Reading Metrics
Description
Stephanie Plum, the wisecracking bounty hunter from Trenton, has her hands full when she's tasked with bringing in mob boss Salvatore "Uncle Sunny" Sunucchi before he takes her out. Complicating matters, she teams up with security specialist Ranger to solve the murder of his client's mother. As if that weren't enough, a giraffe named Kevin escapes and runs wild through the city streets, adding to the chaos. This is the twentieth entry in the Stephanie Plum series.
Quick Summary
Janet Evanovich's Takedown Twenty is the kind of book that makes you laugh out loud while you're riding the bus or sitting in a waiting room, and that's exactly why it works so well. Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter in Trenton, New Jersey, who constantly finds herself in absurd situations involving her wild grandmother, her complicated love life, and a rotating cast of quirky characters and this time she's after a mob boss who keeps escaping. The humor is sharp and irreverent, the pacing moves quickly without feeling rushed, and there's a genuine warmth underneath all the chaos that makes you root for Stephanie even when she's making questionable decisions. If you or your teen enjoys snarky, fast-paced adventure with a lot of personality, this series is basically the literary equivalent of a funny action movie, though it's definitely better suited for older teens given the mature content Evanovich doesn't shy away from. Fans of crime capers with heart, or anyone who likes characters who feel like a slightly dysfunctional family you'll actually want to spend time with, will get a lot of mileage out of this installment. It works well as a standalone if you just want to dip in, but fair warning once you read one, you'll probably want to read them all.