"Tricky Twenty-Two" by Janet Evanovich

I just finished listening to the next installment in Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum Series, “Tricky Twenty-Two,” and although I enjoyed it, in some ways it was disappointing.  If you have read the books in this series, but haven’t listened to one of them recorded on CD and read by Lorelei King, then you are missing out - Ms. King brings the characters of Stephanie, Lula, Connie, Vinnie, Morelli and Ranger to life.  Her interpretations carry over to the written books and I find myself imagining the voices as I read them in print!  (Note: Ms. King doesn’t read the first several books in this series.)

In this installment, bounty hunter Stephanie finds herself at Kiltman College searching for an FTA (that’s Failure to Appear - in court, that is) and encounters the members of Zeta Fraternity.  These pranksters model themselves after characters in the movie “Animal House,” but not everyone thinks they are funny.  There are the usual demolished cars and Ranger rescues (although Ranger does not appear much in this novel; neither does Morelli).  It seems as though the author is just re-hashing pieces from her twenty-one previous books.

Stephanie’s mother takes down a bad guy and finally gains respect for her daughter’s profession and Grandma Mazur goes “catfishing” on the internet, providing her usual comic relief; but I miss the earlier books that contained more interaction among the family.  This book contains some discrepancies from the earlier novels, which is disturbing.  Although this book is also available in print at the library, it would be a boring read - listen to the audiobook with Ms. King’s narration.  And you don’t have to start with the first book - each one can stand alone.