Two for the Dough

Rating:
Summary: Laughed out loud!
Review: Just delightful! There is great sparring between Morelli and Plum and some strong sexual tension. Stephanie's family is so funny you'll not want this series to end. I loved it and am not happy that I have to wait until next year to read the next one. I want it now

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining book - Definitely worth reading
Review: Stephanie Plum is back in this fast paced book that won't let you stop until you're done. This time Stephanie's teamed up with Joe Morelli in order to find his cousin who is accused of killing his best friend. Stephanie, along with Grandma Mazur, searches funeral homes for the allusive Kenny Mancusco. Two For the Dough, although not as funny as the first, has many hilarious moments . Joe Morelli and Grandma Mazur have just as much depth as supporting characters as Stephanie does as the main. Grandma Mazur's adventures in the funeral home are quite humorous, although the mortuary theme was a little too morbid and played too great a part. Janet Evanovich's great sense of humor is reflected in both One For the Money and in Two For the Dough- I laughed so hard I cried! Stephanie Plum is a hip and spunky heroine whose attitude endears herself to her readers. I highly recommend reading Two For the Dough - I can hardly wait to read the next one

Rating:
Summary: Plum redeemed
Review: After being so disappointed with the first book of the Stephanie Plum series, I thought it unlikely that I'd try a second book. I'm glad I did. The first book was just irritating, but Ms. Plum is redeemed by the second.

The plot moooooves. It's funny in the right places. The jeopardy is always present, always real. We know, of course, that somehow Plum will get Mancuso, bad as he is, but no matter. That is a flaw of all series crime novels: the reader knows the hero will prevail. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a next book.

But the plot isn't what fascinated me here. It was the atmosphere. It was the cast of characters. Trenton, NJ is not exactly a tourist Mecca, and the author doesn't try to burnish the city's reputation. It's cold. It's dirty. It's dangerous. A good portion of the book takes place in sundry funeral parlors, not exactly places we like to visit in the best of cities. But the author makes it real--I almost wrote "come alive," but that would be tacky. As for characters, they are all good, from Plum to her grandmother. While the reader probably wouldn't care to socialize with most of those who populate this tale, it is undeniable that they are realistic. Characters and atmosphere: they are what make or break any work of fiction, and they certainly make this an enjoyable turn.

I look forward to catching up with book three, if only to follow the further saga of Plum's Grandma.

Rating:
Summary: NOT FOR ME
Review: I heard some good things about this series on the radio and read the reviews online. All seemed to be in order until I read the first few pages. I found It fairly simplistic, Cardboard characters, a weak story line, and an unbelievablely cavalier attitude to violence (even for people from New Jersey - I never realized they all had a "Bruce Willis" nerve in the face of life threatening danger for themselves and their families). I worry about the state of popular reading when the reviews for this series are so positive. If your loking for a cool thriller check out "A TOURIST IN THE YUCATAN"

Rating:
Summary: Laugh out loud funny (and a good mystery too!)
Review: I listened to this as a book on tape read by Lori Petty (the loudmouthed younger sister ball player on "A League of Their Own"). This book was a wonderful diversion, and quite possibly may have been the high point of a rough week punctuated by car troubles and work pressures. I could not wait to get back in the car and hear about Stephanie and her Grandma Mazur! In fact, when I had to switch vehicles due to aforementioned car trouble, the first thing I moved over was this tape (and I forgot my lunch!).

I can't wait to listen to the next one!

Rating:
Summary: Never "Two" Much Stephanie
Review: I have enjoyed every Stephanie Plum book that I have read. They are hilarious. I read them over and over, and have gotten my daughter and her friends addicted to this series. Her problems with cars are legendary. Grandma Mazur is a hoot! I hope Janet Evanovich never stops writing this series. Really Great!!!

Kay Morgan


Rating:
Summary: Another Great Book in the Stephanie Plum Series.
Review: After reading the spectacular "One for the Money" I knew I had to read this book and I was not dissapointed.The first novel was funny and witty and this is one of the few second books that is as good as the first one. Personally I think the first novel was
better.But this is one is funnier. The novel is about Stephanie Plum. Stephanie is a bounty hunter working for her cousin Vinnie.
She's not that experienced but does a pretty good job anyway.Now
she's tracking down Kenny Mancuso. Kenny just shot his best friend and failed to appear in court. So now Stephanie is after him, but she needs help. She gets that help from Joe Morelli, the cop she had to apprehend in the first novel, who is also the guy that stole her virginity when she was 16. A character that had a much larger role in the first book, expert bounty hunter Ranger is in the book,but is mentioned very little compared to the first one. A character who didn't have a large role in the first one who has a much larger role in this one if Grandma Mazur. Stephanie's grandma,whose hobbies include...Going to funeral parlors. Now like I said before, I liked the first book more than this one, but this one if funnier. It's not laugh out loud funny or anything like that, but it is funny nonetheless.
I can't wait to read the third novel "Three to Get Deadly".
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Rating:
Summary: Plum stumbles into another criminal activity
Review: The sign of a good author is the ability to find new scenarios to involve the main characters. In "One for the Money," Stephanie Plum stumbled into a psychotic boxer and a drug ring. She is now more established as a bounty hunter, but still somewhat careless, which is why she is driving her late grandfather's '53 Buick after having her car stolen. In this case, finding a fugitive leads her into the world of illegal weapons distributors. The plot is a bit transparent, as you can guess the ending early in the story, but the story holds your attention as you wait to see how things turn out. She manages to wreck another of Morelli's cars, but it's really not her fault (in the last novel, his car was blown up).

Lookout for Grandma Mazur - she has a gun and wants to be Stephanie's assistant in taking down fugitives. Hit the deck if she starts shooting. And Lula is back, but in a more respectable profession. The women in the novel remind me of some of my women friends. You never can tell who might be packing a gun.

Rating:
Summary: Letting Your Brain Breath
Review: I've figured something out about the Stephanie Plum series; at least I found something out about myself (but it might be true for some of you, too). Reading these stories is like putting your brain on autopilot. They're not deep, thoughtful, and heavy-laden pieces of fiction. They're fun, light, and just a downright joy to read.

Like ONE FOR THE MONEY (the first in the series), TWO FOR THE DOUGH is told in first person by a hard-edged---if somewhat desperate---bounty hunter named Stephanie Plum. She's been forced into the job in order to keep eating. But unlike the first book, this one shows us that Steph is becoming a bit more adept at her new profession. Now she's chasing after Joe Mancuso, a murderer, and the tension (and comedy) get moved up a notch.

We still have all the original characters from the first novel. Steph's parents, cousin Vinnie and his office staff, Rex the hamster, Grandma Mazur, and, of course, Officer Joe Morelli. I saved the best for last. Grandma Mazur is much more prevalent in this story and a truly engaging character (someone you WILL sympathize with as you read on). And then we have Joe Morelli, Steph's love interest and 'partner' who both uses and lusts after her. Will they get together? Time will tell.

I didn't give this story (or its predecessor) five stars simply because they're just not five star material. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Like I said in the beginning of this review, they're light reading that allows you to whiz through the story and enjoy its soft touches. Will I be reading the next in the series? You can bet on it.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely not JE's best book
Review: I like reading Stephanie Plum's novels because although they don't have anything to learn or to think about you'll laugh while you read them,this book doesn't have jokes and the end is heavy as lead, grandma Mazur doesn't have the spark that has in other books, and at the end Morelli knew exactly what happened with the bad guys just because he is a cop. I think JE wanted to finish the book and just put an end to it.