Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich (BR00106)

Posted on September 2, 2017 by PolyWoggSeptember 2, 2017

PLOT OR PREMISE

Ten Big Ones (St. Martin’s Press, 2010, ISBN/ASIN: B00179FNRI, Plum (10)) is the tenth outing in the Plum series, and this one has Stephanie starting a mini-war with a gang after she sees one of them committing a robbery.

WHAT I LIKED

Hijackers of chip trucks, Sally Sweet still in a dress, and school buses all show up to enliven the plot.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

The whole shower thing for Valerie gets old real fast, adding nothing to the story. And I don’t really care about wannabe gang kingpins.

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

Not bad, good ending

MY RATING

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow her on social media.

Book Review Index
Intro Approach Review # Title Author Year Series Rating

To the Nines by Janet Evanovich (BR00105)

Posted on September 2, 2017 by PolyWoggSeptember 2, 2017

PLOT OR PREMISE

To the Nines (St. Martin’s Press, 2003, ISBN/ASIN: 978-0312991463, Plum (9)) is the ninth outing in the bounty hunter on LSD series, starring Stephanie Plum, Jersey girl. This one has Plum chasing an immigrant on a work visa bond, all the way from Jersey to Vegas.

WHAT I LIKED

The girls’ trip to Vegas was awesome with Connie along, and Stephanie’s random wiping out of RangerMan employees is kind of epic.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

The “there’s a psycho stalking me” subplot gets old pretty fast, and she’s done it in at least four of the books so far. This one is actually menacing for a change, but that’s about it, and the plot with Singh as immigrant is kind of bland. However, the main plot for the story is revealed only by happenstance, and that’s a giant no-no for me. Almost no way to figure it out until some random tertiary character reveals it all at once. Sloppy plotting.

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

Fun secondary characters but sloppy plotting

MY RATING

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow her on social media.

Book Review Index
Intro Approach Review # Title Author Year Series Rating

Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich (BR00104)

Posted on September 1, 2017 by PolyWoggSeptember 1, 2017

PLOT OR PREMISE

Hard Eight (St. Martin’s Press, 2010, ISBN/ASIN: B0017I1IZA, Plum (8)) is the eighth book in the Stephanie Plum series. In this one, she’s looking for a missing mom and daughter whose grandmother could lose her house if the custody bond is violated.

WHAT I LIKED

The story has the typical range of secondary characters, and an addition of a hard-core female bounty hunter along the lines of Ranger. And a hysterical attempted vehicular murder of the Easter Bunny.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

I don’t much care for stories that involve moms/wives and children in jeopardy and being shuttled around like a tub of household effects in a move. Part of that is the ick factor, but part of it is the simplistic storyline and emotional range that is usually given to the characters — the new “damsel in distress” plotline where someone has to come rescue them. I also didn’t feel the intitial bad guys were fleshed out very well, particularly as they are easy to spot in fake masks and outfits, and the final boss felt like a comic book character.

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

Not bad, but not the best

MY RATING

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow her on social media.

Book Review Index
Intro Approach Review # Title Author Year Series Rating

Seven Up by Janet Evanovich (BR00103)

Posted on August 31, 2017 by PolyWoggAugust 31, 2017

PLOT OR PREMISE

Seven Up (published by St. Martin’s Press, 2010, ISBN: B0017POSDC, series: Plum (7)) is the seventh outing in the Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, series. This time she’s after an old mobster who kills people and is dating her grandmother.

WHAT I LIKED

As with many of the Plum stories, it is often the secondary characters that add spice and liveliness to the story. DeChooch, the old and inept mobster, is a hoot and we get to see a lot more interactions with Moonman. There are so many cute scenes — like when she finds a bunch of stolen merchandise in a bedroom, asks for an explanation, and ends up buying a toaster. Oh and there’s a little thing about planning a wedding.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

The basic premise of why everyone is looking for DeChooch is a bit far-fetched, but whatever. In addition, the arrival of sister Valerie with two kids in tow adds little to the story. And don’t get me started on the kidnapping of Grandma.

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

Love the Moonman, hate the wedding talk

MY RATING

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow her on social media.

Book Review Index
Intro Approach Review # Title Author Year Series Rating

Diagrams – Stick Navigation Charts

Posted on August 26, 2017 by PolyWoggAugust 26, 2017

I have pretty eclectic tastes when it comes to reading, although my fiction choices usually are mystery stories if I have a choice. However, for non-fiction, I am willing to consider a lot of different topics. One book that caught my eye was “100 Diagrams That Changed The World” by Scott Christianson.

The description was appealing — an idea or an idea represented by a picture, that the mere conception of it changed our understanding forever. Some of my interest is pedantic…I’ve often searched for ways to explain things simply to get the best explanation possible down in a format that can be grasped immediately by almost anyone. Some of my interest is more philosophical — how did the person come up with the idea, how was it they perceived something others didn’t?

Yet that’s not quite what the book is about. It is more “here’s an important image/drawing/graphic from an important part of history”. So cave drawings i.e. petroglyphs are amazing, but not quite what I’m looking for, nor is the Celtic triple spiral image that is dominant in Celtic culture.

I was gobsmacked though by a description of “Marshall Island Stick Navigation Charts” (pg. 19). According to the text, “as many as 4000 years ago, some human beings left Asia and voyaged in canoes over the vast Pacific Ocean to the islands of Micronesia”, and once there, they created primitive cartographic aides to help them navigate the new area.

Palm leaves, shells, and coconut fibre allowed them to map winds, variable water colours and the location of atolls. Pretty freaking cool. Learning about that was alone worth the price of the book, and I’m only on page 19. As I go, I’m going to point to some interesting other diagrams (in whatever form).

Hot Six by Janet Evanovich (BR00102)

Posted on January 20, 2017 by PolyWoggAugust 31, 2017

PLOT OR PREMISE

Plum’s got her latest assignment, no problem. She just has to bring in Ranger, a suspect in the death of a wanna-be gangster, the son of an arms dealer.

WHAT I LIKED

As with most things Plum, there’s a lot going on … Grandma has moved in, she gets stuck babysitting a wild dog, and there’s a killer running around who likes Stephanie. Plus we get to see an old high school pal, Moon Man, who is frequently fun since the elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top floors.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

The whole sub-story with gun-runners and missing money, and Ranger being “wanted” gets a little ridiculous after awhile.

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

Plum vs. Ranger…talk about a mismatch

MY RATING

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow her on social media.

PUBLICATION

Year of Release: 2001
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
ISBN/ASIN: 978-8420443379
Series: Plum (#6)

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Intro Approach Review # Title Author Year Series Rating

High Five by Janet Evanovich (BR00101)

Posted on January 19, 2017 by PolyWoggJanuary 19, 2017

PLOT OR PREMISE

Plum is on her fifth outing, looking for her missing uncle and one angry little man. Uncle Fred was complaining about paying for garbage pickup, and the truck skipped his house. So he went into complain and disappeared. Of course, he’s in the Plum family, so the weird part is he left behind photos of severed body parts in garbage bags. Aunt Mabel wants Stephanie to look for him, although she’s not entirely sure she wants the cheap bastard found and brought home. Plus, a midget missed his court date.

WHAT I LIKED

Stephanie’s family is definitely on the wild side, and the uncle is pretty out there for 70. Fun to see all the pieces at play. Plus Stephanie decides she needs to “diversify” her income sources, so asks Ranger to help mentor her in new areas (i.e. to work for him), so we get to see more of his line of work and meet his crew/employees (like Tank). And Lulu and Stephanie chasing the short guy is hilarious to read.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

Morelli’s family is not as much fun as the Plums, and fairly one-dimensional. Plus Benito Ramirez is back, and is just annoying. My biggest objection though is a “cliff-hanger” ending on the romance side that deliberately plays with point-of-view to keep it vague who Stephanie is talking with at her door.

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

Fully embrace the crazy

MY RATING

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow her on social media.

PUBLICATION

Year of Release: 2000
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
ISBN/ASIN: 978-0312971342
Series: Plum (#5)

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Trace by Warren Murphy (BR00100)

Posted on January 14, 2017 by PolyWoggJanuary 14, 2017

PLOT OR PREMISE

Devlin Tracy is a claims investigator working for an insurance company. The VP gives him a case to investigate — a friend of the President of the company is in a sanatorium, and one of the other patients changed their beneficiary on their insurance policy before they died, and the doctor at the sanatorium got the winfall. The President is afraid for his friend, that he’ll be pressured to do the same, and wants Trace to make sure there’s nothing weird going on.

WHAT I LIKED

Warren Murphy was also creator of several other series, and while some of those were kind of pulp-style, this one is a full “standard” novel. Wise-cracking, determined, but not always the fastest to figure things out. Trace works hard, keeps poking until something shakes loose, and then grabs on and won’t let go until whatever scheme falls apart. All the elements of the series are here — drinking like a fish, sleeping with suspects, wearing a little frog pin that records conversations, and a bit of a blundering style that worms his way into lots of situations. There are sub-stories with drugs and potential lawsuits, but mostly it is just about Trace shaking things up.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

He has a girlfriend, of sorts, and her portrayal in this one is more annoying than usual for the series. Plus she comes in near the end as a super-detective to help solve the case, but Trace was doing fine on his own. She helps him out, as she often does, but she was mostly superfluous for this outing.

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

Great intro to a great series

MY RATING

Original: January 14, 2017

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor did I follow him on social media.

PUBLICATION

Year of Release: 1981 (PB), 2013 (E)
Publisher: Signet (PB), Gere Donovan Press (E)
ISBN/ASIN: 978-1628580051 (ISBN), B00E50OKNO (ASIN)
Series: Trace (1)

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Avenger by William Shatner (BR00099)

Posted on January 12, 2017 by PolyWoggJanuary 12, 2017

PLOT OR PREMISE

This is the third in a Star Trek trilogy, with nanites, sentient Borg, and Vulcan terrorists.

WHAT I LIKED

The portrayal of the TNG crew is a little better in this book, perhaps reflecting the better portrayals seen in the TNG movies. It links Kirk, Spock, Picard, and the entire history of the various Enterprises together with Sarek.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

n/a

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

All about renewal and cycles

MY RATING

Original: October 10, 1999

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow him on social media.

PUBLICATION

Year of Release: 1997
Publisher: Star Trek
ISBN/ASIN: 978-0671017446
Series: Star Trek, ST:TOS, ST:TNG

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The Return by William Shatner (BR00098)

Posted on January 12, 2017 by PolyWoggJanuary 12, 2017

PLOT OR PREMISE

This is the second in a Star Trek trilogy, with renegade Romulans working with the Borg.

WHAT I LIKED

There are some decent scenes with Data, and some interesting interactions between old TOS crew and new TNG crew.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

Most of the TOS crew are not really much like themselves, except Spock, so not very “believable”. Bones is almost a caricature. Kirk and Worf have a fight that is ridiculous.

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

Worst of the three

MY RATING

Original: October 10, 1999

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow him on social media.

PUBLICATION

Year of Release: 1997
Publisher: Star Trek
ISBN/ASIN: 978-0671526092
Series: Star Trek, ST:TOS, ST:TNG

Internet Links
Amazon.ca	Amazon.com	Chapters	Kobo	Barnes & Noble
Nook	Google Play Books	Good Reads	Library Thing
Book Review Index
Intro Approach Review # Title Author Year Series Rating