Now or Never

Some change at last

This is book 31 in Stephanie Plum series, and I went and read it right after the previous one. Pulled an over-nighter with it even, so it was entertaining enough. Then again, these books aren’t very long.

For once, the book began where the previous ended, a few days later. Not that the author always remembered that there wasn’t as long a gap between the events as there was between books, as the characters spoke of events of the previous book like they’d taken place long ago. For example, Lula is ‘still’ dating a guy she met in the previous book, which was less than a week ago. Even with her dating history, dating a man for a week isn’t that great a surprise.

But at least the previous events were acknowledged, which doesn’t happen often with these books that seem to exist in their own vacuums. Stephanie’s sister, Valerie, who barely gets a mention throughout the series, even makes an appearance. I did call it though, that Stephanie would return to her apartment where she was evicted from at the end of the previous book. It would’ve been too much of a change for a series where nothing ever changes if she’d moved.

Stephanie’s big dilemma was introduced from the outset: she said yes to both Ranger and Morelli when they proposed, and didn’t’ tell either of them about the other proposal. As an added complication, there’s a fear of a contraceptive failure. Apparently she’d gone to bed with both men—which didn’t happen on page, not even a hint—and doesn’t want to commit to either of them before she knows for sure if she’s pregnant. So, in her typical fashion, she ignores the problem and concentrates on catching skips.

The collection of FTAs is fairly entertaining and keeps Stephanie and Lula busy for days. Like so often, the one that seems on the outset to be the most dangerous of them turned out to be less so, even if he was difficult to catch. The other skips would’ve been easier to apprehend if Stephanie wasn’t such a pushover, constantly giving them leeway. The most dangerous FTA is the one who they thought would be a harmless fool. Stephanie needs a lot of help to finally capture him.

The comedic relief comes in the form of Stephanie’s old schoolmate who after a brief hello decides they’re now dating and won’t leave her alone. But since he does nice things for her, like redecorates her firebombed apartment and gets her a TV, she finds it difficult to get rid of him.

What makes this book stand out are two major changes for Stephanie that’ll have an impact later. One, she finally learned how to shoot, thanks to Ranger who put his foot down and made her. Her unwillingness to touch firearms has been a running gag in the series. She even gets to put her new skill to use.

And the biggest change of all: Stephanie finally chooses between her suitors.

It happens out of page, which was bit of a let-down, but while her relationships with her men have been a staple throughout the series, they’re not the main focus, so it can be forgiven that it doesn’t steal the stage. The reader has to wait until the very end to find which one it is. The choice isn’t surprising.

This wasn’t the last book, as indicated by ‘not the end’ at the end. I hope that this will turn out to be a new start for Stephanie, to freshen up the formula, but I’m fairly sure things will continue as they’ve always been. There’s a bet of box of donuts that her marriage won’t last more than two months. We’ll see how that goes