Two for the Dough

Rating:
Summary: Two for the Dough
Review: Two for the Dough is the second installment in the Stephanie Plum series. This book is once again set in the burg of Trenton, NJ. This time around Stephanie is chasing bail jumper Kenny Mancuso (who is also Joe Morelli's distant cousin). In what should be an easy catch and easy money for Stephanie turns into three hundred pages of comedy, mystery, and lust.

Two for the Dough is pretty much the same as One for the Money. Stephanie is lusting after Joe Morelli in a love/hate relationship. They are partners in trying to find the bad guy while still not trusting each other and working against the other. Ranger, the likeable bounty hunter from the first Plum novel makes brief appearances in this book. Grandma Mazur is getting herself into all sorts of mischief, which makes the book good to read. It is so fun to read about her and the trouble she can get herself and Stephanie into. This book also has Lula from the first novel in it. She is back and has changed for the better. There are of course new characters to this book. There is Spiro Stiva, the mortician; Moogey Bues, the mechanic; and of course the most evil of characters Kenny Mancuso--weapons smuggler, and possible murderer.

Two for the Dough is a light, entertaining read. The language is very crude at times as is the humor. This is a book about your not-everday bounty hunter and family and friends/foes. Stephanie gets herself into scrapes that are pretty much along the lines of the first Plum book. I gave this book three stars because it didn't seem to have much originality other than the missing weapons storyline. This book just seemed like more of what was already in the first book. I am planning on reading all of the books in this series and hoping that they aren't all the same! This is an OK read for a rainy day or if you need a good laugh.

Rating:
Summary: Stephanie Plum is Hot!
Review: Rookie bounty hunter Stephanie Plum returns to Trenton's "burg" in the second installment of Janet Evanovich's action-filled series. This story revolves around Stephanie's efforts to find the fugitive Kenny Mancuso, who is on the lam, accused of the murder of his high school friend Moogie. The story twists and turns through Stephanie's New Jersey neighborhood as Steph and her cop friend (and hopeful lover) Joe Morelli seem to be constantly one step behind Kenny. To liven up the story, Kenny sends Stephanie and her family members a number of threats, in order to encourage her to give up the chase.

The action in this novel is fast-paced. There's a lot of humor too, as Stephanie tries to deal with her meddling mother. Stephanie's Grandma Mazur emerges in this second novel as a quirky and very "hip" grandma who is essential to Stephanie's case.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and can't wait to read the rest of the Stephanie Plum books.

Rating:
Summary: Even more funny than One....
Review: If you thought that Janet Evanovich's One for the Money was hysterical, Two for the Dough will have you in stitches! We get to learn a bit more about bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum. In trying to capture Kenny Mancuso while trying to track down a truckload of stolen caskets, Stephanie stumbles onto something much more serious and even life threatening. Many scenes take place in a funeral home in Trenton, and the antics of Grandma Mazur will have you wetting your pants. No corpse is safe when she's around!

Many of the regular characters become more fleshed out including Vinnie, Connie, Ranger, and especially heartthrob cop Joe Morelli. The best character in the bunch is Lula-a prostitute introduced in book one who now wants to join Stephanie as a bounty hunter. Think 200+ pound African American in spandex miniskirts. The two of them working together is a blast. Stephanie is also becoming a little more savvy in her job and now sports a stun-gun. But she still has much to learn, which makes the story funny and maybe a little more realistic (no James Bond-types to be found here).

I read the book first, and then listened to the audio version. One thing that is really annoying with many audio books (this one included) is that so many of the readers mispronounce so many words-especially names of places. Also, this book was only made available in the abridged version. But even so, Evanovich will have you coming back for more.

Rating:
Summary: Funeral homes never sounded like so much fun
Review: Janet Evanovich knows how to write. You probably wonder why I need to put that? Well, it's because the Stephanie Plum series is so addictive. You pick up one and devour it and are on to the next one. Before long you are complaining about the fact that the newest installment isn't out yet and you are preordering 6 months in advance just in hopes you'll get it quicker.

This book is book 2 in the series of course and it's a wild ride. Stephanie is not only looking for Kenny Mancuso(nut job #1), but ends up being babysitter/guard to Spiro Stepson of Grandma Mazur's favorite mortician at Stiva's Funeral Home. That alone should tell you, you are in for laughs.
Add in the hormones gone haywire while Stephanie is in the vicinity of Joe Morelli and the tactful way she always deals with him and you are ready for a fun time.
These books keep me coming back for more. Janet makes the characters come to life. You are either laughing your head off or women are swooning over the two men in Stephanies life Joe Morelli and Ranger aka Ricardo Carlos Manoso.

Grab your kit kats and tasty cakes to settle in for a fun ride you'll want to share with family and friends.

Rating:
Summary: Plum Strikes Back
Review: Janet Evanovich's "Two for the Dough" starts off where "One for the Money" left off. Grandma Mazur once again had me busting a gut every five minutes, and the sexual tension builds between bad boy/good cop Joe Morelli and our Stephanie Plum. We're also newly introduced to the minor character of Joyce Barnhardt, Stephanie's "archenemy" (beware of cat fights).

The strong point of the book, is of course, Evanovich's dead-on side-splitting humor and the sizzling off-and-on chemistry between Stephanie and Joe in the land of meatloaf and funeral parlors. If there's any weakness at all, it's that I found the plot line of chasing down Kenny Mancuso to be a bit tiring and uninteresting.

Overall, it was an exciting and quick read, and I'm eager to finish the series.

Rating:
Summary: Response to Literature
Review: Stephanie Plum is on the move again in Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich. When she finds out she has to bring on a dangerous criminal who as just killed his best friend after shooting him in the knee with a powerful gun. When Stephanie found out who she was dealing with she new she would have to contact Morelli because Morelli was related to Kenny, the murderer. Kenny was well known for his illegal actions. This was another way fro Stephanie to make money for bringing Kenny in.

When Stephanie is on the case she meets Kenny's girlfriend named Julia who is denying his man slaughter. Julia is telling Kenny about Stephanie looking for him and how she is going to take him to jail. The part that confused me the most is when the truck had been robbed and Stephanie and Morelli where changing names left and right. I couldn't understand who they were talking about. They were saying that Kenny had killed so many different people that I didn't know who Kenny really murdered." There were two homicide detectives o the scene" (Evanovich 15). I could not tell if the detectives had killed the victim or if it was Moogey. What Stephanie did not know was that Morelli was related to Kenney until she went with Joe to the Morelli house hold when Joe found out that Leo, Joe's cousin's car was stolen by Kenney.

Leo and Kenney were close cousins who were there for one another. Well now Leo can not stand Kenney after he stole his car and now Leo might have to show up in court for the two victims that were killed. And now Joe and Stephanie have to make sure that they find Kenney and they have to find Kenney before Leo does. If Leo finds Kenney before Joe and Stephanie does then Kenney could be in some serious trouble.

Now it has been a couple of weeks since they have been looking for Kenney and when Joe and Stephanie hear that there has been some weapons for the army stolen they new that it was Kenney because he had just got out of the army and was a good soldier. Then as Stephanie hears how her Grandma has been abused by someone and she has been cut on her hand very bad Stephanie had to check it out. When she got to the hospital her Grandma told her that it was Kenney and how he was after her next. Well now Stephanie was scared and she decided to move in her parents again because she does not want another Ramirez on her case.

Rating:
Summary: Another Winner
Review: Loved the first one a lot. In fact I laughed out loud several times, something that a book can rarely invoke. The story is an easy read but the circumstances, the family, Grandma and Joe all combine for a real pleasure. I will say this with every book review by this author: Why hasn't Hollywood pick up on this new heroine? You have to wonder why some of the film selecters are still being paid seven figures to bring us forgettable films that lose money on a regular basis.

Rating:
Summary: She's Baaaaaack! And Packing!
Review: Again, another winner in the Plum series. The second book and not the least lesser than the first. This baby packs punch and Stephanie means business. More trash-talking and pistol-packing and action to make us smile and Grandma Mazur thrown in for good measure.

This time Stephanie has got a stun gun, defense sprays, and a .38 Smith & Wesson, plus her ever handy 'huge' bag of goodies...with the gum at the bottom and maybe a tampon or two...you know, for emergencies...lol.
Deciding this bounty hunter business wasn't all the bad and paid pretty good, she embarks on another job, this time to catch none other than Joe Morelli's questionable cousin Kenny Mancuso. Fresh out of the Army and suspiciously wealthy beyond the norm, Kenny is on the run after shooting his former best friend at a gas station.
Joe, a vice cop and former bounty hunted from the first book is now helping Stephanie catch the 'bad guys'. He's got some...shall we say 'questionable' ethics and some problem with his ego and not to mention his 'grabby' hands, but she needs him. He's also got this nasty habit of following her around nonstop and horning in on her investigations.
With some extra help from gorgeous Joe and hot as sin Ranger, also a bounty hunter, Stephanie is on the trail of the shooter but finds herself walking into a strange web of lies and a tale far more frightening than she imagined. Grandma Mazur ready and willing to help her granddaughter and funeral happy, thinks she too is a bounty hunter. But as the corpses start to build, Stephanie and Grandma have stirred a nasty and vicious enemy they cannot afford to make.
Alas Stephanie must trust Joe again and let him help...

Tracy Talley~@

Rating:
Summary: I give it a 5 because
Review: I give this book a five star rating because i just LOVE the series!! They're the best, even though this book wasn't that great, it's still good, but the rest of the series is much much better... still there are some worth while parts in this book!

Rating:
Summary: Hasn't Hollywood read these great books?
Review: I'm getting to like Stephanie Plum, Trenton's most unlikely bounty-hunter. I especially like Grandma Mazur, Trenton's answer to Dirty Harry! Stephanie could stick with the small-time bond-jumpers, but they don't pay enough, so she feels the need to make a comparatively big score by bringing in Kenny Mancuso, charged with shooting his cousin Moogey in the knee. But then Moogey gets dead and the odds go up. And stolen Army weapons enter the picture. And so does Joe Morelli, one of Trenton's finest and also Kenny's cousin. It's a complicated plot but Evanovich handles it very well and with considerable wry humor. She's also very good at delineating the scarier characters and assorted sociopaths who crop up. What I want to know is, why hasn't there been a movie made from this series? The scene in the beauty parlor and the last scene in the funeral home basement would make terrific footage. I see someone like Renee Zellweger as Stephanie. . . .