Good morning/afternoon! Hope you guys are having a good day. Can you believe its Sept 12 already? Wow. Tomorrow is my nieces birthday and I am super excited because we get to see her for her birthday on Sunday. As we live 4-5 hours away, we only get to spend a little precious time together. Today I have Sophia Rose on the blog and she delivers us an audio book review of Janet Evanovich interesting new series. Like Sophia, I’ve been meaning to try her books for a really long time as well. I think I am just good at collecting books over reading them. Regardless, enjoy her lovely review!
Dangerous Minds by Janet Evanovich, Lorelei King Published by Random House Audio Publishing Group on June 20th 2017
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 6 hours 44 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
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I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The irrepressibly charming duo of Emerson Knight and Riley Moon returns in another gripping mystery by #1 New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich.
Buddhist monk Wayan Bagus lost his island of solitude and wants to get it back. The island was about two hundred miles northeast of Samoa. It had a mountain, beaches, a rain forest, and a volcano. And now it’s gone. Poof! Vanished without a trace.
Brilliant and boyishly charming Emerson Knight likes nothing better than solving an unsolvable, improbable mystery. And finding a missing island is better than Christmas morning in the Knight household. When clues lead to a dark and sinister secret that is being guarded by the National Park Service, Emerson will need to assemble a crack team for help. Since a crack team isn’t available, he enlists Riley Moon and his cousin Vernon. Riley Moon has a Harvard business degree and can shoot the eyes out of a grasshopper at fifty feet, but she can’t figure out how to escape the vortex of Emerson Knight’s odd life. Vernon has been Emerson’s loyal and enthusiastic partner in crime since childhood. He now lives in an RV behind Emerson’s house.
Together, this ragtag, mismatched trio will embark on a worldwide investigation that will expose a conspiracy one hundred years in the making.
For years, I’ve been meaning to try a Janet Evanovich book. I thought it would be her acclaimed Stephanie Plum series, but then this one which was only two books in, caught my eye and, yes, I confess, it was because I adore Lorelei King as a narrator.
I was a little concerned that I was picking up the second book in a series, but shrugged it off. Dangerous Minds ended up doing just fine out of order and would work as a standalone.
The book opens with a startling arrival to wealthy Emerson Knight’s estate. His former mentor, a soft-voiced Buddhist monk states that his island home disappeared. Of course, it was funny, but also set the ball in motion for eccentric Emerson, redoubtable Riley, along with Emerson’s hilarious horn-dog cousin Vernon, and the monk, Wayan, to head out on their latest adventure.
Throughout the book, I found myself bursting out with laughs, mostly at Vernon’s juvenile humor, but nearly as often at Emerson. Evanovich knows how to write brilliant, quirky and engaging characters.
The setting for this latest case is America’s Nat’l Parks that contain volcanic action. I loved this, particularly, since I just spent a bit this past summer camping at a Nat’l Park and exploring its volcanic region and I’ve been to Yellowstone, twice, where lots of the story took place.
This is a lighter suspense story with the bad guys evident from the beginning, but the mystery of what they are hiding in the national parks being the unknown element. There are a few ‘ew’ moments when things get gritty, but for the most part, the intrepid gang of heroes manage to keep life and limb intact while cheesing it up.
There is a very slow-build romance element between Emerson and Riley, but the situation they are in causes this to stop and start its way along. They are a fun pair of opposites.
Lorelei King told a saucy adventure well and I loved that though there are many more male voices than female, she nailed it. Great match for the tone and pace of the book.
So, my first outing with a Janet Evanovich book was a rousing good success and I will definitely want more Knight & Moon adventures. I think the cozy mystery and light romantic suspense lovers would be a good fit for this book/series.
About Sophia Rose
Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.
This sounds like another great read from Janet Evanovich. So far I’ve only read her Stephanie Plum series, but I love it and could definitely see myself enjoying this one as well. Great review!
Oh good, Suzanne! I want to try the Stephanie Plum series, too. This was a fun, relaxing read.
I have NEVER read Evanovich and dang… I really should, shouldn’t I??? I mean really, she sounds like a great writer who can pull off humor and that’s hard to find! I will have to watch this series carefully. I don’t think I’d start with Plum either, for the same reason you stated. Start new, I concur!!! Brilliant review, Sophia!!!
Yes, you really should, Kristin. They are fun. Yeah, I was intimidated by the long Stephanie Plum series, but this one was more my speed. It’s a fluffy one, but still enjoyable.
I have been meaning to try her books, but have not gotten a chance to do so.
Yep, that was me, too. 🙂 Hope you get the chance soon, Nadene!
I used to adore Evanovich but then her books started letting me down and I stopped reading them. I have been curious about this new series and I love the narrator for this book. I will have to keep this one in mind if I decide to give her another try.
I’ve heard that alot and that many of her series feel the same as the others. This might be true, but as this was my first one… LOL
I figure I’ll stay with Knight & Moon for a while and I do love Lorelei King’s narration.
Good for you for jumping in. I like King, and have been meaning to try this author. I must learn to be braver and take a leap!
Haha! I’ve had some spectacular fails diving in, but I got lucky on this one. It was worth it and King was great bait for me. 🙂
I’m really glad that you ended up enjoying this book Sophia, I’ve lost count with the amount of series by Janet Evanovich I’ve started and not finished! And I’m always on the lookout for new narrator recommendations, so will definitely be checking out King’s work! Fab review! 🙂
Yeah, she does seem to have a ton of books out. I think I’ll stick with this series and catch the others some day.
Lorelei King is a favorite narrator and does fantastic with humor. Hope you get the chance. 🙂
I confess I haven’t tried any of her books yet, but I promised myself to read more mystery stories, so perhaps I should add this title to my pile and see how it goes, huh? Got it! 😉
P.S. Hey Lily, happy birthday to your niece 🙂
I got this one for the same reason- about wanting to try more mysteries. Worth it for something light and funny. 🙂
I read the first book and enjoyed it, but I tried to read this one earlier in the summer and I just couldn’t get through it. I didn’t like it all. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had listened to it as I adore Lorelei King. Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me.
Oooh, that’s a bummer, Heidi! I’ve seen reviews that most people liked book one better. I don’t know if her narration made the difference, but maybe it might have for you. Maybe it’ll be on Overdrive through your library so you can see without making a purchase commitment.
I haven’t tried this series yet but I love her Stephanie Plum series so I confess I really wanted to try this one as well
I’ve been told they are very similar so you’ll probably enjoy it, Melliane. 🙂
Ohh, I’ve been seeing her books in our local bookstore, and my, this sounds really good. I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I didn’t realize they were so funny and light. I will definitely be trying another one, Vanessa.