Visions of Sugar Plums

Please bear in mind that American are very big on holidays, this is why every year the "Simpsons" will have a thank giving /christmas special on Fox...
As an American ( from New Jersey no less) Evanovich follow on that trend and wrote a good Chistmas tale which is both amuzing and modern.

But make no mistake, it is what it is: A chrismas special, and as such, it didn't deserved the poor rating it has received by some of the readers.


Visions of money wasted   March 11, 2003
 18 out of 22 found this review helpful

An incredibly sexy man has simply materialized in Stephanie Plum's kitchen. Plum, you must understand, is an inept New Jersey bounty hunter quite used to having people appear uninvited in her kitchen, but never before has one simply materialized. But in good Plum fashion she doesn't see fit to call the cops, even though her boyfriend is one, and the mysterious man identifies himself as Diesel and insists on helping her snag her latest bail jumper, a toy maker named Sandy Claws. Well, snagging Sandy just ain't that easy, not when he's got an assaultive bunch of little people calling themselves elves working for him, and not when Mr. Claws himself is really Somebody Special just like Diesel -- who, it turns out, has a special assignment here in Jersey, tracking down yet another Special person. Throw into this mix the obligatory car bombing, some Christmas trees that don't make it home, a wild shopping trip, a lot of cookie making and throwing, a good old fashioned pregnancy panic, and some of Grandma Mazur's famous conversation -- this time concerning a studmuffin she's just gotta bring home for Christmas -- and you have Janet Evanovich's latest gift to fans of the Plum world.

Seldom does a book cry out to me for only one star, but VISIONS OF SUGAR PLUMS was in full voice. I cannot imagine what Evanovich was thinking about when she created this horrific little 149 page Christmas rip-off. Money? Her face in bookstores? She certainly wasn't thinking about plot, characters, or dialogue, although her setting came out reasonably all right. Maybe her computer failed halfway through and she was forced to make do with her first draft. Whatever the reason, this pint sized joke starts out improbable (men materializing in her kitchen??) and ends up impossible (people with supernatural powers??) I read it in an hour and a half, dropped it much the same way you drop the dead mouse your cat has brought home to you, and got on with my life.

If you simply must read every new installment about Stephanie Plum, don't let let me scare you away from VISIONS OF SUGAR PLUMS -- unless you also like to read about Joe and Ranger. Because in the middle of all this mysterious mayhem Joe makes only a couple obligatory appearances and Ranger doesn't appear at all. And without them ... sugar plums are only dreams, not visions.


The *dawgrrl* review   February 13, 2003
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum is back and just as funny as ever. This holiday novel is a step off the beaten path from the usual Plums though. A little bit of fantasy is thrown in, just for good measure I guess. Add some "little people" donning fake pointy ears to resemble elves, an FTA who bears a strange resemblance to Santa Claus and a guy named Diesel who just "appears" in Stephanie's kitchen one morning and you have a definite recipe for hilarity. Some die-hard Plum fans may find this novel hard to swallow, but remember, it's fiction!


Fairy Story   January 9, 2003
 12 out of 16 found this review helpful

I am normally a number one fan of Stephanie Plum but found this book not at all up to her usual witty self. I would say that it is more like a children's fairy story with a few rude bits thrown in. I was very disappointed at the content and found it a complete waste of money.


An entertaining holiday read   December 17, 2002
 16 out of 18 found this review helpful

In this novel, Stephanie Plum is looking for a fugitive named Sandy Claws ...geddit? This latest book in the Stephanie Plum series is more of a "holiday interlude" than the previous eight books, but is entertaining nonetheless. All the usual suspects make an appearance: Lula, Grandma Mazur, Morelli, Stephanie's family, and there is a new studmuffin, both for Grandma Mazur and Stephanie.

The plot is a bit thin and the characters are a bit under-developed, hence the three stars, but the book is very entertaining and should instil readers with some holiday spirit.
If you haven't read any of the Stephanie Plum books, this might not be a good place to start as the other books are funnier and more complex, but real fans won't be disappointed.