Full Scoop

My latest read was indeed FULL SCOOP by Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughes (St. Martin's Paperbacks, c2006, ISBN 0-312-93431-9) and it was okay. Set in Beumont, South Carolina, it featured the regular characters of the previous FULL books in the series, including Max and Jamie Holt, Vera, Destiny and the good ol' dog Fleas.

Characters I wasn't familiar with also were introduced including Maggie Davenport, town pediatrician and her daughter, Mel. Also, Zack Madden, the undercover FBI agent assigned to protect her, Queenie Cloud, a family friend practicing root medicine in Maggie's home, Earl Lee Stanton, the bad guy and Butterbean, an animal that Fleas has his eye on.

First sentence:

"Maggie, what in the world are you doing up there!"

And when I said it was "okay" that's what I meant. The books in this series do not, in my opinion, stand up to Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series or some of the stand-alone books by Charlotte Hughes that I've read. This was a typical bad guy/good guy-someone's in trouble-FBI agent shows up and falls in love with main character-a food is involved (think ice cream)-the bad guy gets caught-they all live happily ever after sort of book.

All too often I find them formulaic, although quick and enjoyable reads nonetheless. Most importantly, they tide me over while I'm waiting for the next Ranger/Morelli/Steph/Lula saga patiently, oh so patiently!

See you next time!