Hardcore 24 is obviously the 24th book in Janet Evonovich’s Stephanie Plum series. In it we once again find Stephanie and sidekick Lula trying to capture bail jumpers while getting into some crazy antics against the backdrop of a possible zombie invasion of Trenton NJ.
Yep you read that correctly. It’s as if The Walking Dead came to the world of Stephanie Plum. It shouldn’t have.
I’m as much a fan of Urban Fantasy as the next person. I’ve read the Sookie Stackhouse series. I’ve read Undead and Unwed. I’m in the midst of reading The Other series. I’m no stranger to the concept. But I don’t like it when worlds collide. It’s great that Evanovich tried her hand at it in her Lizzie and Diesel series but why take one reality and cross it with another? Disney owns both Marvel and Star Wars but woe the day Darth Vader shows up in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Furtheremore, I find Stephanie’s behavior a bit … well … disgusting. You’re in a relationship with one man but still sleeping with another? It rubs me completely wrong.
Oh, and let’s talk about the complete suspension of time. At least with Sue Grafton’s Alphabet series, you know how much time has lapsed. Things move on. Years pass. It’s getting tiresome that Stephanie Plum seems frozen in time. Completely unrealistic. All things must move on but not in this world.
Lastly, I didn’t find the normal humerous antics of Stephanie, Lula and Grandma all that funny. I had one laugh-out-loud moment, not great.
Look, I got the book free after waiting months from my local library. It probably took me a few hours to read. So within those parameters, I probably won’t give up on the series, yet. I’m getting close though.