn't be surprised if Evanovich was 6,000 words short and decided that the way to make up the deficit was to add a metric crap ton of super fancy, high end clothing/accessories. It may also be a tongue-in-cheek thing that I don't remember from the previous book but it sure made the first 50 or so pages a slog. It picks up a little bit for some adventure. It's as wild, crazy, and inconceivable as Evanovich's books generally are. I think regular readers will enjoy. 

Three stars

Gabriela Rose #2

This book comes out March 31, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Bounty by Janet Evanovich, Steve Hamilton

Kate and Nick are helping the Vatican against a thief coming to steal a priceless ring. The thief makes it past all of their safeguards but then takes something else. While chasing him down, the two discover something startling - the thief is Nick's father.

Tracking him down will take them on a whirlwhind race across the globe to find the other pieces of the map which will lead to $30 billion dollars of gold stolen by the Nazis. The problem? The grandson of one of the men who put the map together is after the information as well. 

We get a few new characters who may end up being recurring in Nick's father and his friends. They remind me very much of Jake (Kate's father) and his friends with their knowledge of life and weaponry. A nice addition.

Four stars

This book came out March 23, 2021

Follows The Big Kahuna

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby and hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

The Big Kahuna by Peter Evanovich, Janet Evanovich

Nick and Kate have a new partner, by-the-book Cosmo. He's meant to slow down their reign of destruction (starting with blowing up a Ferrari in a four-star hotsl) while not limiting their streak of closing cases. But Kate and Nick dont quite see it that way. There are two dead billionaires and another, Big Kahuna, who has recently gone missing. They need to figure out whether the Kahuna is really dead and who done the deed if he is.

Like other books.in the series, long on action, short on plot. But, if you've enjoyed the other books, this one will hit the spot as well.

Four stars

This book came out May 7, 2019

Follows The Pursuit

Followed by The Bounty

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Pursuit by Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg

Nick wakes up from a drug induced nap to find that not only is he in a life-like mock-up of a bank, he's no longer in America. He has been kidnapped in order to help the Road Runners, normally a smash-and-grab crew, to make a big heist.

Kate realizes that he's gone and is able to follow but soon finds herself embroiled in a plot to take down a sociopath, Dragan Kovic. She is set up to be Nick's bodyguard.

Once again, her father and his cohort, as well as many of the crew from earlier Fox and O'Hare books make an appearance. It's a fast and easy read.

Four stars
This book came out June 21, 2016

Follows The Scam

Followed by The Big Kahuna

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Job by Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg

Kate and Nick are off again. As the book opens, somebody is robbing famous museums. And trying (sloppily, in Kate's opinion) to frame Nick for it. They discover it's one of his old teammates, Serena Blake. She needs help in getting revenge on the man who killed her brother. A mobster whose face her brother has changed, Menendez is one bad dude.

It's a bit light and fast but sometimes, that's just the kind of book I'm looking for. A great book while in the midst of a number of weighty non-fictions.

Three stars

This book came out November 1, 2014

Follows The Chase

Followed by The Scam

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Chase by Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg

This book is why I keep giving Evanovich a chance. Most of her books are too over the top for me. But this one hit the spot between too outlandish and strict procedural to be just plain fun.

Kate O'Hare is an FBI agent working with a known con man and thief, Nick Fox (which will bring inevitable comparisons to Eve and Roarke.) When the book opens, she is helping him pull off a bank heist so they can get evidence to put a man behind bars. The bigger caper is that they have to steal a bronze rooster that was already stolen from the Smithsonian. The Chinese government now wants the rooster back and the US doesn't want to admit that they've lost the statue. Complications arise when it turns out a former Chief of Staff, now the head of a military contract security firm is the one who has the original.
The yes-no relationship between Kate and Nick is more believable than the triangle between Stephanie, Ranger, and Joe. Also less annoying. Probably because it's early in the series. I'll wait and see how the rest of it goes.

Three stars

This book came out June 18, 2013

Follows The Heist

Followed by The Job

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Heist by Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg

Original review from 2013: Meh. Not as bad as Metro Girl (thank god) but not particularly good or even any new ideas.

Kate O'Hare is hot on the trail of Nicolas (Nick) Fox when the book opens (ha ha, the rabbit chasing the carnivore, I kept fixating on the fact that her last name is an airport though). She's an FBI agent after an international jewel thief. The rest of the story is fairly easy to guess (I'll hide the rest of my review for potential spoilers) and ends up following a very "Leverage"-like escapade. I'll give the second book a chance but am not sure it's going to be worth more than a quick run through.

Kate captures Nick fairly early in the book which means that he's going to escape. And based on the escape it's pretty easy to figure out that he's going to end up working for the FBI (it takes a thief and blah, blah, blah.) It's interesting that it's all off the books but still. 

They gather a team that don't know who they are to take down the big bad. I liked that Kate was the muscle and Nick was the brains, but then Nick got all muscle-y and Kate was just the ubiquitous "chick with guns." Not much for her to do though I hope that she gets more of a chance to show off her brain power as well in the next book

After 2023 reread: I listened to this as an audiobook this time. I"m not sure if my tolerance for nonsense has gone up or whether narrator Scott Brick made a difference but I'm upping my review from a two to a three. Really, I think I was able to look past the name=airport and Kate's character reduction.

Three stars

This book came out February 25, 2014

Followed by The Chase

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Recovery Agent by Janet Evanovich

Gabriela Rose is a treasure hunter. She's intelligent, driven, and blessedly single after divorcing her from-a-young-age-sweetheart, Rafer. But their paths are going to cross again when her hometown is devastated by a hurricane and her grandmother insists that the family ghost, Annie, has told her where  a lost treasure map is hidden. The map will lead her to King Solomon's ring and an even bigger treasure. Unfortunately she needs to go back to her family home, the one Rafer won in the divorce. 
Suddenly, the two of them are working together again. They are off on a big adventure flying all over the world and somehow getting entangled with a cult that is also after the ring. 
Evanovich fans will delight in this book. It is fast, fun, and fluffy though without much purpose or direction. 

Three and a half stars

Gabriela Rose #1

This book came out March 22, 2022

Followed by The King's Ransom

Borrowed as ebook from library

Opinions are my own

The Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich

This book did not age well (it's chock full of the types of romance tropes that you would see in the late 80s and early 90s) and it is very nonlinear but it was fun enough to at least finish.

Daisy Adams is a graduate student who is working several jobs and volunteering at a couple more. When the traffic reporter at her radio job (a five minute spot every day) breaks a leg, she's right there, ready to take on the role.

Steve Crow has his doubts but no one else wants to do it and this seems like an opportunity to get into Daisy's pants so, why not? Well, in the course of her reporting she manages to foil not one but two crimes and at least one of them is seeking revenge for being foiled so Steven moves Daisy, her 14-year-old brother, her 60-something bodyguard, and a sheepdog named Bob (bought just to have an excuse to see Daisy) into his house (also newly bought). Mayhem ensues, the job is basically forgotten, and we meet a ton of people who have little to nothing to do with the story.

Three stars

This book came out March 1, 1991

Follows Wife for Hire

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

The Scam by Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg

Evanovich and Goldberg are really hitting their stride in this book. I tore through every chapter enjoying almost every moment. The absolute craziness of the series all comes together in this story. I liked this one even better than The Chase. Would this be a good stand-alone? I don't know. I feel like the build up of the first three books is nice to have so that you can understand exactly how the utter zaniness of this book (using modified land mines to deter coyotes, Kate's dad taking on a member of the Yakuza, bringing in a driver whose last misdeed was to steal a tour bus... with the tourists on it) is central to the series.
I am also really enjoying the interplay between Kate and Nick. With some series, it's just like "Get ON with it already already!" but I tend to feel that more keenly with love triangles (I'm looking at you, Joanne Fluke). Evanovich and Goldberg have created (probably more the former, based on her other books) a great repartee between the two where the sexual tension is at a nice simmer.
This time, Kate (FBI agent) and Nick (sorta-not-really-reformed criminal) are after a casino magnate who is laundering dirty money for some really bad dudes. It's up to them to infiltrate the casino and bring the bad dudes to justice. AND doing it while meting out justice for a friend of Kate's dad and even managing to have some fun.

Four and a half stars

This book comes out September 15, 2015

Follows The Job

Followed by The Pursuit

Ebook from Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Reread as audiobook from Libby August 2023

Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich

I vacillated between 3 and 4 stars. Is definitely 3 1/2. Went higher because this is just a fun book. Is it deep literature? No. But that's not what fans of Janet Evanovich are looking for. If you are a fan of the Lizzy & Diesel series, this book is exactly like the others. If you haven't started reading Lizzy & Diesel, I wouldn't recommend starting with this book. There's a lot going on in the series and it's best to start at the beginning.
Lizzy and Diesel are on track to discover the third stone, Avarice (greed). I wish a little had been more to develop this theme and was also disappointed by the lack of Wulf. And I was really sad that one of the larger threats of the book never materialized. Throw in some pirates, appearances by Carl (the monkey) and Cat (the cat), a spell by Glo, and luscious descriptions of Lizzy's cupcakes and you've got a book that's a fun ride with a mostly satisfying end but still leaves you ready for the next book.

Also reviewed: Book #1 Wicked Appetite

Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich

Kicking off a new series, Evanovich sticks very close to the style that has served her so well in the Stephanie Plum stories. You could substitute Stephanie for Lizzie and come up with pretty much the same woman. A little klutzy, not quite comfortable in her own skin, but this one has a job. In fact, it's a pretty good job making cupcakes at a store in Salem, Massachusetts. Then, one day, two mysterious men show up. One (Gerwulf Grimoire) is described as your stereotypical vampire but he apparently has the power to generate heat through his hands. The other, Diesel, described as a super-tanned beach bum, makes Lizzie burn. 
She discovers that they are all "Unmentionables" with certain powers, hers is to locate things. In the current climate of an overwhelming number of paranormal talents and creatures, having someone be granted such an underwhelming talent was... odd but refreshing. Well, she also makes perfect cupcakes which, IMHO, is much better than being able to move things with your mind or whatever anyway.
Diesel needs her help to gather seven stones, each of which represents one of the seven deadly sins, together, a person could rule the world.
Fast-paced, quirky and a fun read.

Also reviewed: Book #3 Wicked Charms