Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich

photo courtesy of Amazon.com

Released: June 2010

Sizzling Sixteen is (obviously!) the sixteenth installment of the hilarious Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. If you're not already familiar with this series, you're in for a real treat! You can even jump into book #16 without reading all its predecessors because in the first chapter, Evanovich gives us a brief catch-up on anything you might have missed.

In Sizzling Sixteen, the awkward, hilarious, and lovable bounty hunter Stephanie Plum goes on the ultimate manhunt to locate her missing bail-bonds employer Vinnie. Accompanying her on her mission is the funny loud-mouthed, ex-prostitute Lula and foxy front-desk lady Connie.

As the trio go searching for Vinnie, we're treated to another round of random adventures involving fried-chicken-eating alligators, an elderly bigamist on the run, and more racy chemistry between Stephanie, Ranger, and Joe.

While Sizzling Sixteen is an enjoyable, fast read, it's not Evanovich's most hilarious novel in the Stephanie Plum series. The laugh-out-loud moments are few and far between, and I missed out on getting my fill of crazy Plum family dinners! Though Stephanie's nemesis Joyce Barnhardt is briefly mentioned, there is no face-to-face confrontation with her in Sizzling Sixteen. I really look forward to Stephanie torturing Joyce Barnhardt in every novel.

All in all, Sizzling Sixteen is a fun experience, but not the best in the series. 

Here are the next few books that follow Sizzling Sixteen, as featured on Amazon.com:

• Smokin' Seventeen (2011)
• Explosive Eighteen (2011)
• Notorious Nineteen (2012)
• Takedown Twenty (2013)
• Top Secret Twenty-One (2014)