Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich

Have you ever been on one of those carnival rides that swings you back and forth, gaining speed, climbing higher with each swing, until momentum fails and you sail back down and up the other side?  Eventually there is a moment where you swing high enough that the cage pauses for just a second at the top of the arc before tipping over the top, bringing you down the other side in a new direction.  

That is how I felt reading Janet Evanovich's newest Stephanie Plum novel.  There were moments when the momentum built in one direction, nearly to the tipping point . . . but not quite.  Then the story swings in the other direction, gaining speed again as we reach the point of no return . . . and fall backwards once again.  It was fun, but it lacked that climactic moment of decision and new direction.  In the end the ride slows and everything returns to it's usual spot. . . and we wait, somewhat less enthusiastically, for the next ride.