Another *excellent* Stephanie Plum story - I rave about these books, they're exactly the right blend of mystery, thriller and screwball comedy, with a seriously flawed but completely wonderful heroine and a fabulously characterised supporting cast.

Grandma Mazur is my perennial favourite - although she doesn't appear in this book as often as I'd like, she still steals the scene for me when she does:

My mother opened the door with a look of silent resignation. my grandmother stood on tippytoes behind my mother, trying to get a better look. "Dang!" Grandma said. "You've got orange hair! And it looks like there's more of it. Looks like one of them clown wigs. How'd you grow all that hair?"
I patted my head. "I meant to have some highlights put in, but the solution got left on a little too long, so my hair got a little frizzy." And orange.
"I've got to try that," Grandma said. "I wouldn't mind having a big bush of orange hair. Brighten things up around here."

And my absolute favourite moment - look away now if you prefer a spoiler-free read. This one struck such a nerve with me that not only did it make me laugh out loud when I read it, but it kept striking me as being incredibly funny for about two days afterwards, so I seemed to be collapsing with the giggles for no reason at all. Have I given it too much of a build up now? Oh well - hey ho, on with the show!:

I took a sniff. "What is it?"
"Schnapps. My uncle Lou makes it in his cellar."
I tried a teeny taste and my tongue went numb. "I don't know..."
Morelli raised eyebrows. "Chicken?"
"I don't see you drinking this stuff."
Morelli took the glass from my hand and tossed the contents down his throat. He refilled the glass and gave it back to me. "Your turn, cupcake."
"To the pope," I said and drained the glass.
"Well?" Morelli asked. "What do you think?"
I did some coughing and openmouthed wheezing. My throat burned, and liquid fire roiled in my stomach and shot through to every extremity. My scalp started to sweat, and my vagina went into spasm. "Pretty good," I finally said to Morelli.
"Want another?"
I shook my finger in a no motion. "Maybe later."

I cannot recommend this series highly enough. Read 'em or miss out - seriously.

RELEASE NOTES:

To be released at tonight's Hull & East Riding BookCrossing Meet at The Mission pub on Posterngate in the city centre. Come and play - we don't bite, promise! :O)

RELEASE NOTES:

Brought along to the Hull & East Riding BookCrossing Meet at The Mission pub on Posterngate in the city centre on Tuesday night, and scooped to bring along to the OBCZ today. Happy reading!

Journalling to remove from Go hunting pages, as book has been taken.

Enjoy!