This is an in between the stephanie plum novels (8.5). We are introduced to a new character, Diesel, who is a supernatrual bounty hunter. There seems to be a one way flirtation between Stephanie and Deisel. I love you. Morelli seems to be disturbed by Deisel's appearance, which I like. It is a quick and easy read with all the elements of the original novels only a little more obsurd (in a good way). A clever way to keep the fans satisfied while waiting to read the next installment!! ( )

Janet Evanovich's Visions of Sugar Plums is a fun holiday listen. The hubby and I listened to this book on our morning commutes and it was a short one at only 3 discs. Visions of Sugar Plums is a "Between the numbers novel."

I haven't read any of the number novels yet, but I do have them--thanks to my mom. We started with this audio book and found it amusing. It's not as funny as A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore, but it is mildly funny.

The main character, Stephanie Plum, is a bounty hunter working through the holidays to catch a defendant, Sandy Claws, who jumped bond. She hasn't had time to get a tree or presents for her New Jersey-based family. One morning she wakes up to a strange, yet hunky man, in her kitchen. He introduces himself as Diesel, but she wonders if he's a killer, burglar, or alien. Turns out he's in town bothering her for a whole other reason--the spirit of Christmas. Will she get the presents she needs for her family, will Diesel help her find the spirit of Christmas, and will she apprehend Mr. Claws?

My favorite parts of this novel involve the "elves" and Plum's Grandma Mazur. They make this novel fun and festive. One of my favorite scenes is when Mazur is searching for her dentures, which are missing, before her "stud muffin" arrives for their date. They eventually find the dentures in a stuffed dinosaur and they are painted with pretty rainbows thanks to a little girl named Mary Alice, Plum niece. I couldn't stop laughing as I imagined my grandmother's dentures in her mouth with rainbows and other brightly colored images on them. Talk about a winning smile.

My husband loves the part where Plum and Diesel enter the toy factory looking for Sandy Claws and find a bunch of "midgets" dressed as elves. Let's just say you shouldn't call elves midgets. . .they get feisty and start a riot. Imagine elves screaming, "Get her!" And jumping up onto a female bounty hunter to regain their respect.

For a light holiday read, this book will fit the bill. I wouldn't have paid full price for the audio book, but it's worth a check out at the library. ( )

Funny. Strange. Easy read. Read in a few hours. ( )

This book is billed as a "short holiday novel" starring our old friend Stephanie Plum, bounty
hunter, and all the other characters. Well, I have to say this was not worth the money at ALL. The story was so
outlandish and bizarre it was just plain silly. Everything the characters
did seemed like they were caricatures of themselves. Stephanie's mark this
time was a chap named Sandy Claws who hired midgets to make toys. It
involved "retired" superheroes and other truly bizarre things. I kept
catching myself looking at the spine of the book at that price tag and
thinking, "I paid for this?" ( )

Amusing enough story that I breezed thru in a couple of hours. ( )