With her boyfriend Morelli away in Miami on police business, Stephanie is taking care of Bob, Morelli’s giant orange dog who will devour anything, from Stephanie’s stray donuts to the upholstery in her car. Morelli’s absence also means the inscrutable, irresistible security expert Ranger is front and center in Stephanie’s life when things inevitably go sideways. And he seems determined to stay there.
To complicate matters, her best friend Lula is convinced she is being stalked by a mythological demon hell-bent on relieving her of her wardrobe. An overnight stakeout with Stephanie’s mother and Grandma Mazur reveals three generations of women with nerves of steel and driving skills worthy of NASCAR champions.
As the body count rises and witnesses start to disappear, it won’t be easy for Stephanie to keep herself clean when everyone else is playing dirty. It’s a good thing Stephanie isn’t afraid of getting a little dirty, too.
In the act of full transparency, I haven't picked this series back up in awhile. 10+ books awhile. I found the series to be too formulaic for me. It almost seemed like a big version of Fill in the Blank. After over 12 books, Stephanie was stuck in the same triangle with her two guys. Nothing really changed of any substance. So, I was very curious to be see what things were like in Trenton, these days, for Stephanie.
My impressions for most of the book were that nothing had changed for Stephanie. In many ways I found that comforting. It was fun to visit characters I loved and having caught up with in awhile. Lula and Grandma Mazur were still the go-to ones for funny lines. High jinks were still involved in Stephanie's captures. It was fun to chuckle and laugh at the hilarity of it all.
This installation, Stephanie is put on the case of Duncan Dugan who robbed a jewelry store. However, he has second thoughts as soon as he walks out the door and proceeds to drop the bag of diamonds on the ground before taking off. The book opens with him threatening to jump from the 4th floor of a building only to fall off it. He survives and leads Stephanie and Lula on a search mission for the missing jewels. Which then leads to other discoveries involving the store owner Martin Rabner.
Along the way to solving the case, Stephanie deals with a couple of fire bombs, checking out recently dug up dead bodies looking for a match and her Mom helping chase a suspect. Not to mention Lula being convinced she's being stalked by a demon Grendel. There's also a couple proposals waiting in the pages for you.
If you're in the market for a book that will have you giggling and laughing as you chase apprehensions, I recommend Dirty Thirty. There's nothing ground breaking in the story, but lots of fun. You see the long lasting triangle hint at a new shape in the future. This was a fun read.
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Thank you very much!! I appreciate you visiting my little corner of the internet. I hope 2024 is a great year for you!
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